OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Senior Ali Gardiner was battling her longest hitting drought of the season for the No. 1 Florida Gators softball team.
The left-handed swinging Gardiner was hitless in her last four games and was in the midst of a 0-for-15 skid as she came to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded Sunday against the Gators’ biggest Southeastern Conference rival, the Alabama Crimson Tide. Gardiner’s team trailed 5-2 and seemingly was headed for a late-night rematch to see which team would stay alive in the Women’s College World Series at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.
Despite all her extra batting practice and a change in her batting stance, Gardiner had not seen the results and that surely was sitting in the back of her head when she came up to face Alabama’s Kelsi Dunne.
“I’ve been working to get it out of my head all week,” Gardiner said. “I felt like I’ve never had to work harder to get a base hit. My last at-bat I just went up there, cleared my mind and was just trying to make good contact.”
Gardiner thought all she did was make contact with the 2-1 outside pitch. She slammed her bat down after making contact, expecting the ball to land into the glove of Alabama left fielder Whitney Larsen.
But then as Gardiner looked up, she noticed Larsen still was going back toward the fence. So Gardiner gave a lifting motion with her hands and as she neared first base a huge smile came over her face as she realized she had given her team, two strikes away from defeat, its first trip to the WCWS championship series with her first career grand-slam home run.
The walk-off slam gave coach Tim Walton’s Gators a 6-5 triumph, their biggest softball victory ever, and Gardiner, a Waccabuc, N.Y., resident who transferred from UNC Wilmington after her freshman season, a place forever in Florida’s rich athletic lore.
“Two outs,” Walton said. “Seventh inning. Down by three. Grand slam to win it. This is something you grow up dreaming about doing, and if there’s anybody on our team who grew up doing that, it’s Ali Gardiner.”
That dream scenario sent the Gators (63-3) to the WCWS championship round to face third-seeded Washington, which beat a pesky Georgia team 9-3 in an elimination game after the Bulldogs had battled to a 9-8 victory in a nine-inning, four-hour-plus marathon before the fifth meeting of the season between Alabama and Florida. Danielle Lawrie, the ASA College Softball Player of the Year, struck out 12 and also hit a grand-slam homer for the Huskies in eliminating Georgia.
The best-of-three series between the Gators (63-3) and the Huskies (49-12) begins Monday night at 8 and will be televised by ESPN2. Alabama (54-11) and Georgia (47-12) leave knowing the SEC could now be the dominant college softball conference.
The Gators, who came within a 1-0, nine-inning loss to Texas A&M last season of making it to the championship round to play eventual champion Arizona State, will be making their first finals appearance after extending their season-long winning streak to 29 games. Florida, which has now won 52 of its last 53, will be playing a Washington team led by Lawrie, who beat Florida 1-0 in nine innings back on Feb. 20 at the Cathedral City Classic in Palm Springs, Calif.
Gardiner’s drought has been so long and frustrating that even her dad, who has taught her how to play softball, hadn’t talked to his daughter much all week. It’s amazing how much that changed with one swing of the bat.
“I’ve never seen either of my parents cry in my entire life,” Gardiner said with tears in her eyes. “Especially my Dad who I’ve worked with since I was a little girl and whose dream was always to see me in a Gator uniform and now he’s here. That enabled me to push our team to where we have to go. It means a lot to see my Dad with so much emotion.”
The Gators, who have had some emotional victories this season, also showed more emotion than they have all season.
Walton jumped up and down and cheered so loud that his voice was almost gone after the game. At one point he even gave up trying to describe the emotional outpouring on the field. After circling the bases with joy and relief intermingling on each stride, Gardiner high-fived her coach and then was engulfed by her teammates.
“I don’t really have any other comments for that,” Walton cracked. “It was just the best softball game I’ve ever been in.”
Stacey Nelson reenacted her reaction to the homer while wearing the rally helmet. And the players seemed to finally perfect the dog pile they have been working on all season long.
It was a dog pile so grand that six earrings were lost in the chaos.
“I get all nervous when I look like a pirate on ESPN,” Gardiner said of her one-earring, messy-haired look.
It was a moment none of the Gators will ever forget.
It was a moment that seemed like it wasn’t going to happen.
Nelson, who had allowed just three hits in shutout victories over Arizona (3-0) and Michigan (1-0) to start the WCWS, looked mortal, allowing four earned runs in five innings of work. The Gators’ bats continued to struggle all game long.
Nothing seemed to be going right for the best team in the land.
But they are the best team in the land for a reason.
“I’ve been coaching softball for 11 years,” Walton said. “In my 11 years, I’ve never seen a team with so much determination and fight, no matter if we’re getting outplayed, outhit, outscored – it doesn’t matter. We know we’re going to have a good chance (to win).”
The chances looked slim as Dunne (28-5) mystified the Gator bats all game long. Dunne had given up nine, four and seven earned runs in each of her previous starts against the Gators this year, but Sunday, it seemed as if she had finally figured them out.
Dunne held the Gators hitless in the first three innings, only allowing two walks. She retired eight consecutive batters after the walks and was working with a 1-0 lead after Jennifer Fenton scored an unearned run in the second inning, the first run against Nelson in the WCWS.
But Kelsey Bruder finally put the Gators on the board in the bottom of the fourth with a two-run homer. The 2-1 lead would have been enough for Nelson on most nights. But this wasn’t most nights.
Nelson appeared to be cruising along in the fifth inning with two outs in the books when she induced Brittany Rogers into a grounder to the right side. But Rogers was called safe on a close play at first base, setting the wheels in motion for a big Alabama inning.
Rogers immediately stole second and scored off a Lauren Parker single to center, tying the game at 2-2. Kelley Montalvo followed that up with her second hit of the game and Nelson loaded the bases by walking Charlotte Morgan.
The dominoes continued to fall Alabama’s way as Nelson’s next pitch hit Cassandra Reilly-Boccia to bring home the go-ahead run for the Tide. Ashley Holcombe continued the rally when her short fly to left fell into play off the glove of a diving Brooke Johnson to bring home two more runs. When the dust finally settled, Alabama was sitting on top of a comfortable 5-2 lead and Nelson was on the ropes, allowing those five runs on eight hits, one walk and one hit batter.
The rally seemed to fluster the Gators a little bit, as they appeared to be swinging for the home run on every pitch but to no avail. The Gators stranded several runners in scoring position, still unable to score any runs in the WCWS without the help from the long ball.
So Walton made a change to inject some life into his team, going to sophomore All-American Stephanie Brombacher for the first time in the WCWS to start the sixth inning. Brombacher responded to the challenge, striking out three of the four batters she faced in the inning, only giving up a single to Rogers.
Brombacher continued to keep the Gators afloat in the seventh inning, keeping the deficit at three while stranding two Tide runners on base.
The chances seemed slim, but as they have proven time and time again, you can’t count the Gators out. Indeed, the last time Florida lost, to Alabama on March 29 at home, 6-4, the Gators entered the bottom of the seventh trailing 6-1 against Dunne. Francesca Enea hit a three-run home run with one out to make it 6-4. Dunne then walked two before getting a second out. Then freshman Michelle Moultrie hit a long fly ball to right field that was caught at the fence by Jazlyn Lunceford.
Sunday, Aja Paculba started the seventh with a four-pitch walk. After Tiffany DeFelice struck out looking, Enea singled to left center. Bruder popped out for the second out. Megan Bush then walked on a 3-1 pitch to load the bases.
Three pitches – two balls and a strike later – Gardiner ended her hitting drought with the sweetest swing that will be remembered a long time.
“This team wants it so bad,” Gardiner said. “Two outs. One out. Down by seven. Down by 15. We’re going to find a way. We just wanted this so bad. The whole year they have been picking me up. I’m so glad that I can finally pick the team up.”
Ali Gardiner did more than just pick up her Florida teammates. She lifted the Gators to the biggest stage of their softball careers.
WASHINGTON VS. GEORGIA
First game
Georgia 9, Washington 8 (9): Washington was playing for a spot in the Women’s College World Series championship round. Georgia was playing just to stay alive. The game lived up to those expectations and more. With ASA College Player of the Year Danielle Lawrie on the mound for Washington, you would think it would turn into a pitcher’s duel. It was anything but.
The game ended in the bottom of the ninth when Lawrie walked Georgia first baseman Brianna Hesson with the bases loaded to keep the Bulldogs’ hopes alive.
The walk was a change from the rest of the scoring in the game, most of which came from the long-ball variety.
Washington first baseman Nikki Williams led off the scoring with a three-run homer in the second, but she was far from done. Williams stepped up to the plate again in the fifth with her team down four runs and hit a grand slam to tie the game once again. Williams’ seven RBI set a record for most RBI in a WCWS game. She now has nine RBI in the Series, also a record.
Georgia also got timely homers of its own. Third baseman Alisa Goler hit a two-run shot off Lawrie in the bottom of the third inning to tie the game at 4-4 after a Georgia miscue in the outfield allowed in Washington’s fourth run in the top of the inning. Then shortstop Kristin Schnake hit a three-run shot in the bottom of the fourth to give Georgia a short-lived, four-run lead.
Washington third baseman Morgan Stuart went 5-for-5 in the game with one RBI. Stuart’s five hits tied a WCWS single-game record, which was set back in 1995.
Second game
Washington 9, Georgia 3: Following their first game of the day and the dramatic finish between Florida and Alabama, you would have thought the second Georgia-Washington game would be a tight affair.
But Lawrie made sure it wasn’t. After getting through the top of the first unscathed, Lawrie came to the plate with the bases loaded after teammates Ashley Charters, Kimi Pohlman and Jenn Sailing all singled. On her fifth pitch from starter Erin Arevalo, Lawrie lined a home run to right field for a 4-0 lead. Charters made it 5-0 with an RBI triple in the second inning.
Georgia (47-12) came back with three runs in the third inning. Lisaira Daniels started the inning with a triple to left. Lawrie then got two outs with a groundout and strikeout, but Alisa Goler singled up the middle to bring in the first run. Megan Wiggins then doubled to right center to put runners at second and third for Brianna Hesson, who singled to left and drove in the two runners. Lawrie then struck out Kristyn Sandberg.
Washington (49-12) regained the momentum in the bottom of the third when Morgan Stuart hit a long home run to left for a 6-3 lead. The Huskies then iced the game with three runs in the sixth inning, two coming home on a double by Sailing, who had three hits as did Charters in Washington’s 11-hit attack.
Lawrie improved to 40-8 on the season by allowing three earned runs on five hits and three walks while striking out 12. She threw 121 pitches, 78 for strikes. In the first game, she went 8.2 innings, allowing nine runs (seven earned) on nine hits and two walks with nine strikeouts. She threw 164 pitches, 113 for strikes.
That’s 285 pitches in two games, which Florida hopes to exploit beginning Monday.
NCAA DIVISION I SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
WOMEN’S COLLEGE WORLD SERIES
At ASA Hall of Fame Stadium, Oklahoma City, Okla.
Sunday
Game 11: Georgia 9, Washington 8 (9)
Game 12: Florida 6, Alabama 5 (Alabama eliminated)
Game 13: Washington 9, Georgia 3 (Georgia eliminated)
Championship series (Best of Three)
Monday
(3) Washington (49-12) vs. (1) Florida (63-3), 8 p.m. (ESPN2)
Tuesday
(3) Washington vs. (1) Florida, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)
Wednesday
(3) Washington vs. (1) Florida, 8 p.m., if necessary (ESPN2)