The Florida Gator softball team needed extra innings Sunday but it got the job done, beating the Auburn Tigers 3-2 in the Women’s College World Series semifinal. The Gators find themselves in the championship for the fourth time in school history and in consecutive years. Florida looks to become just the third school in the history of the World Series to win back-to-back national titles. Head coach Tim Walton shared his thoughts on this year’s team.
“They’re such great people and great character and great competitors. I think sometime you can have great athletes and they might not know what they’re doing. These guys are fighters. We built this program because of them and they know how to win.”
Lauren Haeger got her 31st win of the year, but she wasn’t herself. The National Player of the Year conceded a base runner in every single inning of the game. There were several innings where Auburn got the bases loaded, but great defensive plays bailed out Haeger. Most notably, center fielder Kirsti Merritt threw out a runner going home from the outfield in two separate innings.
The scoring started in the bottom of the third when Justine McLean advanced home after Auburn pitcher Lexi Davis threw a wild pitch. The Tigers quickly answered in the top of the fourth with a two run single from Branndi Melero. With Auburn up 2-1, it marked the first time in the 2015 NCAA Tournament that the Gators were trailing in a game. It didn’t last a full inning, however, because Taylore Fuller tied the game in the bottom half of the frame with a laser shot home run. The game would remain tied at 2-2 for four innings.
Fuller talked about overcoming the deficit.
“Obviously, it’s hard to stay up but we proved all season we can come back, whether we’re down by nine or we’re down by one, we’re going to come back and you better be ready for that. So the energy is always up in the dugout no matter what the score is.”
It was in the bottom of the ninth where, with Justine McLean on second base, freshman Nicole DeWitt slapped the ball in shallow left field and head coach Tim Walton sent McLean home without hesitation. The throw was late and the pandemonium began. DeWitt commented on the at-bat after the game.
“I was just trying to keep it simple. I had a rough couple previous at-bats. I went to my slap and then I just tried to place the ball and fill a hole, and found the hole and Justine came around and scored.”
After the Gators and Tigers cleared the field, LSU and Michigan squared off to see who would join Florida in the championship series. With a 6-3 victory, Michigan will also be competing for its second national championship.
The Gators and Wolverines have met twice this year. Both games resulted in a Florida win, 2-1 and 7-4. Aleshia Ocasio picked up the win in both games, the first being a complete game and the second in relief.
Offensively, Sierra Romero leads Big Blue. She has one of the most impressive stat lines in the entire country with a .466 batting average, 21 home runs and 81 runs batted in. Kelly Christner has the same home run total as Romero with a .412 batting average and 67 runs batted in. All in all they have one of the best offenses in the entire country, ranking towards the top in runs per game and total home runs.
Michigan is just as impressive in the circle. Megan Betsa and Haylie Wagner both have sub-1.75 ERAs with more than 20 wins. Betsa ranks in the top 10 in strikeouts, wins and shutouts. One major key is for both these pitchers is to slow down Lauren Haeger and the rest of the dynamic Gator offense.
First pitch on Monday will be at 8 p.m.