Softball Takes First Game; Baseball Starts Against Bethune-Cookman

by mlmintampa on May 29, 2009 1:51 AM EDT in Other Sports Comment 15 comments

No. 1 Gator Softball moves into the winner's bracket after a 3-0 defeat of No. 9 Arizona at the Women's College World Series. After the Wildcats had two hits in the first, pitcher Stacey Nelson shut the door while Francesca Enea and Megan Bush added homers. The ESPN crew broadcasting spent much of the game impressed by Nelson. Apparently they were unaware she has won FORTY GAMES. Nelson's 7 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 12 K is what she has been doing all season. Nelson and the Gators get No. 5 Michigan Friday night.

No. 8 Gator Baseball (39-20) begins NCAA play Friday night against Bethune-Cookman (32-26). While Bethune is the fourth seed in the regional, they will throw down. Their starter is Hiram Burgos (6-3, 3.73) who has 88 K in 72.1 IP. He also threw six scoreless against Miami on May 8. This is no slouch. Florida's starter will be determined today.

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Nelson did do a great job last night. It was really a solid effort all around. Michigan played well against Bama last night, so I am excited to see how the two teams match up tonight. I hope the team brings another championship to Gainesville!

by Lcr239 on May 29, 2009 10:40 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Nelson

I think the reason ESPN kept going on about the effort is simply because she was doing it against the #1 offense in the country.

Also, I thought they dwelled on Enea’s lack of ACL way too much also.

Go Gators- avenge the ’07 Capital One Bowl for the football team!!!

by skigator93 on May 29, 2009 9:37 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

wow - double victory

A 1 run come from behind win for the baseball team and a 1-0 one hitter for the softball team……it’s great to be a Florida Gator.

by skigator93 on May 30, 2009 12:07 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Damn straight. (I do wish the softball team would score on something other than HR – it makes me just a touch nervous to be relying on super pitching and the long ball. But as long they win I can’t really complain, now can I?)

by peachy rex on May 30, 2009 5:06 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

This is true

We need to start scoring more runs!!

Alabama is crushing Arizona right now in the losers bracket…

by skigator93 on May 30, 2009 3:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

And UGA knocked off Mizzou earlier. (Arizona’s hitting just hasn’t made it to the park in the CWS – despite, I believe, leading the nation in BA this season, they’ve managed only four hits in nine innings so far.)

by peachy rex on May 30, 2009 4:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Arizona

Was #1 in batting average, scoring & slugging percentage…yet that translated to ZERO runs in two shutouts by SEC teams. The tide is turning in college softball – from the Pac 10 to the SEC….

by skigator93 on May 30, 2009 6:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It really stinks to be mercy-ruled out in the WS… ouch.

And UGA knocks out Michigan – can Bama make it three of four for the SEC?

(By the way, did you notice that all three of the teams that beat UF this year made at least the super-regionals? Our girls didn’t lose to nobodies, for sure.)

by peachy rex on May 30, 2009 9:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Mother of god, UGA-Washington has gone on forever…

by peachy rex on May 31, 2009 4:57 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I never like seeing errors, of course – but it’s worse against Bama, since their win over UF was significantly helped by fielding mistakes. So the vibe is kinda bad, you know?

by peachy rex on May 31, 2009 6:36 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

What loss?!?!!?

Come on Rex….you didn’t lose the faith did you?

This team is money. I have said it a lot this season, but wow. I had some hope that Megan Bush could have tied it up, but was not confident at all with Garnder struggling at the plate all series (0-9).

The funny part is she thought she hit a game-ending pop up to left, but it just kept going….a walk-off salami – what a way to make it to to the championship game!

by skigator93 on May 31, 2009 10:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I have to admit I stopped watching on the tube after that ugly-ass top of the fifth, so reminiscent of the third quarter against Ole Miss, the way things just went so wrong so suddenly and so stupidly. (Also, the ESPN crew couldn’t have been more pro-Bama if they had been wearing houndstooth in the booth.) But I was still keeping on eye on things online – when I saw that there were two on with Megan Bush coming up, I thought ‘hmm, a homer could tie it up. Not likely though, I guess, not with two outs.’ Then I flipped over to check out the Miami game… and flipped back to see that softball had gone final… and it took a very long moment for my brain to absorb the numbers.

A walk-off grand slam, with two outs, down three, from a batter hitting 0-9 in the tournament? That’s multiple-laterals-on-a-final-second-hail-mary-for-a-TD territory.

by peachy rex on May 31, 2009 8:53 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Good thing

I did not like the thought of playing Alabama again after midnight….they appeared to figure out Nelson after seeing her fir the 5th time (or 14th time for the seniors!).

Although they are getting worked early – I would love to face UGA for the title, Could you think of anything better? We played them twice this year and won 15-0 and 4-0. I’d like the odds better than against UWash, who we beat 1-0 this season.

I like our odds against anyone in a best of 3 with Nelson in the circle.

by skigator93 on May 31, 2009 10:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, I wasn’t at all eager to see Bama in the nightcap – they are definitely too familiar with UF. Though at least they weren’t really hammering Nelson – the fifth was the most maddening collection of infield hits, bloops and other assorted weirdnesses I’ve seen in a while.

I think I’d prefer UGA as well – they have the edge in familiarity, but Washington is almost certainly the better team… Lawrie is a beast. (And actually, the Huskies beat the Gators – 1-0 in extras. It would be rather satisfying to take down two of the teams that beat UF on the way to a title…)

by peachy rex on May 31, 2009 10:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs