May 9 was a big day in the life of Gator senior Francesca Enea. In UF's victory over South Carolina that day, Enea hit her 20th homer of the season, the 61st in her career, a new SEC record. It was her Senior Day too, which included her getting engaged on the field before the game.
It was also the last time she had a hit. (Maybe she is not used to hitting with a ring on her finger?)
For the Gators (48-8) to get the Women's College World Series started right today against UCLA (45-11) at 3:30pm, Enea has to snap out of a 0-19 slump. Florida has been able to survive without her bat, sweeping through Regional and Super Regional play. Kelsey Bruder has done a great job picking up the slack, hitting 10-15 with nine RBI in the tournament.
Of course, it is not all on Enea. Stephanie Brombacher needs to have solid outings and shake off the illegalpitchitis she has. (The softball illegal pitch is a load of garbage. The umpires who call it make Angel Hernandez and Jim Joyce look good in comparison.) In the case of UCLA, they have a three-headed monster for a pitching staff. Megan Langenfeld and Aleah Macon are both 11-1, with Langenfeld playing the part of the relief pitcher who picks up everyone else's wins. Donna Kerr (18-7, 2.37) has started 30 of UCLA's games and is allowing opponents to hit only .189.
Florida cannot with a National Championship with Enea not contributing. And they cannot win a National Championship with a loss in game one. National Championship teams do not come out of the loser's bracket.