There are onslaughts in sports, and then there is the sort of dominance Florida softball flashed in its first inning destruction of Alabama in a potential elimination game at the Women's College World Series. The Gators scored 11 runs, setting a new WCWS record for runs in an inning, and did it in about every way imaginable. Here's how the first inning went, via @GatorZoneSBall.
Michelle Moultrie swatted a leadoff home run: 1-0. After a Tiffany DeFelice single walks to Kelsey Bruder and Brittany Schutte load the bases for Megan Bush, who pops out. Then Kelsi Dunne hits Cheyenne Coyle with a pitch, scoring DeFelice: 2-0. Dunne walks Aja Paculba, scoring Bruder: 3-0. 'Bama changes pitchers, but Jackie Traina walks Ensley Gammel, scoring Schutte: 4-0. Kasey Fagan singles, scoring Coyle and Paculba: 6-0. Florida executes a double steal, with Fagan taking second and Gammel producing a run when she crosses home: 7-0.
By this point, Florida has already scored more runs against 'Bama in two outs than any team did in a game this year. Then Moultrie singles to right, moving Fagan to third; Moultrie then steals second before DeFelice fouls out. Bruder walks, loading the bases for Schutte. And then Schutte clobbers a pitch that lands over the center field wall: 11-0. Bush's fly out to right after that ends the inning, but the damage is done: Florida's 11 runs set the Women's College World Series record for runs in an inning,and outdid every team's offensive output at this year's WCWS in three outs ... except their own. No team had more runs at the 2011 WCWS than Florida's 16 entering today's game, and second place was Arizona State, with nine; through the first inning, Florida had triple that at the WCWS.
And the Gators have already added two more runs — Gammel slugged a two-run shot in the second inning, just her second of the year, increasing Florida's lead to 13-1 — and have at least four innings to go. College softball's run rule, in case you need to be reminded, is that if one team is up by eight or more runs after five or more complete innings, the game ends.