Florida wins SEC softball tourney
Fans in the firstbase stands of Mizzou Softball Stadium batted around a beach ball after the second inning of Saturday evening's Southeastern Conference Softball Tournament final between Florida and South Carolina.
In the bottom of the third, Gamecocks pitcher Kelsey Oh served up a beach ball of her own.
With Aleshia Ocasio on second and Alex Voss on first, Oh faced the SEC Player of the Year — Amanda Lorenz, Florida's left fielder.
South Carolina coach Beverly Smith, aware of the Gators' elite plate discipline, told her pitching staff to throw strikes and avoid walks. Oh did throw a strike. Right over the plate.
Lorenz did what she and her Gator teammates had done all week long in the SEC tournament and hit the ball out of the park.
"It felt good to get something going for the team," Lorenz said.
Lorenz's three-run homer, a line drive that just cleared the wall in left center field, was all the offense Florida needed to capture the tournament title. Ocasio hurled a complete game from the circle, holding South Carolina to just a first-inning tally. The top-seeded Gators beat the No. 3 Gamecocks 3-1, and Lorenz earned the tournament's Most Valuable Player Award.
Gators roll again at Mizzou Stadium
Florida, the No. 4 team in the nation, won its sixth game in six tries at Mizzou Softball Stadium in a week. The Gators swept tournament host Missouri — the only SEC softball program to miss out on the conference tournament — from May 4 to May 6 and won all three of their SEC Tournament games.
The Gators mashed two home runs in each game against Missouri. First baseman Kayli Kvistad homered in the May 4 series opener and had a go-ahead, game-winning, three-run homer in the May 6 finale. Lorenz homered May 5.
"I like the way the ball flies here," Lorenz said.
Lorenz and Ocasio both went deep in Florida's 5-2 win against No. 8 seed Alabama in its first SEC Tournament game. Third baseman Nicole DeWitt hit two homers against No. 4 Tennessee, and Florida rolled the Vols 10-2 on Friday night.
But Saturday, all the Gators needed was Lorenz's blast.
Ocasio shines in the circle
Florida managed just three hits other than Lorenz's home run, but it hardly mattered as the Gators held the Gamecocks to just two hits. South Carolina scored its only run on a sacrifice fly by Cayla Drotar in the first inning.
Ocasio, in the circle for Florida, wasn't alarmed. For her, it was business as usual.
"I stayed cool," Ocasio said. "My team came up to me and was like, 'We're going to get that run back.'"
After the first frame, Ocasio cruised and allowed just one hit from the second inning on.
"She pitched great tonight," Lorenz said of Ocasio. "She really worked her butt off."
Ocasio joined DeWitt, Lorenz and Janell Wheaton on the AllTournament team. South Carolina had three players named to the squad. Drotar, Tiara Duffy and Dixie Raley all earned the distinction.
Little celebration for Gators
Before the game, Florida players had a question of coach Tim Walton — what would they get for winning the SEC Tournament?
"Well, you're getting a T-shirt and a hat," Walton replied. "They kind of looked at me. Other places they've won, they've done a little differently."
When South Carolina's Alyssa VanDerveer flied to center for the game's final out, there was no reaction from the Florida dugout that seemed to fit the moment. Players strolled out and convened calmly near the mound.
"I want them to be happy," Walton said. "I don't want them to ever feel like they have to act a certain way after they win."
Florida's players were, of course, still happy. No current Gator, not even the team's four seniors, had won an SEC Tournament with the school.
"To win is just another thing for us, and we work hard for that," said Ocasio, a senior. "This is a special tournament. Every team in the SEC is really good."
Florida, though, was the best. The Gators had already won the regular-season SEC title, which earned them the No. 1 seed in the tournament. The win over the Gamecocks was the Gators' 50th of the season. It was the first SEC Tournament title for Florida, though, since 2013.
By Saturday night, the team had been in Missouri for 10 days, with only a trip to St. Louis breaking the Columbia routine. For Lorenz, it was long enough.
"It's been a fun 10-day trip," Lorenz said, "but we're ready to go home."