Walton uses funnel cakes to motivate Q&A with Oregon SS Nikki Udria
There are plenty of tools coaches use to motivate athletes.
Florida coach has found food to be the most effective.
Three years ago, Walton used funnel cakes to motivate his players. If they accomplished a goal — be it earning a hit, out or win — they would be rewarded with funnel cake.
In the third inning, he again tried to use funnel cakes as motivation. “I went up to
in the third inning and said, ‘If we win this game, we’re gonna get funnel cakes,’” Walton said.
“She looked at me with a straight face and said, ‘Coach I don’t need any more motivation. I’ve waited my whole life to get to the College World Series.’”
Walton said he will continue to offer funnel cakes to his athletes so long as it proves an effective way to win games. It worked Friday, as the Gators shut out LSU, 7-0.
“Whatever it takes to motivate our athletes,” he said. “Just let me know, we’ll take care of it. The preparation we’ve put in is outstanding, and I’m just glad to allow these kids a couple more days to spend with their families out here at the College World Series.”
Girl makes lasting memory at WCWS
She stood timidly with a Sharpie and a ball in her hand.
When returned, she was beaming holding her new souvenir. She didn’t care who signed the ball. She came from Iowa with her mother so she had no allegiance to any of the teams in the Women’s College World Series.
It was her first time at the WCWS, though Amber had been the past two years. Her favorite part so far has been watching the games and discovering players, but a new memory was made Friday evening with the signing of the ball.
With the late start to Friday’s games, the two have also spent time outside of the ballpark exploring and bonding in Oklahoma City.
“I think it has a great tourist attraction besides the games,” Amber said. “There’s plenty of things to do. The facility is really nice.”
How to get tickets
With WCWS single-session tickets currently sold out through the Oklahoma City All Sports Association, there are three recommended ways to watch the action at Hall of Fame Stadium for those currently without tickets.
•About 500 standingroom-only tickets will be available for purchase each day of competition starting two hours before first pitch at Hall of Fame Stadium. Prices will range between $20 and $25.
•NCAA.com/exchange is currently offering verified resold tickets for all sessions that range between $20 and $350.
•Other secondary markets like StubHub.com also list unverified tickets with a wide range of prices.
It’s becoming more common to see pitchers wear masks in the circle. OU’s Paige Lowary has thrown with one since a line drive from Oregon’s Nikki Udria connected with her face a year ago. But infield players wearing metal masks? That’s pretty rare. In a weird turn of events, Udria now wears a mask of her own after suffering a preseason injury. She talked with before Saturday’s game about why she wears the mask and why she thinks they’ll become even more popular in the future.
A: “During preseason, I was going back for a pop fly and I broke my nose. I had to have surgery on my nose and I had to wear (the mask) for eight weeks. When the time came to take it off, I just felt like I only had a couple weeks left and I wasn’t willing to have to have another surgery because it’s already hard for me to breath sometimes from the (first) surgery.”
“For sure. I definitely make some plays that I might pull my head up on if I didn’t have my mask, and I think I’m more aggressive when I’m playing because I have that comfort in knowing that it can’t hit my face. I tried to take it off, and the first ball I took with it off almost went right at my face, so I just kept it on and it hasn’t affected me. I think if anything, it’s benefited me.”
“I think that as the game is progressing and people are getting stronger and the bats are getting more hot and the pitchers are getting faster, that it’s not a bad idea for people to have protection.”