Florida right fielder Jaimie Hoover slapped a ground ball to third base, turned and sprinted down the first-base line. Down two runs, the junior batted in the bottom of the seventh with two outs and put all of her energy into running the 60 feet to beat out the play. She was caught a step short.
Hoover’s ground ball was the final play of the season for the Florida Gators (56-11). They came into the Women’s College World Series as the No. 2-overall seed but were shut out by the Oklahoma Sooners (57-4) 2-0 in Oklahoma City Saturday Night, who eliminated UF for the second-consecutive season.
Both teams were locked in a pitching duel with All-Americans Kelly Barnhill and Paige Parker starting in the circle for UF and OU, respectively.
Yet, the Sooners’ freshman phenom Jocelyn Alo was the difference in the game. The left fielder only went 1 for 1 but can be linked to both Oklahoma runs.
In the opening frame, Alo hacked at the first pitch she saw from Barnhill, the SEC Pitcher of the Year, and sent the ball down the left-field line and well beyond the barricade. The home run was her 30th of the season, tying an NCAA single-season freshman record.
Barnhill’s day ended soon thereafter. The junior only pitched two innings and allowed two hits and one earned run. She was pulled in favor of senior Aleshia Ocasio after walking her first batter of the night to leadoff the third.
Ocasio didn’t pitch to Alo for the remainder of the game, but the freshman still found a way to impact the game through intentional walks.
With runners on first and second and two outs in the bottom of the fifth, the freshman watched four pitches float out of the zone. Her walk loaded the bases for first baseman Shay Knighten.
Ocasio jumped ahead to a 1-2 count then dropped a change up in the dirt for a strikeout. Catcher Janell Wheaton couldn’t handle the pitch and lost it as it skipped up in the air and behind the plate. The runner from third scored, doubling OU’s lead and Knighten reached on the dropped third strike. Ocasio was credited with a wild pitch.
The senior right hander only gave up one run in five innings of work despite entering the circle directly from center field. She registered six strikeouts and only gave up the run in the fifth.
The Gators’ offense couldn’t provide its pitchers with any run support due to the dominance of Parker.
The senior didn’t allow a runner in scoring position for the entire contest. The only two hits she relinquished came on singles in the first and seventh innings and she allowed a total of three baserunners.
Saturday’s game was the last for UF seniors Ocasio, Wheaton, first baseman Kayli Kvistad and third baseman Nicole DeWitt.
You can follow Mark Stine on Twitter @mstinejr or contact him at mstine@alligator.org.
Senior pitcher Aleshia Ocasio threw her final outing for the Gators in their 2-0 lost to Oklahoma at the Women's College World Series. Ocasio and starter Kelly Barnhill combined for only three hits, but their efforts weren't enough to save UF's season.
