The Florida softball team is on the cusp of making history.
With its 3-2 win over Michigan on Monday night, the Gators are now one win away from winning back-to-back national titles.
It’s an accomplishment that’s been done by only two teams in the 33-year history of the Women’s College World Series.
UCLA has done it three separate times, with the first repeat coming in 1984-85.
The Bruins would go on to win three-straight national titles from 1988-1990, but they would have to wait 14 years before its third back-to-back.
Sharon Backus won eight national titles as coach of UCLA, leading the Bruins to two of their three back-to-back titles, with Sue Enquist being UCLA’s next coach to win consecutive championships.
Arizona is the other team that’s won two straight national titles in the WCWS, and the Wildcats have also done it three times -- in 1993-94, 1996-97 and 2006-07.
Mike Candrea was the coach for Arizona when they won their titles, and he’s also won a total of eight national titles, joining Backus for the most in NCAA history.
A second national title in as many years would put Florida coach Tim Walton among some of the greatest coaches in softball history.
With a win tonight or Wednesday over Michigan, Walton will not only stand side-by-side with those three, but also alongside a former UF coach who won back-to-back national titles at Florida: Billy Donovan.
Walton was able to seek Donovan's advice when the former Florida men’s basketball coach was in Gainesville. With the team competing in Oklahoma City, where Donovan is now coach of the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder, Walton and the Gators also received a visit from the former UF coach on Wednesday.
They haven’t lost since.
“I did lean on Billy and Urban (Meyer) and some other friends that I've been around who’ve been successful coaches,” Walton said. “The key is, this wasn’t easier, but it was a lot easier to understand mistakes because you understand what the finish product can look like.”
Donovan built a reputation in Gainesville of pushing his players and maximizing his available talent level.
Walton has done the same for Florida’s softball team with a tremendous work ethic behind the scenes that he applies during practices.
But Walton said he had the tendency of being too hard on his players, and he had to pull back on the reins.
“Billy and I are very similar in that we want to work and we want to push them,” Walton said. “He said the biggest mistake that he potentially could’ve made was pushing them too hard (while) thinking everybody was going to give them their best shot.
“And he said he backed off, and from that they really took off once he trusted what they did to prepare. And I trust what these guys do to prepare. I think there’s where the similarities are.”
Walton will have the chance to join elite company as the UF softball team chases history tonight at 8 on ESPN.
Editor's Note: A version of this story that ran in Tuesday's paper incorrectly identified Urban Meyer as having won back-to-back national championships at Florida. Meyer won BCS Championships in 2006 and 2008.
A GatorZone video contributed to this report.
Follow Luis Torres on Twitter @LFTorresIII.
Coach Tim Walton was more than happy to empty his bench in Florida's 19-3 win over Florida A&M on Wednesday. “I think overall the main priority is to get everybody at-bats and to keep our timing right," he said.
