In 2018, another team can attempt a three-peat.
After No. 1-seed Florida’s surprise last-second loss to No. 16-seed Georgia in the Super Regionals of the NCAA Tournament, the 2016 Gators failed to become the second team in softball to win three-straight Women’s College World Series.
No one expects a two-time defending champion to get worse.
But this team, in many ways, is better than the 2014 and 2015 versions.
The main reason is Florida’s pitching staff, the best in college softball in 2016.
Sophomore Aleshia Ocasio and junior Delanie Gourley were first and second in the nation in ERA through regional play. Gourley recorded two no-hitters on the season and finished 19-4.
Ocasio’s 22-2 record earned her a spot as a finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, after Lauren Haeger became the first Gator to receive the award last year, an award considered the most prestigious honor in Division I softball.
But while a number of things went right for the Gators, the team wasn’t perfect.
The dominance of the pitching staff put less pressure on the offense. Perhaps there wasn’t enough pressure, though, because by the postseason, the Gators couldn’t win unless they held their opponent nearly scoreless.
In the SEC Tournament, the Gators were eliminated after scoring a total of two runs through two games.
In the Super Regional series against Georgia, the Gators again scored two total runs before losing 3-0 and 3-2.
The team batting average dipped by six points between May 10 and May 27 — the duration of the post season.
The heart of Florida’s lineup, sophomore Kayli Kvistad — who leads the team in home runs (11) and RBIs (60) — recorded just one hit in UF’s last eight games.
But there’s plenty of good to come in Florida’s future.
It returns freshman pitcher Kelly Barnhill, who also threw a no-hitter and finished the regular season 11th nationwide in ERA.
And offensively we’ll see more of freshman hitter Amanda Lorenz, who finished the season with the best batting average of any first-year player in UF history.
In fact, both Gators are two of the three finalists for the National Fastpitch Coaches Association’s Freshman of the Year, along with Oklahoma infielder Shay Knighten.
Florida also bids goodbye to its senior class, which finished the season with the second-winningest record of any four-year class in program history.
But coach Walton said after the last game that the class should not only be remembered for what it left behind, but for what it brought to the school.
Because who knows if Florida’s recruits for the next three years would’ve come to UF without its senior class.
"I think it's really too early to reflect on not only the players that graduated,” Walton said, "but the people that graduated. As I think about how far each one of them has come and their success in being a Florida Gator, I'm just really proud of those girls. I'm going to miss them greatly."
Contact Matt Brannon at mbrannon@alligator.org or follow him on Twitter at @MattB_727.
Aleshia Ocasio pitches in the first game of Florida's doubleheader against Jacksonville on Feb. 17, 2016, at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
