Florida’s one-run loss to Auburn on Friday put a swift end to its hopes of winning the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
But for the Gators, it was familiar territory.
In 2014 and 2015, losing in the SEC Tournament didn’t stop No. 1 Florida from winning national championships.
So, in a way, after coming away empty for the third year in a row, everything is going according to plan.
Now, Florida (53-5) turns its attention to a tournament that it has dominated over the last two years: the NCAAs.
NCAA Regionals begin Friday in Gainesville. Of the 64 teams competing to dethrone UF, three of them — Alabama State, FAU and UCF — will come to Katie Seashole Pressly for the double-elimination contest this weekend, from which one will win and continue on to the Super Regional round of 16.
No. 1-seeded Florida’s first game comes against the Alabama State Hornets (28-25) on Friday at 2:30 p.m. following the UCF-FAU noon matchup.
Tim Walton is 27-6 in regional games since becoming Florida’s head coach. But never before in Florida softball history has UF gone up against Alabama State.
The Hornets get most of their offensive firepower from Charlene Castro and Kendall Core, who have combined for 18 home runs and 88 RBIs. Both are hitting above .354.
Then again, the Hornets haven’t competed against SEC pitching all season.
Florida sophomore Aleshia Ocasio leads the nation — as she has for much of the year — with a 0.70 ERA. Right behind her, teammate Delanie Gourley is second in the country at 0.73, with Kelly Barnhill coming in at No. 11 with a 1.37.
Meanwhile, Alabama State’s leading pitcher, Maddie Phelps, doesn’t crack the top 150 with her 3.11 ERA.
After losing to Auburn, coach Walton said UF wasn’t swinging the bat with authority. Florida went just 9-for-47 in the tournament, a .191 batting average that won’t cut it on the national scale. Florida will have to increase its offensive output if it wants to avoid another early exit.
The team’s best hitter at the moment is one of its most inexperienced in the postseason: freshman Amanda Lorenz.
Lorenz leads the team in hits (66), walks (46) and is second in runs scored (53). If the season ended today, Lorenz would have the highest freshman batting average in program history at .400.
But Florida has no intention of the season ending before the Women’s College World Series in June.
Contact Matt Brannon at mbrannon@alligator.org or follow him on Twitter at @MattB_727.
Aleshia Ocasio (middle) high fives a teammate during Florida's doubleheader sweep of Jacksonville on Feb. 17, 2016, at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
