UF’s Aleshia Ocasio stood in the circle as her teammates rushed to meet her.
Moments later, the senior pitcher and the rest of the Florida Gators team hoisted the SEC Tournament championship trophy for the fourth time in program history.
“Coach Walton gave me the opportunity and my teammates gave me the opportunity to execute on different levels,” Ocasio said in a television interview. “I knew my teammates had my back on the mound.”
Ocasio threw a complete game, allowing only two hits as No. 4 Florida took down No. 12 South Carolina 3-1 Saturday night to claim the conference regular-season and tournament titles.
However, she started disappointingly.
The St. Cloud, Florida, native allowed a leadoff double through the gap in right-center field to USC’s Kenzi Maguire. After she advanced to third on a ground out, Maguire scored on a Cayla Drotar sacrifice fly and gave the Gamecocks an early 1-0 lead.
But Ocasio locked in for the remainder of the contest and didn’t give South Carolina another scoring opportunity. She pitched 1-2-3 innings in the final six frames. The only other USC hit, a Mackenzie Boesel base knock in the top of the fourth, was negated after the UF defense followed it with a double play on a grounder to third baseman Nicole DeWitt.
The senior pitcher picked up her 20th victory of the season on an efficient 70 tosses and three strikeouts.
She also spurred the Gators’ offense in the bottom of the third.
Ocasio dropped a 3-2 offering from the Gamecocks’ Kelsey Oh into left field for a leadoff single. She scampered second when shortstop Sophia Reynoso laid down a sacrifice bunt and was joined on the base paths when center fielder Alex Voss drew a walk.
Two batters later, Ocasio’s foot tapped home plate. Left fielder Amanda Lorenz reached for a pitch low in the zone and smacked it in the air to center field. The ball struck the very top of the wall and bounced over the barrier for a three-run homer.
“I really didn’t think it was going to clear,” Lorenz said in a television interview. “I was just happy to get a big enough lead for (Ocasio) on the mound so she could take a deep breath.”
The bomb would be all Florida needed to slide past South Carolina. It was also Lorenz’s 10th of the season and helped the junior earn tournament MVP honors.
With the conference tournament at its end, the Gators shift their focus from SEC play to claiming NCAA hardware. They’ll figure out who they face in regional play during Sunday’s selection show and will retake the field on Friday.
“This is when the fun time really starts,” Lorenz said. “We were just using this (tournament) to get good at bats, to have fun and to get in the groove.”
You can follow Mark Stine on Twitter @mstinejr or contact him at mstine@alligator.org.
Senior Aleshia Ocasio led the Gators to victory in the SEC Tournament final with a complete-game effort against No. 12 South Carolina.
