It appears this story deserves only one ending. The plot seems so apropos.
That's what scares me about the chances of the No. 1 UF softball team, which begins play today at the Women's College World Series.
A year ago, the Gators entered Oklahoma City as the top-seeded team, but they were making their first-ever appearance at the final dance. UF dropped its first game against Louisiana-Lafayette, forcing the Gators to fight their way back through the losers' bracket.
They almost succeeded but ended up a game short, falling 1-0 to Texas A&M in nine innings. It was UF's fourth game in two days. Even though this was a 70-5 team, there was a feeling of just being happy to be there. After all, the Gators had been in unchartered territory throughout 2008. So while the season was an overall success, it left only one expectation for 2009: win a national title.
UF lost just one starter from last year's squad &ndash right fielder Mary Ratliff, who coincidentally is also back for this run as the team's student assistant coach.
Impressively, the team never shied away from its goal for the season. From day one, the Gators said only one thing would be an acceptable outcome for 2009, and that would include hoisting a trophy out in the Midwest.
It's hard not to like this team for a multitude of reasons. The storylines are simply endless.
Stacey Nelson, who leads the nation with a 0.41 ERA, is one of the most dominant athletes on UF's campus but refuses to get sucked up into the hype of athletics.
Hours before Sunday's Super Regional against California, where she would single-handedly lead her team to its second straight WCWS appearance, Nelson was beating her teammates in Scrabble, according to coach Tim Walton.
She ranks No. 7 on the NCAA's all-time wins list but yet she keeps track of not a single record she owns.
"You don't replace those kids," Walton said. "This kid is one of the most special kids you'll ever have a chance to coach. There isn't a mean bone in her body but yet she still competes."
And she is just one of a team full of storylines. How about left fielder Francesca Enea who has tore her ACL twice but is still playing through it? What about Kelsey Bruder, the team's only new starter from a year ago, who happens to be hitting .385 and sits second on the team with 15 home runs?
But even though this team is 130-8 during the last two seasons, the 8 losses tell much more about this team.
The combined margin of defeat in those defeats? Nine runs.
Five of them were 1-0 defeats. Not coincidentally, five of them also were in extra innings.
Two of this year's losses came against teams (Washington, Alabama) that will be joining UF in Oklahoma City.
The Huskies defeated the Gators 1-0 in Palm Springs, Calif., on Feb. 20. While that may seem like ages ago, the key fact is that UF couldn't scratch out a run against Washington pitcher Danielle Lawrie.
Lawrie won national player of the year honors Tuesday, edging out Nelson.
If UF has any weakness, it has been timely hitting. Despite the Gators' gaudy record for the second straight year, there is not overwhelming evidence that this fault has been corrected.
If third-seeded Washington and UF match up in the championship series, that may spell doom for the Gators.
With seven seniors graduating, there is no question that this is the window of opportunity for UF. While Walton is building a quality program in Gainesville, players like Stacey Nelson simply don't come around every day. Next year will be comparable to the football team in the post-Tim Tebow era. Likely good but not quite the same.
Now it's time to sit back and watch. The plot storyfinish over the next week. The only question is whether it will have a happy ending or a sad one.
