Hannah Rogers had little success in her first two trips to Oklahoma City.
As a freshman, she started Game 1 against Arizona State in the Women’s College World Series Championship Series where she was peppered for nine hits and 10 runs in just 2.1 innings of work as UF dropped the contest 14-4.
In the second game, Rogers tossed four innings of relief for then-senior Stephanie Brombacher. Rogers had a better outing the second time around — giving up just three hits and two earned runs through four frames of work — but the Gators faced a 7-2 defeat as the Sun Devils claimed their second national championship in four years.
In 2013, she gave up 17 hits and 13 runs in 15.1 innings of work as the Gators exited the tournament in three games. She left the circle after only .1 innings against Tennessee after giving up three runs and allowing a hit and three walks.
Fast forward to 2014 and Rogers had a completely different look to her.
In Florida’s third attempt to win its first national title, the team rode Rogers all the way.
The senior right-hander from Lake Wales, Fla., pitched 44 of UF’s 68 innings in NCAA play, including the final two frames in Florida’s 6-3 win against Alabama in Game 2 of the WCWS Championship Series to give Florida its first NCAA title.
“(It’s) very exciting, just to do it for Coach and all the hard work he’s put in all of the four years I’ve been here,” Rogers said.
The final game against the Crimson Tide was the first that Rogers did not start in the Women’s College World Series.
She didn’t need to. Junior Lauren Haeger and freshman Delanie Gourley combined for five innings of work, giving up just two runs and five hits while striking out three batters.
“I’ve always trusted Coach, and I knew he was making the right decision,” Rogers said. “I knew that Lauren was going to shut ‘em down, and Delanie was going to come in and shut ‘em down, and I was excited to see everyone play well today.”
Rogers was named the 2014 Women’s College World Series Most Outstanding Player after giving up just 17 hits in 28 innings and allowing only four runs while in Oklahoma City.
“It was very exciting to hear my name and how excited my teammates were for me,” she said, “and I couldn’t have done it without the defense behind me, and the offense they did this week, and all the hard work we put in throughout this season.”
Rogers finished her career as Florida’s most prolific pitcher since Stacey Nelson. She became Florida’s first four-time All-American and is the first UF pitcher to throw three no-hitters in her career.
Rogers finished second all-time in program history to Nelson in wins (127), saves (14), starts (141), complete games (108), shutouts (41), innings pitched (988) and strikeouts (833).
Despite all of the accolades, all the success and all the triumphs, Rogers knows that Florida could not have won it all by her work alone.
Kelsey Stewart, Kirsti Merritt, Aubree Munro and Bailey Castro — who combined for a .436 batting average, four of UF’s six home runs and 13 of Florida’s 31 RBIs in the five games — joined Rogers on the 2014 All-Tournament Team, a testament that her team truly did have her back the whole way through.
“We just stayed together,” Rogers said in a postgame interview with ESPN. “We played together this whole way through the season and NCAA Tournament and I’m just so proud of them.”
*A television broadcast contributed to this report.
Follow Jordan McPherson on Twitter @J_McPherson1126
Senior Hannah Rogers, who is second on UF’s all-time win list, pitches against Baylor during the Gators 6-3 victory in the WCWS tournament in Oklahoma City on Sunday.
