When the UF softball team beat California to advance to the Women's College World Series last season, the players didn't properly celebrate the occasion on the field. Coach Tim Walton said his team didn't know what to do after the 4-2 victory.
After two walk-off home runs at home in the last week, the Gators have found their preferred method of on-field celebration: the dogpile.
The simple act of team camaraderie, first displayed Saturday after Kelsey Bruder's walk-off grand slam against Mississippi State, pleased Walton more than any of his team's 40 wins this year.
"As many games as I've coached here, Saturday was the first time we've ever executed a dogpile and executed what looked and appeared to be a lot of fun," Walton said. "Kelsey hitting that grand slam on Saturday kind of gave us a shot in the arm and fired everybody up. I was more excited about the dogpile than I was about any of the wins we've had this year."
The No. 1 Gators (40-3, 18-1 Southeastern Conference) will look to take that energy to Lexington, Ky., where they will take on the Wildcats (24-13, 7-8 SEC) in a three-game series, starting with a doubleheader today at 4 p.m.
UF capped off its 4-3 walk-off win against FSU on Wednesday with another dogpile at home plate, this time on top of left fielder Francesca Enea, whose solo shot to left field completed the team's comeback.
Although Enea admitted how unusual it was to dogpile after midseason games, she still wanted the team to meet her at home plate.
"It's so funny because last season, we won to go to the World Series, and we jumped up and down like little 12-year-old girls and didn't even dogpile," Enea said. "We always make fun of that. Then when Kelsey hit hers and we dogpiled, we were like, 'We dogpiled against Mississippi State but not to go to the World Series.'"
The Wildcats enter Friday's doubleheader fresh off a come-from-behind victory of their own. Kentucky used back-to-back home runs in the seventh inning to top No. 12 Tennessee 6-5 on Wednesday.
Kentucky also brings quality pitching into the conference series. Freshman Chanda Bell has struck out 193 batters in 149 innings this season, comparable to pitcher Stacey Nelson's 205 strikeouts in her 163 2/3 innings of work. Bell also threw the first no-hitter in school history earlier this year against Western Kentucky.
If the Gators pull off another dramatic victory on the road this weekend, another dogpile wouldn't be much of a surprise considering the emotion this team has displayed in the last week.
"It's awesome. I don't even know if they're doing it on purpose. You can't fake passion," Walton said.
WALESZONIA'S RECOVERY 'ON SCHEDULE': Center fielder Kim Waleszonia, who has missed the last 24 games with a tibial plateau fracture in her left leg, was wearing her usual No. 5 jersey for Wednesday night's game against FSU. Walton said her recovery is "right on schedule," and he hopes to have her back for the postseason.
"She's exactly where she needs to be," Walton said. "The goal all along was postseason. We're not going to push much earlier than at least senior weekend (May 2-3)."
