Florida Wins WCWS Opener

The Florida Gators have secured their first win in the 2017 Women’s College World Series. The Gators crushed Texas A&M Thursday afternoon winning 8-0. The Gators are well on their way to becoming the third school to hold three NCAA Softball titles in just four years.

In the beginning

Kelly Barnhill lead her team to a sensational win that sent them straight to the winners bracket. She held a 0.36 ERA in this contest. In the first inning, Barnhill kept The Aggies scoreless even after a lead-off walk and an infield single. However head coach Tim Walton knew their was still time for their aggressiveness to come into play.

Offensive Fire

The offense came alive early and that’s what lead Florida to victory. Kayli Kvistad got the bats firing early for Florida in the first. She secured a one out double at the perfect moment, only to be followed by star hitters Aleshia Ocasio and Nicole DeWitt. With bases loaded, Janell Wheaton sent in two runs and put the Gators up 2-0 in the first inning. But it didn’t stop there.

Barnhill still had The Aggies scoreless with her riseball and they slowly lost confidence in this game. The Gators came up to bat in the second inning and really solidified their lead with a hit from DeWitt that sent in two more runs, making the score 4-0.

A hit from Sophia Reynoso sent Wheaton in to put the score 5-0, and Texas A&M knew they were in trouble. Aleshia Ocasio got the last run of the game with her home run. Ocasio brought the score 8-0 and sent the Gators straight to victory.

T4| HOME RUN!!!!@AleshiaOcasio BLASTS a three-run bomb to right.

UF leads A&M, 8-0. pic.twitter.com/6Nj8yZMEXB

— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) June 1, 2017

What’s Next

The winner of UCLA and LSU’s game Thursday afternoon will also advance to the winners bracket and play Florida Friday night at 6 p.m. Texas A&M will face the loser of that game Saturday at 11 a.m. All the games can be watched on ESPN.

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