June 5, 2011: Gators dominate on the diamonds

Something special happened for Gator Nation on Sunday. In a 10-hour period from approximately noon until 10 p.m., Florida Gators fans got the opportunity to watch their teams dominate in a fashion not normally seen at this stage of collegiate athletics.

Over the course of three games – two on the softball diamond and one on a baseball field – Florida defeated two of their rivals thrice, outscoring them, out-hustling them and outclassing them in a way possibly never seen before.

No. 4 Gators softball, which went head-to-head with the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide in a pair of win-or-go-home games in the 2011 Women’s College World Series, set numerous event records in a 16-2 dismantling early in the afternoon and added a few more in their 9-2 victory later that evening.

In between, No. 2 Florida baseball took on the Miami Hurricanes in the finals of the Gainesville Regional portion of the 2011 NCAA Tournament. The Gators routed the Canes 11-4 and moved on to host the Super Regionals.

Let’s take a look at what Florida accomplished on Sunday:

– The Gators outscored their opponents by a total margin of 36-8.
– A total of eight home runs were hit with sophomore right fielder Brittany Schutte connecting in both softball games.
– The teams combined for 34 RBI on 32 hits, record 15 walks and stole four bases.
– Pitchers vs. Florida had a combined 12.05 ERA. Alabama’s posted a 14.58 ERA, while Miami’s throwers allowed seven runs in their contest. Crimson Tide ace Kelsi Dunne registered a 36.67 ERA against the Gators, allowing 11 earned runs in 2.1 innings.
– Florida’s starting pitchers combined to allow a total of five earned runs while notching 18 strikeouts. They registered a 2.04 ERA as a group.
– Florida baseball swept their regional, going 3-0.
– Gators softball won their second and third elimination games of the event after defeating No. 7 California one day earlier.

Softball’s records:

– The 11 runs scored in the first inning of their opening game on Sunday were the most in any inning in WCWS history. The previous mark (nine, 2010) was held by UCLA in a victory against UF just one year ago.
– The Gators scored more runs on the Crimson Tide in one inning than they had given up in a single game all season. Their 16 total runs scored (through just three innings) are the most allowed in a single game by UA softball in school history.
– Florida tied the WCWS team record for homers in a game (four).
– The Gators’ 15 RBI are a WCWS single-game record.
– The 41 total runs scored by Florida so far in the WCWS are as many as every other team in the field combined. The total is currently the second-most in WCWS history.
– The Gators advanced to the WCWS Championship Series for the second time in the last three years and will once again face a Pac-10 opponent.
– Senior left fielder Kelsey Bruder set WCWS event record for most runs scored (nine).
– Schutte set UF’s single-season home run record with her 21st & 22nd bombs.