:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/49699839/GettyImages-165698242.0.jpg)
The opening salvo of the 2016 Super Regionals was fired by two of the SEC's--and the NCAA's--best softball teams: the Florida Gators and Georgia Bulldogs.
This was the only game featuring SEC teams that took place on the first day of the NCAA Softball Super Regionals. While this is certainly a sad occurrence, that singular game gave everyone a double dose of SEC Softball, so it all evened out, it seems.
Game 1: Georgia 3, Florida 0
As Chris Novak pointed out yesterday, these two terrific teams never met in the regular season, giving us no real idea of what to expect besides a good game between two of the sport's best teams, right?
Right.
Through the first three innings, this game featured some marvelous pitching from both sides, with Florida's Delanie Gourley allowing only one hit, while the Bulldogs' Chelsea Wilkinson seemingly stifled Florida's potent offense. In those opening innings, it seemed as if the occasional walk was the best hope for getting on base.
That paradigm shifted in the fourth inning. Alyssa DiCarlo, with one out already in the books, lined a single into right field, which was quickly followed up by Georgia's slugger, Tina Iosefa, earning a walk. With two outs already recorded, the scoring onus was squarely rested on Maeve McGuire's shoulders. She delivered. A ground out to second ended the top half of the fourth, but the damage had already been done--Georgia had a 1-0 lead.
The rest of the fourth inning and the fifth inning featured more of the same offensive futility that we witnessed previous to that seminal fourth inning: singles that were bookended by strikeouts, ground outs, and fly outs.
The beginning of the sixth inning was, for Georgia, basically a carbon copy of that fourth inning that put the Bulldogs ahead by a run. DiCarlo had a leadoff single, followed by an Iosefa walk. Maeve McGuire once again delivered with runners in scoring position. That was followed by a Katie Browne RBI ground out, which brought the Georgia lead to 3 runs. Samantha LaZear grounded out to end the top of the sixth, but enough damage had already been done.
Florida could not muster up the runs necessary to win, giving Georgia a 1-0 lead in the Gainesville Super Regionals. Now, this may have been the only Super Regionals matchup today that featured SEC teams, but it did not fail to disappoint. While Florida may have lost this game, tonight's matchup proved that, since these teams never met in the regular season, we--the fans--are the true losers for not having been able to see these two great teams go at it multiple times. This was a riveting game from start to finish, and the intensity is sure to continue throughout the series.
As it stands, the pressure is on for Florida. The two-time defending national champions are one game away from being eliminated from this year's tournament before even making it to Oklahoma City. They'll need a win tomorrow to keep their three-peat hopes alive.