Looking Back at the NCAA Champions: 2015 Florida Gators

Photo courtesy Florida Athletics

With the start of the 2024 season less than a month away, all eyes will soon be on the chase for the title.

Early focus will be centered on the University of Oklahoma as they begin the quest to become the first team in Division I history to win four consecutive national championships.

The Sooners tied UCLA (1988, 1989, 1990) as the only teams to ever win three consecutive titles when they defeated Florida State to claim the 2023 title.

Extra Inning Softball will be reviewing the 41 national champions that have previously hoisted the trophy.

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2015 Florida Gators

The Venue: ASA Hall of Fame Stadium, Oklahoma City, Okla.

The Head Coach: Tim Walton

The Players (Women’s College World Series Roster): Aubree Munro, Jessica Damico, Kathlyn Medina, Kelsey Stewart, Aleshia Ocasio, Taylore Fuller, Becca Shipper, Lauren Haeger, Chelsea Herndon, Francesca Martinez, Kayli Kvistad, Megan Reed, Nicole DeWitt, Kirsti Merritt, Janell Wheaton, Delanie Gourley, Taylor Schwarz, Justine McLean, Briana Little, Bailey Castro

The Regular Season: Entering the 2015 season, Florida was a strong favorite to make a return trip to the Women’s College World Series and defend its title as the Gators returned 14 letterwinners and eight starters from the previous season. Despite the abundance of talent returning to Gainesville, Fla., the Gators had to replace four-time All-American Hannah Rogers in the circle. Florida finished the regular season with a 50-6 record and finished first in the SEC with an 18-5 record. Florida began the year with a school-record 28-game winning streak and won every SEC series with the exception of LSU. Kelsey Stewart turned in an amazing season in leading the Gators offense as she batted .435, had 101 hits and scored 71 runs. Stewart added 19 doubles, 11 triples and two home runs while also stealing 26 bases. Justine McLean hit .360, while Lauren Haeger batted .348 with 19 homers and 71 RBIs. Bailey Castro added 17 home runs, while Taylore Fuller hit 14 homers. Haeger emerged as the Gators ace in the circle and posted a 32-2 record and a 1.58 earned run average. Aleshia Ocasio was 18-3 with a 2.58 ERA and Delanie Gourley posted a 10-2 record with a 2.73 earned run average. Haeger (1st Team), Stewart (1st Team) and Ocasio (3rd Team) were each named All-American.

The Regional: Florida began the postseason by hosting the NCAA Gainesville Regional which featured Florida A&M, Florida Atlantic, Hofstra and the Gators. Florida began regional play against Florida A&M and the Gators started a dominant run through the regional with a 6-0 victory over the Rattlers. Aleshia Ocasio pitched a one-hit shutout to lead the way, while Kelsey Stewart had three hits and an RBI to lead the offense. Nicole DeWitt, Kirsti Merritt, Lauren Haeger and Taylore Fuller added RBIs for the Gators. Haeger turned in the Gators second shutout of the regional in game two against Hofstra as Florida posted a 7-0 victory. She allowed just three hits and struck out eight batters in 7.0 innings. Florida jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI single from Haeger and three-run home run from Fuller. Bailey Castro added a solo homer in the sixth inning to close out the scoring. Florida needed extra innings to close out the regional against Florida Atlantic, but the arm and bat of Haeger lifted the Gators to a 1-0 win. Haeger delivered a double in the top of the eighth inning to score Merritt with the only run of the contest and also went 8.0 innings and allowed two hits and struck out five. With the win, Florida secured a spot in the Super Regional.

The Super Regional: Florida stayed at home for the Super Regional as it hosted SEC foe Kentucky in Gainesville, Fla. The Gators reeled off their fourth consecutive shutout from the pitching staff as Lauren Haeger opened the Super Regional with a two-hit shutout in a 7-0 Gators victory. Haeger went 7.0 innings, struck out six and did not walk a batter in the win. The Gators jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning when Taylore Fuller was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Kayli Kvistad followed with a three-run double. The Gators tacked on three more runs in the sixth inning on a solo home run from Haeger and a two-run shot from Kirsti Merritt. Haeger turned in another outstanding performance in game two as she threw the Gators fifth consecutive shutout in the postseason as Florida defeated the Wildcats 1-0. Haeger allowed just three hits and struck out five. Florida broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning to plate the only run of the game. Fuller singled with one out to start the rally and Kvistad followed with a single putting runners on first and third. Following a strikeout, Justine McLean reached on an infield single and Fuller came in to score giving the Gators a 1-0 lead. Haeger took over from there as she did not allow a hit over the final four innings to clinch a spot in Oklahoma City, Okla., for the Gators.

The Field at the Women’s College World Series: Alabama, Auburn, Florida, LSU, Michigan, Oregon, Tennessee, UCLA

The Gators at the Women’s College World Series: The field for the 2015 WCWS resembled the SEC Tournament as five of the eight teams came from the SEC and the Gators would face three consecutive SEC opponents prior the championship finals. Florida opened the WCWS against Tennessee and despite allowing an opponent to score for the first time in postseason play the Gators rolled to a 7-2 win over Tennessee. Lauren Haeger got the Gators rolling in the first inning with a solo homer and Kayli Kvistad upped the lead to 3-0 in the third inning with a two-run home run. Tennessee answered with a two-run home run in the top of the fourth inning, but Florida would respond. With two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning, Haeger singled to begin the rally and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Bailey Castro was hit by a pitch and Kirsti Merritt reached on an error which allowed Haeger to score to up the lead to 4-2. Merritt stole second and Castro scored on another Tennessee error to push the margin to 5-2. Two more Tennessee errors in the sixth inning fueled another rally and the Gators scored twice to increase the lead to 7-2. Haeger went 7.0 innings and allowed just one hit to pick up the win in the circle. LSU was the opponent for the Gators in their second game of the WCWS and Haeger once again delivered in the circle and at the plate. She tossed a five-hit shutout and also added a two-run home run leading Florida to a 4-0 win over the Tigers. Nicole DeWitt added a solo homer for Florida in the sixth inning. Looking to secure a spot in the championship finals, Florida would face Auburn in its third game of the WCWS. The Gators used a rally, a walk-off hit and a gritty performance by Hager to earn a 3-2 win in nine innings. Florida took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Justine McLean scored on a wild pitch, but Auburn would score twice in the top of the fourth inning to take a 2-1 lead. Florida wasted little time in responding as Taylore Fuller homered in the bottom of the fourth inning to tie the game at 2-2. After reaching first base on a fielder’s choice in the bottom of the ninth inning, McLean moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. With two outs, DeWitt played the role of hero as she singled to score McLean giving the Gators a 3-2 victory. Haeger picked up the win in the circle as she scattered 11 hits and struck out six batters.

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