By Bob Redman
They overcame a bunch to get where they were at in late May early June. But fate would end things for the senior of the Florida softball squad on Sunday when the Gators lost 8-0 to a hot hitting UCLA team. This group of seniors has won a lot of games in their careers, but what they will remember most is being Florida Gators.
Florida would finish 49-19 in a season that saw them down a little more than most of recent seasons, but resilience within the squad carried them to the Women’s College World Series, where every lady softball player in the country wants to be at the end of the season. After missing last year and falling to Georgia in the Super Regional and all of spring sports being put on hold in 2020, this season was something to remember for this squad that faced injuries and questions throughout the year.
A trio of seniors appeared before the media after the loss to UCLA Sunday in pitcher Natalie Lugo, second baseman Hannah Adams, and outfielder Cheyenne Lindsey. The crew has supplied so many huge memories for Florida that they can’t be counted. In 55 starts during her career Lugo finished with a 46-13 record and added 13 saves. Adams was a consistent highlight reel at second based and was on the SEC All-Defensive Team in 2022, 2021, and 2018. She was named First Team All-SEC in 2021. Adams was also named to the 2018 SEC All-Freshman Team. She won the inaugural Rawlings Golden Glove Award for her position this year and that was after missing 14 games with an injury. The speedy Lindsey has made her fair share of highlight plays as well both in the field and at the plate and was named Second Team All-SEC this past season.
This last trip to Oklahoma City will be something the seniors remember, but the memories along the way for the years that these ladies put into the sport and in school are the things that will stick in their minds. And it’s all about being a Florida Gator. Lugo was the first to be asked about what her career meant to her.
“Sorry,” she said, needing a moment to choke away tears knowing that it was all over. “I don’t really have enough words to explain my time at UF. There have been a lot of ups and a lot of downs, but without Coach (Tim Walton), I wouldn’t have grown into the woman that I am right now. He has just taught me more than I ever thought I could learn and growing up into someone I’m really proud of being right now.
“I don’t know. I don’t really have any words. It really is truly great to be a Florida Gator.”
Lindsey was quick to add her response to the question.
“Waking up every morning knowing that I’m a Florida Gator is like one of the biggest honors to have,” Lindsey said. “I’m just so proud to be a Gator, and I know it didn’t end how we want it to, but being on this stage, being able to be a role model for little girls that are playing in travel ball tournaments looking up to us is just an inspiration.”
The trio was grateful for Walton who has been a winner since arriving at Florida 17 years ago and taken the program to heights that most programs would be envious of. His squads have won five of the last seven SEC regular season titles and nine total in his 17 years. Florida also was back-to-back national champions in 2014 and 2015. But his mentorship seems to have meant to a lot to these young ladies and they think of the program and the school when they think of Walton.
“I’m just so proud to be a Gator, and I’m really, really proud of our team this year,” Adams said. “We made a goal at the beginning of the year to make it back to the World Series, and we worked really hard to do that even at times when our season wasn’t looking so great, but we’ll forget about that because we’re at the World Series right now.
“I’m proud of every single person on this team. They’re my best friends. Coach Walton has been there since my freshman year. He’s turned me into the person and player I am today. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without him.
“I’m really grateful I got a fifth year here too. I’ve taken in every single moment of this last year. I’m just really glad I got another year with my teammates, and the freshmen that came in, I was lucky to play with them too.
“I’m really grateful for the senior class. Coming up together, we’ve all grown so much. I’ve seen so much growth in each and every one of them. I’m just really proud of them not only as players but as people too.
“This program really makes you a better person off the field too. It’s not just about softball.”
Walton was ready to fire back at the ladies when he got a chance to respond about these seniors that he won’t get to coach again.
“The next kid that wears No. 1 is going to have to be a special, special kid,” he said about Adams. “That’s one of the best college softball players that I’ve been around. Just the personality and to do what she does with the leather, it’s unbelievable. To be an All-American, to be a graduate of Florida and just be so humble.
“Listening to her talk, when she was doing her interviews before, it was 500 miles an hour, heart’s racing, and she’s learned how to answer questions well and just do a good job.
“But the teammate piece is the hardest part to teach, and she’s such a great teammate. She just really embraces people in the dugout. Here she is, she goes 4 for 4 with two homers and makes two really great plays. She’s more excited for someone else when they do something well.”
There was a reason that Lugo was on the podium after this last game even though it was a tough end of the game for her Sunday. Lugo is a fighter and Walton appreciates that out of her.
“Natalie, just to be able to do what she’s been able to do,” Walton said. “Would we have liked a lot more wins and All-Americans in front of her name? Of course. But she really did a good job. She talked about the ups and downs. There were a lot more ups than downs, and I think the expectations were more of the downs than most people realized.”
Though Lindsey was a Second Team All-SEC honoree, Walton had to comment on a moment that really showed the character of the young lady.
“I’m really proud of Cheyenne, just a good teammate, super, super consistent,” Walton said. “She just had a really solid year for us.”
“Here’s a simple moment. Cheyenne Lindsey, how many people take a player out of the game in the middle of the game? Not very many, but I’m going out there to bring Mia Buffano in. Why? Mia Buffano has the best throwing arm we have on the team, so put her in right field. Cheyenne jogs off the field and gives me a hug. She knew. She understood exactly what we were doing in that moment.
“That to me makes me the most proud is that our players just understand. The get it factor is really high.”
“Everything I told them along the way, we’ve got to do it this way to get to the World Series, we’ve got to do it this way to get to the World Series, and they did it, and we got to the World Series. It didn’t end the way we want, but there’s probably 292 teams that would love to end their season at the College World Series, and we’re one of them.”
Just another memory and what it’s about being a Florida Gator.