25 Cheers for 25 Years: How Florida won its First Softball National Championship

Florida celebrates it’s first ever NCAA national championship, June 4, 2014. Gainesville, FL. Rich DeCray/HeartlandSports

As the final out dropped into Hannah Rogers’ glove in Oklahoma City, the Florida Gators sprinted toward the circle. For the first time in program history, they were national champions.

“This is kind of a surreal moment for me right now,” head coach Tim Walton said, sitting beside his seniors, visibly emotional after nearly ten years of building Florida softball into a national powerhouse.

The road to the championship had been full close calls. Florida came painfully close in 2009 and again in 2011, but always came up short. This time, though, things felt different from the start. For the first time under Walton, the team openly set a goal to win the national title.

Florida battled through one of the hardest schedules in the country and finished with a 55–12 record. They didn’t win the SEC Tournament, but they earned a top NCAA seed. It was a team of stars — Rogers in the circle, Kelsey Stewart getting on base, and Kirsti Merritt delivering clutch hits — but the true strength was depth.

“We don’t have a superstar,” Walton said. “We have players who do their job.”

That mindset powered Florida through the Gainesville Regional and Super Regional without dropping a game. Freshman Delanie Gourley stepped up in key relief spots, and the offense showed flashes of firepower. They were clicking at the right time and carried serious momentum into the Women’s College World Series.

Once in OKC, the Gators caught fire. They run-ruled Baylor 11-0 in five innings in the opener. Then came No. 1 Oregon, and Rogers threw a gem — a three-hit shutout in a 4-0 win. Her postseason ERA was microscopic, and she had a 41-inning scoreless streak going.

“Hannah was just on fire,” Walton said.

Another win over Baylor sent the Gators to the finals, and Rogers was named WCWS Most Outstanding Player before the title series even began.

In the championship round, Florida squared off with SEC rival Alabama. Game 1: Junior Lauren Haeger, a two-way player more known for her bat, got the surprise start and carried a perfect game into the fifth. Merritt launched a three-run homer, and Rogers came in to close out a 5-0 win.

Game 2 brought drama. Alabama scored early, and Walton made the bold call to hold Rogers for later. Haeger and Gourley held things down, while the Gators responded quickly. Stephanie Tofft homered to tie it. Stewart gave Florida the lead with an RBI single. Then Merritt struck again — another three-run blast to blow it open.

Rogers came in for the final two innings to seal it. In the seventh, Merritt made a highlight-reel diving catch. Moments later, Rogers induced a fly ball, and history was made. Florida won 6-3, sweeping the series and claiming the national crown.

“I just wanted to do it for Coach and the hard work he’s put in,” Rogers said, reflecting on the journey through tears of joy.

For Walton, who took over the program in 2006, it was the culmination of years of effort.

“They bought in and carried us across the finish line,” he said.

The win made Florida just the third SEC program to win a national title in softball. It also capped an incredible rise from a program that didn’t exist before 1997.

More than anything, the 2014 Gators proved the power of belief and persistence. They came back stronger after every heartbreak, and when the door finally opened, they kicked it down.

With players like Stewart, Merritt and Haeger returning, this wasn’t just a one-time moment — it was the start of something bigger. But for those seniors, for Hannah Rogers, and for every Gator who came before them, the first one will always mean the most.

Gator softball was no longer chasing history. They were a part of it.