USF Athletics

When the game was finally done, when the USF Bulls had defeated Hofstra 2-1 to win the NCAA Softball Super Regionals on May 26, 2012 and earn the program's first trip to the Women's College World Series, right fielder Gina Kafalas remembers watching an incredible scene.

"Fans all flooded the field and outfield with joy as we all embraced our friends, families, coaches and fans,'' Kafalas said. "I remember (USF president) Judy Genshaft giving me a huge hug. She was so excited. I still have the picture of her hugging me in the outfield.''

USF coach Ken Eriksen said his mind was racing.

"When the last out was made to get to the WCWS, I immediately knew we had to prepare right away,'' Eriksen said. "People were running around crazy. Then I got the water-cooler dump, which shocked me into knowing what this was. This was a big deal.''

Ten years later, it's still a big deal.

When the Bulls meet the Wichita State Shockers in this weekend's American Athletic Conference series, USF's 2012 softball team will gather for a 10-year reunion and special recognition during Saturday's game.

The former Bulls have scattered to different locations and various walks of life. They are wives and mothers. They are school teachers and guidance counselors. They work in finance, accounting, sales and insurance. Some still play the game or give softball lessons to young players.

But they will always be bound by unshakable commonalities. They learned the lessons that couldn't be taught in a classroom.

"Everybody contributed and worked together for the big goal,'' pitcher Sara Nevins said. "We all got along amazing, both on and off the field.''

"I realized then and remember every day the importance of mental toughness,'' Kafalas said. "It's an important skill for anyone to be successful doing anything.''

"Even if you are an underdog, if you outwork your opponent and outwork yourself every day, you might just surprise some people,'' first baseman Stephanie Medina said.

The 2012 Bulls revolved around dominant pitching — Nevins, a left-hander, was 31-8 with a 1.44 ERA and 336 strikeouts in 256 innings — and air-tight defense. Shortstop Kourtney Salvarola (.324) was the team's leading hitter, while Medina (seven home runs), Janine Richardson (seven), Kenshyra Jackson (five) provided some power.

But the key might have been the presence of third baseman Jessica Mouse, a Chamberlain High School product who played three seasons at LSU, then transferred home for her final year with the Bulls. Whether it was timely hitting, spectacular defense or fiery leadership that inspired her teammates, Mouse always had the right ingredient. In fact, Eriksen kept reminding his players to "Feed the Mouse.''

"This was a group of people who were intentionally brought together to WIN championships,'' Eriksen said. "That team had immense competitiveness. They were relentless in their approach to practice. They paid attention to the details and kept it simple.

"Just win. Just win every moment. That focus was months long. That was the difference. They weren't going to be denied.''

For Eriksen, the top moment wasn't necessarily winning the Gainesville Regional, beating the top-seeded Florida Gators 1-0 and escaping from a bases-loaded, none-out jam in the sixth inning. It wasn't necessarily the Super Regionals and performing before a jam-packed home crowd, outlasting Hofstra in a best-of-three series after dropping the first game.

It wasn't even the trip to Oklahoma City and the WCWS, where USF went two-and-out against Oklahoma (5-1) and LSU (1-0) while enjoying the hype and exposure from college softball's showcase event.

Eriksen, ever the coach, mostly remembers an otherwise obscure result from March, long before his team became the talk of USF's campus, an extra-inning victory against UMass.

"We were getting no-hit and we're losing 1-0 in the bottom of the seventh,'' Eriksen said, summoning the details as if they had happened yesterday. "They had a pitcher, Sara Plourde, who was a National Team player from Canada. She was just sticking it to us.

"Dee Devine got up with two outs and two strikes and battles a base hit. Steals second. Steals third on a ball in the dirt. I tell her to watch the wild pitch. Wouldn't you know it? Plourde throws it over the catcher's head.

"Our pitchers shut them down in the eighth and Kenshyra Jackson hits the first pitch she sees on top of the batting cage (for a walk-off homer). That game proved to our team that, no matter what, we get 21 outs also. That game helped us come back to beat Hofstra after losing the first game.''

The Super Regional series was a tense thriller. Every game was 2-1. Hofstra won the opener in 11 innings. USF evened the series with a nine-inning affair. The Bulls prevailed in the finale, getting the tiebreaker on Medina's fifth-inning sacrifice fly and ending it when Mouse grabbed a sharp grounder from Hofstra star Oliva Galati, then threw to Medina for the WCWS-clinching out at first base.

The Bulls were going to the Big Dance.

But, in keeping with team's dedication to fun, it was time for another little dance. Earlier in the season, USF players had crashed a wedding at Clearwater Beach following a team dinner. The Bulls quickly became the life of that party. They even did a line dance for the bridge and groom.

That dance routine was re-enacted for a jubilant crowd at the USF Softball Stadium.

"The lasting moment was when our entire team hit the field for their line dance they had created earlier in the year,'' Eriksen said. "EVERY player was so in unison with the dance. I was thoroughly impressed with their joy.''

"The Hofstra series explains what our team was like,'' former outfielder Ashli Goff Mendez said. "We'd always fine a way to win, while having fun. Our dance before and after that game explains us perfectly.''

There was the calm and cool Nevins escaping from a sixth-inning jam at the Gainesville Regional. There was "an electric stadium,'' according to Medina, throughout the riveting Hofstra Super Regional series.

There was the WCWS itself and the trip to Oklahoma City. Although it didn't work out as planned — the Bulls were dispatched after two games — it was a unforgettable sequence.

"It just made me personally feel very accomplished that we had made it there,'' Kafalas said. "There were little girls running up to you, asking for autographs. There were the big-name vendors selling the latest softball equipment. There were the ESPN cameras and staff. The bleacher seats in the outfield were filled with spectators

"We felt special.''

Ten years have passed. The former Bulls can have more of their trademark fun this weekend, secure in the knowledge that their squad provided a program cornerstone.

"That team was relentless and loved each other like tight sisters,'' Eriksen said. "Getting to the WCWS was a testament to every woman who ever put on the uniform here. There was a pride factor when we brought USF its first opportunity to play for a national championship in a major team sport.''

Ten years later, the former players can still hear the cheers.

Ten years later, it's still a big deal.