OKLAHOMA CITY — Ali Gardiner was in a prolonged slump and her team was in a tough spot.
In one swing, her worries were gone.
Gardiner hit the first walk-off grand slam in Women's College World Series history, lifting top-seeded Florida into the championship round with a 6-5 victory against Alabama on Sunday night.
It was enough to make her father cry.
"His dream was always to see me in a Gator uniform, and I was here and I was able to push our team to where we wanted to go," Gardiner said, tearing up herself. "It means a lot. To see my dad, who doesn't show much emotion — and the last few days we haven't talked much — it meant a lot to me."
Gardiner sent a 2-1 pitch from Alabama ace Kelsi Dunne (28-5) the opposite way, clearing the left-field fence as Whitney Larsen fell over the top as she tried to make a game-saving catch.
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It was her first hit in 16 at-bats.
The Gators (63-3) won for the 29th straight time and will face third-seeded Washington in the best-of-three championship series beginning tonight. The Huskies beat Georgia 6-3 Sunday night to play for the championship for the first time since 1999.
Florida is in the World Series for only the second time, and got eliminated on the doorstep to the championship series a year ago as the No. 1 seed.
"I'm really glad that our team is where we wanted to be from day one," Gardiner said.
The senior first baseman from Waccabuc, N.Y., didn't think she got enough of Dunne's screwball, but Gators coach Tim Walton said he knew right away after watching several other wind-aided fly balls get pushed to the track in left field.
Gardiner's teammates piled on top of her at home plate, leading to a half-dozen lost earrings in the process.
Alabama (54-11) had rallied for four runs with two outs in the fourth inning to chase Stacey Nelson, who leads the nation with an 0.39 ERA. Nelson had allowed only three hits in back-to-back shutouts to start the World Series, but allowed an unearned run in the third before Kelsey Bruder's two-run home run put the Gators back ahead.
Stephanie Brombacher (22-0) threw two innings of scoreless relief to keep Florida within striking distance.
"I'm obviously upset, but we couldn't have done more," said Lauren Parker, who had an RBI single in the four-run fourth. "We came out and we fought till the end. We fought all season long. We faced adversity all season long."
Washington's Danielle Lawrie, who walked in the deciding run in Georgia's 9-8 victory earlier in the day, made the most of her first chance at redemption. Washington loaded the bases with nobody out in the first inning against Erin Arevalo (1-1), and Lawrie hit an opposite-field drive over the fence in right field.
Brianna Hesson, who had drawn the bases-loaded walk in the first game, delivered a two-run single in the third to get Georgia within 5-3 but the Bulldogs couldn't come up with their third comeback win of the World Series.
