It was the same Super Regional in the same Gainesville, Fla., at the same Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium, on the same May 24th and it was the same result.

On Sunday, for the second straight year, the top-ranked Florida softball team ended Cal's season.

For the Bears, the 2-0 and 2-1 losses brought back that same pain of not making it to the Women's College World Series for another year.

"It really hurts," senior Gina Leomiti said. "It is going to bother me for a long time that I never made it to the World Series. And to lose to them again is just bad."

The similarities don't end there.

The Gators' Stacey Nelson, who is one of three finalists for the national Player of the Year award, was on the mound for the second straight year. Nelson made her case for the honor, posting 19 strikeouts to match her total from 2008's Super Regional.

"I thought overall Stacey Nelson had the best stuff I've ever seen her have," Florida coach Tim Walton said. "(She is) the sixth-best pitcher ever in NCAA history."

The Gators (60-3) needed her best stuff against Cal, which out-hit Florida 8-7 in the 2-0 and 2-1 losses.

"I think that we played them better this year as opposed to last," Bears coach Diane Ninemire said. "We just couldn't manage to get that timely hit when we had the runners in scoring position."

Cal (38-20) lost its most versatile offensive weapon early, when Jamia Reid cramped up coming around first base after flying out to center and had to be pulled in the bottom half of the first inning.

Things didn't get much better on defense, when pitcher Marissa Drewrey did not return in the fifth after getting what Ninemire called "a touch of the flu."

Drewrey had just hit her stride after giving up a lead-off home run to Aja Paculba in the first and a run scoring wild pitch in the third.

But Valerie Arioto came on strong in relief and locked the Gators at two. But even two was too many for Cal's offense, which was stifled by Nelson in the 2-0 defeat.

Game two had a different beginning with a similar ending, as the Bears jumped on the board first in the bottom of the first with a run from the speedy Shannon Thomas.

Cal held the lead until the third, when Arioto walked and hit the first two batters she faced. A sacrifice bunt moved the runners into scoring position, and it was Paculba again who came through with a base hit into left to take the 2-1 lead.

The second run could have possibly been prevented, but Taylor Kelly did not immediately go home on the relay, and the runner rounding third was able to score.

The Bears' last chance was in the sixth with runners on first and second and no outs. But Sanoe Kekahuna grounded back to Nelson, who tossed it over to third for the force and Corrie Brooks sent it back to first in time for the double play.

So for the second straight year, the Bears will head home knowing that they were a few swings away from beating the best team in the nation.

"We didn't get the big hit when we needed it with runners on," Arioto said. "We were only down by a couple of runs for the whole game and a big hit could have really changed the game."

Tags: CAL SOFTBALL, DIANE NINEMIRE