Failing to muscle up enough for a championship last season, Florida now looks to finesse its way to the top.
Although the Gators led the nation in runs (508) and home runs (124) last year, their offense ran dry when it counted most against Arizona State in the Championship Series of the Women’s College World Series. Florida’s six total runs in two games in the finals were just more than one run below its average during the rest of the season (7.18).
Now, coach Tim Walton has changed their offensive philosophy to try to keep the scoring consistent from beginning to end.
The Gators have focused on building a faster team, with an emphasis on reaching base and good baserunning to control the game. This change comes after losing four seniors on offense that combined for 51 percent of the team’s home runs.
“The biggest thing, the quickest thing to see is . . . the offensive magnitude of what we lost, [and] being able to pick that up in numbers, in bunches, as opposed to picking it up by one or two individuals,” Walton said.
A small-ball approach to the game does not mean a complete abandonment on hitting for power; instead, it’s a shift from relying on an entire lineup full of strength to relying on players getting on base with select individuals knocking them in with extra-base hits.
“The number of home runs we hit last year, we are not going to hit this year,” Walton said. “But I think there are plenty of powerful hitters in this lineup that can do a lot of great things.”
Walton expects those great things again from both senior Michelle Moultrie, who led the team in steals (31) and on-base percentage (.519), and sophomore Cheyenne Coyle, who finished second in both categories among returning players.
Along with the experienced players, Coyle said the seven incoming freshmen will also help UF play better small ball.
“We still have our powers, but, having the speed, we can do a lot more things, like on the bases,” Coyle said of this year’s lineup.
“[We can] score a lot of runs, outscoring our opponents more, not just with power but with base hits, stealing bases and delayed steals. It’s definitely going to happen this year.”
Still, Florida returns junior Brittany Schutte, UF’s single-season home run record holder (22). If she remains a top-tier slugger, it will allow the rest of the lineup to focus on getting on base and working the basepaths.
Both players and Walton expressed that they already see a changed team, although the season has not even started yet. Sophomore Kasey Fagan compared the two squads during the preseason media day.
“I feel like this team is more versatile,” Fagan said. “We’re faster; we can do more things at the plate. We aren’t just a one-dimensional team. People are going to be surprised, that’s all I can say.”
Florida sophomore shortshop Cheyenne Coyle is one of the players the Gators will be relying on to architect a small-ball feel to this year’s offense. Coyle finished second among returning players in OBP and stolen bases last year.
