After having the worst performance of her pitching career in their first meeting, Gators ace Stephanie Brombacher had without question her best Thursday night, throwing a perfect game in a victory over USF.
The junior needed only 56 pitches to retire all 15 USF batters in order as No. 6 Florida (21-3, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) earned a 10-0 win against the Bulls in a mercy-rule-shortened five-inning game.
“I just went out there and I made my pitches, and I hit good spots and obviously didn’t make too many mistakes,” Brombacher said.
Brombacher’s perfect game was the fourth in UF history and the first since Jenny Gladding — now a UF assistant coach — threw one on Feb. 7, 2004.
“It was really exciting,” senior Francesca Enea said. “I’m so happy for Steph. She deserves it.”
While Brombacher struck out batters, she was also aided by a pair of notable defensive efforts.
In only her second start in left field this season, sophomore Michelle Moultrie made a running catch on a ball hit softly down the line for the first out of the second inning, and then Brombacher herself made an instinctive snag of a ground ball hit sharply up the middle to lead off the fifth, keeping the perfect game intact.
“I was just thankful I caught it. We got new gloves this year, and mine really hasn’t broken in very nicely, and this is the first game I used my old glove,” Brombacher said. “With my new glove I wouldn’t have caught that.”
Even though she didn’t need it, Brombacher got plenty of run support from the Gators’ offense.
Enea bounced back after an 0-for-8 doubleheader against Auburn last week, hitting home runs in her first two at-bats.
“It definitely feels good, but I’m very, very hard on myself, so I’m still not satisfied,” Enea said. “I want to continue it throughout the SEC season.”
The senior now leads the conference with 13 home runs and 39 RBIs.
Junior Megan Bush also had an impressive day at the plate, continuing her eight-game hitting streak with a two-run home run before adding a late-inning sacrifice fly.
Bush is now 14 for 18 with three home runs and 14 RBIs since being benched for the only time this season in Florida’s 14-3 win over UC Davis on March 7.
“I’ve been seeing the ball pretty well,” Bush said. “I started (with) an open stance, so I think that getting both eyes facing the pitcher has really helped me a lot lately.”
Florida is firing on all cylinders at the right time, as it will now head to Tuscaloosa to take on No. 7 Alabama (23-7, 6-2 SEC) in a pivotal weekend series.
The two titans of the SEC met five times last season, including an 8-5 win for Florida in the finals of the SEC Tournament and a dramatic 6-5 UF win on a walk-off grand slam from Ali Gardiner that punched UF’s ticket to the Women’s College World Series championship series.
“I know its going to be crazy, and its going to be loud, and they’re going to hate us, and I’m gonna love it,” Enea said. “It’s gonna be awesome to beat them there.”
This year’s matchup will be full of power hitters, as Florida and Alabama are part of a three-way tie for the SEC lead in home runs (50), although the Gators have played in six fewer games.
“I think the fans are going to get their money’s worth,” UF coach Tim Walton said. “You’ve got two great offenses and two great teams going at it so it should be a lot of fun.”
