Every athlete’s Senior Day is special, but Francesca Enea took it to a whole new level Sunday.
Between capturing the SEC record with her 61st career home run, accepting a surprise marriage proposal, and being honored alongside fellow senior Corrie Brooks before the game, the No. 6 Gators (42-7, 20-4 Southeastern Conference) 9-0 win over South Carolina (11-40, 1-27 SEC) was much more than just another game for Enea.
“Just everything with Mother’s Day, my family being here, Senior Day, my engagement, it was just amazing,” Enea said.
Prior to the game both Brooks and Enea walked onto the field with their parents, where their teammates presented them with flowers and each received the traditional framed jersey.
As Brooks, Enea, their families and coach Tim Walton posed for a picture, Enea’s boyfriend Christian Bruey snuck up behind the group and immediately dropped to a knee. Enea wasted little time before saying yes.
All in all, it was an emotional day for everyone involved, and it is clear that Brooks and Enea’s leadership will both be missed come next season.
“When you look at the two of them, they both played through injury, both played through pain, they both have changed positions, they both have brought a mentality and a work ethic, both were champions coming in to our program and both will leave as champions,” Walton said.
“They both have just tremendous, tremendous character and a lot of good things that they bring and we’re going to miss their leadership qualities day-in and day-out, on and off the field.”
Although the pregame festivities greatly overshadowed what was to come, the series finale against the Gamecocks resulted in another one-sided victory for UF.
The Gators continued to dominate offensively, and once again the long ball was a key component in their success.
In the bottom of the third, with her team already leading 3-0, Enea took an inside pitch deep to left for her 61st career home run, moving her past Kelly Kretschman for the SEC all-time lead.
“It makes me happy, I feel good about it,” Enea said. “I wasn’t sure how I was going to be at the collegiate level, especially after a tough freshman year, so it just makes me feel good that I was able to bounce back from that bad year.”
Freshman Kelsey Horton continued the trend by delivering her fifth home run in only 31 career at-bats in the bottom of the fifth, stretching the lead to nine and thus securing a run-rule victory.
Florida ace Stephanie Brombacher got the win in the circle, allowing just one hit in her five-inning complete-game shutout.
The junior has now pitched 30.2 consecutive frames without allowing an earned run and has only surrendered a single hit in her last 11 innings of work.
“I think it’s important for me to be feeling confident in my pitches,” Brombacher said. “I still need to work on some things and get a few pitches right where I want them, so I’m excited that I’m in this groove but I know I still need to get better.”
