After defeating defending Women’s College World Series champion UCLA at the Cathedral City Classic, the Gators took over the Bruins’ No. 2 spot in the NFCA polls.
But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement.
Despite the gaudy numbers on offense and the pitching staff’s tiny 0.78 earned run average, UF coach Tim Walton is in search of one more thing: consistency.
So far, the offense has relied heavily on its top three hitters — center fielder Michelle Moultrie, second baseman Aja Paculba and left fielder Kelsey Bruder.
Moultrie, who was named the USA Softball Player of the Week last weekend, has been the team’s most reliable hitter.
The junior leads the Gators (14-0) with a .556 batting average, a full 87 points ahead of Paculba, the team’s second-leading hitter.
She also ranks first in slugging percentage (.844), on-base percentage (.615), stolen bases (six) and is second in total bases (38) — all while hitting out of the leadoff spot.
“My swing feels great, and I’m just trying to stay in my regular mental routine,” Moultrie said. “I don’t feel pressure in clutch situations because I know if I don’t get it done, the rest of the team will.”
Paculba and Bruder have each followed successful junior seasons with another productive year. The two are tied for the team lead with four home runs and have driven in a combined 34 runs.
As good as those three have been, Walton said he wants to see more production from the bottom of the lineup.
Senior Megan Bush and sophomore Brittany Schutte, the team’s top power hitters last year, have come up with some timely home runs but rank second and third on the team in strikeouts.
“They’ve stepped up with some big hits,” Walton said. “But we’ve had too many poor at-bats, especially with runners in scoring position.”
Although they’ve been solid defensively, shortstop Cheyenne Coyle and catcher Tiffany DeFelice have had their share of struggles at the plate. DeFelice has the lowest batting average (.172) of any starter, while Coyle is hitting only .256 with a team-leading 14 strikeouts.
“Even though we’re hitting over .350 as a team, we want to be more productive with our outs,” Walton said. “We need to go out with a game plan and cut down on our strikeouts.”
The Gators will have a chance to put that plan into action when they host the Lipton Invitational this weekend.
UF will open play at 3:15 p.m. today against Valparaiso before taking on Syracuse at 5:30.
Although the Gators won’t be facing any ranked teams, they aren’t taking their opponents lightly.
“Even when we’re playing at home, we’re never going to look at who we’re playing,” he said. “All these teams have played in the postseason. If we’re going to keep making strides, we need to come out and make those improvements.”
ROGERS WINS SEC AWARD: For the third consecutive week, a UF pitcher earned SEC Pitcher of the Week honors.
Freshman Hannah Rogers won the award after recording three wins last weekend at the Cathedral City Classic, including a 10-strikeout performance against then-No. 2 UCLA.
Senior Stephanie Brombacher captured the honor the previous two weeks.
