Armed with the possible return of ace Stephanie Brombacher and a more aggressive approach on the base paths, Florida is hoping to avoid repeating last year’s disappointing midweek performance
In a rare Tuesday afternoon matchup last season, Florida International came to Gainesville and pounded UF’s pitching staff for 11 hits en route to an 8-3 win.
UF later redeemed itself with a 13-3 victory over FIU in the NCAA Regionals. But tonight’s showdown at 6 between the No. 10 Gators (33-7, 10-6 Southeastern Conference) and the Golden Panthers (23-20, 9-6 Sun Belt) could be more difficult as FIU features a reliable rotation.
“They came in here last year and beat us pretty good,” UF coach Tim Walton said. “We’re going to have to give our bats a chance again like we did this weekend.”
For a powerful, and recently more diverse, Florida lineup, the matchup against FIU’s three-deep rotation will be tough.
Ashley McClain, Jenn Gniadek and Mariah Dawson make up a formidable trio whose numbers don’t reflect their level of success.
With 72 home runs, Florida has relied on the long ball for most of the season, but the team has improved at manufacturing runs.
In last weekend’s three-game series against Arkansas, UF hit three sacrifice flies and stole seven bases, including five in Sunday’s 8-0 win
“When you get a pitcher who’s going to throw a changeup in any count, if you get it, it’s going to be a pretty easy stolen base,” Walton said after Sunday’s win. “We were able to do that and exploit the changeup.”
Having more balance on offense was an area of much greater concern during the Gators’ six-game losing skid.
“That’s something we work on day in and day out at practice,” left fielder Kelsey Bruder said. “To be able to read the ball in the dirt, anticipate it and go is huge because the difference between first and second is a run. Anytime we’re able to do that, it creates momentum for us, and we’ll keep going with it.”
One of the biggest keys to the offense’s resurgence has been the return of catcher Tiffany DeFelice.
The senior backstop missed 17 games due to a left hand injury but has helped turn over the lineup hitting out of the sixth spot.
In her five games since coming back, DeFelice has five hits in 13 at-bats and two walks.
But one piece is still missing: Brombacher, DeFelice’s longtime battery mate.
Brombacher’s status has been up in the air the for more than a month as she is recovering from a bicep injury, but she threw almost every day last week. Brombacher has not pitched in a game since March 12 against Ball State.
While Walton doesn’t want to immediately throw Brombacher back in the fire, her return would reduce freshman Hannah Rogers’ workload and boost the team’s confidence.
“Stephanie might have a chance to go. We’re going see how she feels,” he said. “I’d like to see her in a one-inning game that doesn’t have a lot of pressure on her just to get it loose.”
