Last year, Michelle Moultrie set the bar. Halfway through this season, she has raised it.
Against Arkansas on Sunday, the senior center fielder went 2 for 3 with a solo home run and three runs scored. Moultrie’s performance against the Razorbacks was just a continuation of her record-breaking season.
Moultrie had no problem leading Florida (29-2, 10-1 Southeastern Conference) to three straight victories in Fayetteville, Ark., including Sunday’s 5-0 win against Arkansas (18-12, 2-9 SEC). For the weekend, she was 8 for 11 with five extra-base hits, including two home runs.
“I did pretty well,” Moultrie said. “I was on base a lot and got some hits, so I was happy about that. But I’m not really concerned with individual goals. Ultimately, I’m just trying to get on base and get hits to help my team.”
In 2011, Moultrie was named to the Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-America Third Team. But after her move from leadoff hitter to No. 2 in the order, Florida’s lone senior may earn a spot on the first team.
“She’s locked in,” Walton said. “She hits to every part of the field. One thing we talk about is just getting better every day. And she is certainly doing her part.”
While Moultrie is driving in more runs and is on pace to top her RBI total from last year (40), the speedster can still round the bases to score. On Sunday, Moultrie scored three of the Gators’ five runs after scoring two in Friday’s 6-0 win and one in Saturday’s 3-2 victory.
Twenty percent of Florida’s runs this year have been scored by Moultrie, who ranked in the NCAA’s top 10 in runs entering the weekend.
The two players most grateful for Moultrie’s success were Alyssa Bache and Hannah Rogers. Bache started Sunday’s game, but Rogers took over in the third inning and pitched five scoreless frames to get her 16th win of the season.
Moultrie has been giving her pitchers more run support since Feb. 17, when she was moved to the No. 2 spot in the lineup. Her batting average increased from .267 to .415 and her hits per game went from .67 to 1.35 during that span.
Sunday’s support included a third-inning home run that gave the Gators a 3-0 lead.
“She has provided us a little more punch, a little more offense, to get things going,” Walton said. “She has really made a big change in her game. She doesn’t strike out very often, she doesn’t get out very often and she’s just tough to defend. [Sunday] she hit a rocket down the third-base line, and the third baseman barely even got her glove up, so she’s a tough out and really hard to defend.”
It is not unusual for Moultrie to lead UF in hits or RBI, as she did in Sunday’s win. The Gators are witnessing a reformed Moultrie; she has set a trio of new single-game career highs this season with five RBI, four runs scored and three stolen bases.
In her first three years as a Gator, Moultrie tallied 12 home runs, but she has already hit eight in 31 games during her senior campaign.
“Each year you just learn more,” Moultrie said. “You build upon your skills from the past year. It’s a good thing whenever you can see progress year to year. But we really only have one goal, and that’s to win a championship.”
