Bailey Castro strode to the batter’s box with Wednesday’s game against Florida State on the line.
The sophomore was relegated to a pinch-hitting role after struggling to hit for average to begin the season. Despite seeing less playing time, she came into the game second on the team in home runs.
With the bases loaded and the Gators down by two runs, Castro’s job was to drive runners in.
She failed.
Castro fell into a 1-2 count and swung over FSU pitcher Lacey Waldrop’s signature dropball to end the inning. It was Waldrop’s 17th strikeout of the night.
“I’m not going to take our hitters and say they were just really bad,” coach Tim Walton said. “I thought she did a really nice job.”
The Gators’ 20 strikeouts on Wednesday was the most they’ve racked up all season. It was the fifth time this season No. 3 Florida (32-3, 7-2 Southeastern Conference) recorded double-digit strikeouts at the plate.
Florida struggled to put the ball in play throughout Wednesday’s game. The Gators only managed four hits before Briana Little ended the game with a walk-off grand slam.
“She was fooling us up there,” senior Kelsey Horton said. “She had just a couple off-speed and a nice dropball.”
Waldrop dominated Florida for the first six innings. She gave up an unearned run on a passed ball in the third inning, but otherwise stymied Florida’s potent offense that averages more than seven runs per game.
Waldrop’s one weakness on Wednesday was finding the strike zone. She walked six batters in her 6.2 innings. But the Florida batters’ free-swinging approach helped her when she could not find the strike zone.
Sixteen of Waldrop’s 18 punch outs came on Gators’ swings and misses. Eight of Waldrop’s strikeout victims started their at-bats ahead in the count.
“We’re missing balls by two feet,” Walton said. “If anything, we swung at a lot of balls tonight … I think we took some good pitches and swung at balls.”
Florida’s numerous strikeouts often kept runs off the board. In addition to Castro’s strikeout with the bases loaded, nine Gators were set down on strikes with runners in scoring position.
But Florida’s problems at the plate have been evident throughout the season. The Gators are 3-2 when striking out 10 or more times.
On March 16, Tennessee hurler Ellen Renfroe struck out 14 in a 3-1 extra-inning loss. Against Missouri on Feb. 22, the Gators struck out 19 times in a 12-inning marathon in Palm Springs, Calif.
But in addition to Wednesday’s victory, Florida won two additional games with double-digit strikeouts against inferior competition.
In the University of Florida Tournament on March 1 and 2, the Gators struck out 14 and 11 times against Mount St. Marys and Drake, respectively. Those two teams were a combined 11-15 after playing Florida.
The Gators had no trouble hitting both teams’ pitchers, scoring 12 runs in the two games, but had trouble putting the ball in play for productive outs.
Fortunately for Florida, when the team travels to Oxford, Miss., to play Ole Miss (19-18, 1-8 SEC) tonight, it should have no trouble putting the bat on the ball. None of the Rebels’ pitchers average a strikeout per inning, and all have ERAs above 3.93.
“It’s all about making adjustments and taking advantage of opportunities,” Walton said. “This is a game of pitching and defense.”
Contact Adam Lichtenstein at alichtenstein@alligator.org.
Bailey Castro bats during an exhibition against Santa Fe on Nov. 7, 2012, at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. Castro struck out in a key spot in Florida's 7-3 win against Florida State on Wednesday.
