Stephanie Tofft transferred from Northern Illinois to Florida before the season, hoping to make a splash with her new team. She didn’t.
The junior started off the season hot before descending into a cold streak that saw her batting average fall as low as .228.
But after No. 3 Florida’s (45-5, 14-4 Southeastern Conference) sweep of Longwood last weekend, Tofft is the Gators’ hottest hitter.
Tofft went 8 for 10 at the plate with three home runs, two doubles and a triple. She drove in nine of Florida’s 22 runs during the weekend.
“It’s been a while since I’ve felt like this,” Tofft said. “I really just saw the ball well this weekend.”
Tofft was not used to failing at the college level. She hit .434 her freshman year and .379 as a sophomore. But Tofft struggled to adjust to the tougher schedule Florida faced and is still batting only .240 in SEC play.
“The beginning of the year was definitely rough for me,” Tofft said. “I was getting really frustrated.”
But recently, Tofft has turned a corner.
After going 0 for 2 against Mississippi State on April 6, her batting average fell to .259. Since then she is 16 for 29 — good for a .552 average.
She is slugging 1.069 in the past nine games, raising her season slugging percentage to .582.
After her strong weekend against Longwood, Tofft is second on the team in batting average for the season at .319. She is also second in RBI with 43.
“She had a great week,” coach Tim Walton said. “I haven’t seen a hitter have a week like that with the power she’s displayed and the number of RBIs.”
Tofft hit mainly for average at Northern Illinois, launching only eight home runs in her two years in DeKalb, Ill.
But she showed off her power against Longwood last weekend, hitting three homers, including one that was headed for Museum Road beyond the outfield fence. The ball was stopped by the top of a tree.
“She hit a couple mammoth home runs,” Walton said.
“One to the opposite field, one to the pull side.”
Tofft fell just a single short of the cycle in Game 2 of the Gators’ series against the Lancers.
She got the hardest hits out of the way first, hitting a double, a home run and a triple in her first three at bats. Tofft came up in the sixth inning and hit one back to pitcher Ashley Cornell. Cornell threw home to get Aubree Munro at the plate trying to score, allowing Tofft to reach first with a fielder’s choice, ending her chance for a cycle.
“I didn’t even think about that,” Tofft said, “but I guess that would’ve been cool.”
After playing for two Huskies teams that went a combined 45-61, Tofft is glad to be playing for a contending team for the first time.
Florida is currently the top team in the SEC and is poised to make a deep postseason run with Tofft hitting the way she is as the starting third baseman.
“It’s amazing to be part of a team that is so competitive and likes to win so much,” Tofft said.
Contact Adam Lichtenstein at alichtenstein@alligator.org.
Junior third baseman Stephanie Tofft swings during Florida’s 4-2 win against Mississippi State on April 6 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
