With the top-ranked UF softball team already in the midst of the NCAA Tournament and the sixth-ranked UF baseball team beginning postseason play in the Southeastern Conference Tournament on Wednesday, the alligatorSports staff will be busy live-tweeting the events over the next month.
Here are some specialty hashtags our writers will be using when covering the teams.
Softball
#KirstiMerrittHBPCount: If there’s one thing Kirsti Merritt has been able to do this season, other than constantly smiling, it’s getting hit by pitches.
The junior center fielder has been hit 32 times this season.
To give some perspective, her 32 hit-by-pitches is more than three Southeastern Conference teams have in total: Arkansas (22), LSU (23) and Alabama (24).
She was on a record pace at the beginning of the season, but she’s been trending downward in that department.
However, we still like to tweet it out whenever it occurs.
#BeepBeep: This is a relatively new one that involves outfielder Justine McLean.
The Rancho Cucamonga, California, native is known for one thing: her speed. 27 of her 28 hits this season have been singles, with a majority of them being infield hits.
I can probably count on one hand how many times McLean has hit the ball out of the infield this year.
So of course, the hashtag is based off the "Road Runner" cartoon.
For all the softball updates, follow Luis Torres (@LFTorresIII) and Patrick Pinak
(@Pinakk12).
Baseball
#BuntingIsWinning: This hashtag had a lot more relevance last season, when the Gators dropped down 37 sacrifice bunts in the season compared to 18 this season.
But now that Florida is starting postseason play and one run could be the difference, expect some bunts to actually result in winning.
#SullyMeetingOnTheMoundCount: UF baseball coach Kevin O’Sullivan likes giving fans their money’s worth and making sure they are in the stadium as long as possible.
One way of doing this is playing matchups with his pitching staff. He’s not afraid to throw five, six or even seven pitchers if it means a win at the end of the night (see UF’s 14-8 win against FSU on March 17 as a prime example of this).
We want you, the reader and loyal Gator fans, to know just how many times good ‘ole Sully steps onto the mound to talk to his pitcher, whether it’s to calm his starter down or to replace a reliever who was brought in with the sole intention of intentionally walking a batter.
These hashtags can be seen on the accounts of Jordan McPherson (@J_McPherson1126) and Ian Cohen (@ICohenB).
Home-run worthy hashtags
And of course, each team has its share of home-run hitters and each of those players has a specialty name or two of his or her own. Here are a select few:
#HaegerBomb for softball pitcher/designated player Lauren Haeger
#CastroBlast for softball outfielder Bailey Castro
#SchwarzShot for baseball catcher/designated hitter JJ Schwarz
#BaderBomb for baseball outfielder Harrison Bader (baseball outfielder)
Justine McLean bats during Florida’s 2-0 win against Ole Miss on March 9 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
