Before the 2017 Florida softball season began, the team all ready featured names well-known throughout the league.
The lethal pitching combination of senior Delanie Gourley, junior Aleshia Ocasio and sophomore Kelly Barnhill drew lots of attention. Other eyes looked toward veteran hitters such as junior Kayli Kvistad and sophomore Amanda Lorenz.
Freshman Jaimie Hoover was not one of those names.
But Hoover has made plenty of noise to begin the Gators’ season.
The Suwanee, Georgia, native had a tremendous high school career at Collins Hill High School, where she set new school marks for home runs, batting percentage and RBIs.
Early into her first campaign, the change of scenery has not changed the freshman’s ability to impact games. Over the four games she’s played, Hoover is batting .444 and tied for second on the team with five RBIs.
“She didn’t play against Michigan. That’s probably her first-career non-start,” coach Tim Walton said. “And her first at-bat was a grand slam, so I think she answered that call pretty well.”
Walton hasn’t even given the freshman playing time in two of the six games so far.
Defensively, Hoover only committed one mistake against St. John’s, but has otherwise maintained a strong .900 fielding percentage.
While few expected to see such great action from the freshman, Walton isn’t surprised with his young player’s performance.
“I don’t think that there was really anything that stood out as surprising to me,” Walton said. “I thought all of our young players had nerves… but you could see them get better as the weekend went on.”
Expectations for rookies include making a fair amount of mistakes, but consistently solid performances and highlight reel plays aren’t usually normal.
Hoover is altering that standard.
Moments such as her grand slam against Delaware and triple versus Jacksonville show flashes of extreme talent and batting power, and Florida can use all the offense it can get.
Last season, the Gators’ offense was called into question after some disappointing performances near the end of SEC play. Questions grew larger after an early tournament defeat against Georgia in the Super Regionals, where UF accumulated only eight hits and two runs over the two losses.
Over their first five games, the Gators have averaged 6.5 runs a contest.
But while Florida flourishes on both sides of the ball, improvement is always the goal.
“One of the players texted me last night, and she was not happy with her performance,” Walton said. “She was ready to get back to work tomorrow, and so I’m excited to do that.”
Now, No. 1 Florida faces another weekend with games slated five times over three days. In UF’s own Aquafina Invitational, the Gators face Florida A&M before taking on Northwestern State twice, battling Maryland and closing with Florida International.
Both Maryland and FAMU have yet to register a victory, and all four teams combine for a record of 8-14.
The action begins for the Gators when they play Florida A&M this afternoon at 3:45.
Contact Skyler Lebron at Slebron@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @SkylerLebron.
TAMPA, FL - FEBRUARY 11: Jaimie Hoover bats during an NCAA Softball game between the St. John's Red Storm and Florida Gators on February 11, 2017, at the USF Softball Stadium in Tampa, FL. (Photo by Mark LoMoglio)
