Gators ace Stephanie Brombacher may get a second opportunity against a lineup that gave her all she could handle in the teams’ first meeting when USF (14-14) travels to Gainesville to take on No. 6 Florida (20-3, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) today at 4 p.m.
In Florida’s third game of the season, Brombacher gave up a season-high eight runs in a 12-8 win over the Bulls.
Although she bounced back from the rough start and is now 16-3 with a 1.89 ERA, her outing against USF was the beginning of what has become a trend for Brombacher.
After notching only one hit the first time through the lineup, the Bulls pounded out 10 hits and all eight runs the rest of the way.
“They made some adjustments but she also fatigued herself just a little bit and left pitches up,” UF coach Tim Walton said after the game.
On the season, Brombacher is holding opponents to a .194 batting average with an ERA less than one the first time through the order. However, teams are batting .41 points better, and Brombacher’s ERA is more than a whole run higher once everyone has had a chance to face her.
If these issues continue, the Gators can take comfort in the fact that freshman pitcher Ensley Gammel has bounced back from a rough start to her UF career.
Gammel came away from her first two appearances with a 5.53 ERA, but that number is down to 2.56 in the 27.1 innings since.
“She’s started to develop a little bit of confidence and has a lot of the team’s confidence and the coaching staff’s confidence,” Walton said.
Gammel’s biggest issue in the early going was control, and although she has not been perfect, her numbers have certainly improved.
The freshman walked 11 batters in her first 8.1 innings but has only walked 11 more in the 25.1 innings since.
The walks have been a major point of concern for Walton, who has been adamant about giving the UF defense, which leads the SEC with a .983 fielding percentage, a chance to do its job.
“My situation is just throw strikes,” Walton said.
