In the Gators’ first homestand of the season, Brittany Schutte not only outperformed every player in the Southeastern Conference, but every player in the nation.
The junior catcher earned the honors of Southeastern Conference Player of the Week and National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division I National Player of the Week for her play against Jacksonville and Michigan State.
In four games, Schutte racked up nine straight hits after grounding out in her first at-bat against Jacksonville. Batting cleanup for Florida, she also knocked in six runs, including two home runs on back-to-back days.
“Brittany works hard at her game and is her own biggest critic,” Florida coach Tim Walton said.
“Last week, she was locked in and swung at good pitches. When you hit fourth for the Gators, you get everyone’s attention and I truly appreciate the way Brittany has handled the pressure. Brittany Schutte is fun to watch and I am very proud of what she brings to the game.”
After setting the UF single-season record in home runs last year, Schutte has picked up where she left off.
Nine games into the season, Schutte leads her team with a .560 batting average. She is also tops in five other offensive categories and ranks second in hits, runs and RBI.
Before the Gators kicked off their season, Schutte expressed her goals during media day.
“More than anything I think I have more individual expectations,” Schutte said. “I just want to come through, since I’m one of the upperclassmen now and one of the older players, considering how young our team is. I just want to do what I’ve been doing, and even get better in all aspects of the game.”
Although Florida is only two weeks into a nearly four-month season, there have been signs that Schutte has evolved from being just a power-hitting catcher to a more complete hitter.
At this point, Schutte is on pace for 86 regular-season hits this year, 25 more than she had in an extended 2011 season that featured a run to the Women’s College World Series finals. She is also projected to collect five more RBI, eight more stolen bases and 10 more doubles.
Of course, Schutte has not forgotten the staple of her game: home runs.
In back-to-back games, Schutte showed off her power, sending a softball over the fence in each contest. However, she said it’s not her goal to break her own single-season home run record, but just go out and become an all-around better hitter.
“No [goals] numbers-wise or statistics,” Schutte said.
“I just want to be able to, when I’m called upon in certain situations, be able to succeed in those and come through in those for my team and probably cut down on the strikeouts, if anything.”
Florida catcher and cleanup hitter Brittany Schutte won two awards this week after recording a hit in nine straight at-bats and driving in six runs during last week’s games.
