Every morning, senior Delanie Gourley awakens to a text.
“Good morning, fifteen days!”
It’s from sophomore Amanda Lorenz.
And every morning, she counts down the number of days until the season begins, sending a message to the rest of the team.
Today marks nine days.
Nine days until UF’s softball team steps onto the field in Tampa to take on Illinois State in the USF-Wilson Demarini Tournament.
And with the likes of Aubree Munro, Kelsey Stewart, Taylore Fuller, Kirsti Merritt and Taylor Schwarz all having graduated in 2016, there’s a lingering thought with a team comprised of just three seniors: Who will step into a leadership role come Feb. 10?
Early on, it will be senior Justine McLean, junior Kayli Kvistad and Lorenz, deemed captains by head coach Tim Walton.
“The reason they are (captains),” Walton said, “is just because what they do throughout the 6 a.m. runs, to lifting, to on the field and in the locker room.”
McLean had third-highest batting average on the team last season, earning 44 hits in 122 at-bats. She also had the second-highest number of bases stolen on the team with 14. Both Kvistad and Lorenz, meanwhile, have been named to the preseason All-SEC team, with Kvistad totaling the most home runs for the Gators last season (11) and Lorenz slamming the most doubles with 14.
“Being with this group of girls is really special, and I’m just really excited to take the field,” Lorenz said. “You come here because the expectations are so high.”
Gourley is also a member of the preseason All-SEC team, and while she may not be an official captain, Walton praised the leadership she will bring to the team in her final season.
“She’s got the leadership personality,” Walton said. “She’s calm, cool, collected. Everyone looks up to her. She handles not only success well but the pressure well. She’s got that kind of experience, she’s got that kind of mindset, and she goes out there and has a great temperament about her.”
Gourley, who was named to the U.S. Women’s National Team this offseason, gave up just five home runs her junior year and concluded with an ERA of 0.80. And she will have the opportunity to improve upon that as part of a four-pitcher rotation Walton can depend on.
“You want to have a good year every year,” Gourley said. “But especially when it’s your last, you kind of want to make it the best you can.”
Gourley and fellow senior Chelsea Herndon will be able to serve as mentors to the five freshmen on the team, both on and off the field, with their veteran status.
Herndon, who played just 35 games last season, is a teammate Walton said his players admire.
“(She) brings the same mentality and the same work ethic and same passion every single day,” Walton said. “And I think a lot of her teammates really look up to her and her style of play.”
With the presence of five freshmen, Herndon advises them to keep one thing in mind.
“Go out there and play the game that you’ve been playing ever since you were a little girl,” Herndon said.
“It’s just softball.”
Contact Cassie Amundson at camundson@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @camundson_.
Amanda Lorenz bats during Florida's doubleheader sweep of Jacksonville on Feb. 17, 2016, at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
