No. 3/5 Softball Opens 2010 Season in Clearwater on Friday
Friday, February 12, 2010 | Softball
The No. 3/5 University of Florida softball team kicks off the 2010 season at the USF Wilson-DeMarini Tournament in Clearwater, Fla., this weekend. The Gators face No. 13/14 Georgia Tech at 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 12, followed by a 6 p.m. game against Long Island.
Games continue on Saturday with the Gators playing in-state rival USF at 3 p.m. The tournament concludes on Sunday when the Gators play Canisius at 9 a.m., followed by Illinois State at 11:30 a.m.
Florida holds a winning record over all the teams they will face except Illinois State, who won a doubleheader over the Gators in 2007. The Gators have defeated the Yellow Jackets five times and hold a 28-11 series advantage over the USF Bulls. They also defeated Long Island in the teams only meeting in a 2004 NCAA Regional matchup. UF has beaten Canusius twice as well.
This marks the second year that Florida opens at the USF-hosted tournament. In 2008, the Gators swept through the invitational to give them a 5-0 start on the season. The team is 12-1 all-time on opening day, including 4-1 when playing on the road and 4-1 under Coach Walton.
All games will be broadcast on WYGC (104.9) 105 The Game. Live stats will also be available through the link on the schedule page on www.GatorZone.com/softball. Updates through the games will be posted on the softball Twitter account at twitter.com/GatorZoneSBall.
The Gators are coming off of a season where they broke or tied 28 team records and played in the program's first-ever Women's College World Series Championship series. Individually, players broke or tied 14 career records and 13 single-game records.
Although the team had seven departing seniors, a nation-leading four All-Americans are returning for the Gators. Junior pitcher Stephanie Brombacher (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) has a career record of 42-0 as she steps into the role as No. 1 pitcher. Classmate Aja Palculba (Wildomar, Calif.) is a two-time All-American set new records for stolen bases, runs and walks in a season and is currently on top on the record books for career batting average and on-base percentage. Also a two-time All-American, senior Francesca Enea (Woodland Hills, Calif.) looks to help out in the outfield as well as at the plate. In 2009 Enea set the record for single-season and career home runs and RBIs. Junior Kelsey Bruder (Corona, Calif.) did not commit an error in the 2009 season and also tied with Enea for the record for single-season slugging percentage.
The Gators also return All-SEC standout junior Megan Bush (Anaheim Hills, Calif.), who made the move to first base to fill departing senior Ali Gardiner's spot and senior third baseman Corrie Brooks (Christmas, Fla.), who led the team in grand slams (five) and assists (112). Junior catcher Tiffany DeFelice (Coral Springs, Fla.) will provide a larger role behind the plate. Last season, she led the team with nine sacrifice hits. Sophomore Michelle Moultrie (Jacksonville, Fla.) steps into a starting role in center field, after filling in last season when senior Kim Waleszonia went down with a knee injury. The speedster was second on the team with 15 stolen bases and tied for third with six sacrifice hits.
The veteran Gators are joined by seven freshmen, who are expected make immediate impacts. Brittany Walker (Tomball, Texas) will be trading time with Bush at shortstop. The Texas native was an Under Armour All-American in high school while California-native Brittany Schutte (Fountain Valley, Calif.) will see time in a variety of roles, including behind the plate. Right-handed pitched Ensley Gammel (Bakersfield, Calif.) and Erin Schuppert (Atlantic Beach, Fla.) will be looking for time in the pitching circle behind Brombacher. Gammel recorded 51 shutouts, 20 no-hitters and nine perfect games in high school career while Schuppert was named Dairy Farmers Miss Florida Softball, Class 6A Softball Player of the Year and Times-Union Softball Player of the Year as a senior.
Florida is 7-3 when they open the season in a tournament. The Gators will play their first home game against Jacksonville on Wednesday, Feb. 17 at 5 p.m. at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
