Florida Gators
Bethune-Cookman
Gators hurler Brombacher isn't letting a cranky right arm extinguish end of final season
Thursday, May 5, 2011 | Men's Basketball, Softball, Scott Carter
Florida senior Stephanie Brombacher stepped inside the white circle on Wednesday night and did what she has been doing for most of her life.
Brombacher mowed down hitters, winning her 94th career game for the UF softball team. She retired 12 consecutive Florida State batters during one stretch in the Gators' 1-0 victory.
And then with two outs in the fifth inning and Gators coach Tim Walton watching Brombacher's every pitch like a fisherman eyeing a floating bobber, he took her out of the game.
The fact Brombacher is back in the circle for the Gators is a victory alone after a bicep injury sidelined her for a few games following Florida's 24-0 start. A senior set to play in her final regular-season series this weekend when Tennessee visits for a three-game set, Brombacher is mentally prepared for the end of her softball career.
There was a time when she imagined playing professionally, but her right arm is telling her otherwise these days. She is focused on trying to help the Gators win a national title and then, barring a change of plans, will begin her pursuit of a physician's assistant degree later this year.
“Some days my arm doesn't hurt, some days it hurts a little bit and I'm going to throw through it, and other days it hurts a lot and I can't throw,'' Brombacher said. “It's day-to-day. I don't know if I'm ever going to be fully back.''
She has a simple agreement with Walton: “Whatever I have that day, you're getting everything I have.''
Some days that means four innings, other days five. On a good day, Brombacher's mind can trick her arm into thinking she is freshman again.
“I just go out there and throw until I can't throw anymore,'' she said.
It's probably not the way she envisioned her career at UF ending – Brombacher was so good her first two years that she didn't lose a game, going 42-0. But that doesn't mean she still can't reach the ultimate goal of winning a CWS title. With Walton unable to rely on Brombacher as much, Hannah Rogers has become a co-ace, going 27-5 with a 1.65 ERA.
Brombacher won a career-high 35 games as a junior, losing eight. And while her arm might hurt more than usual this season, her record is a very healthy 17-1 with a 0.92 ERA.
Brombacher has already had one arm surgery and she expects another one sometime after the season. So for now, she is determined to step inside that white circle and let loose.
As long as her cranky right arm doesn't say stop, Brombacher will keep trying to mow down hitters.
“This is all I have left,'' she said. “I tell [coach] to give me the ball and I'm going to do all I can do until he feels it's time to pull me out.''
