Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Amanda Lorenz has no problem when it comes to displaying emotion. In fact, if a conversation earlier this week about her "Senior Day" celebration Saturday had lasted much longer, a teary-eyed Lorenz, one of the greatest players (and pure hitters) in Florida softball history, would have been wearing something other than those emotions on her sleeve. 

"It makes me want to vomit," she said. 

Kelly Barnhill, also one of the greatest to ever don a UF softball uniform, won't have that kind of reaction — or so she says. Though far from icy, Barnhill tends to be a little more stoic when it comes to her feelings. 

"I'm probably going to be fine," she said. "Maybe I'll be surprised, if someone says something really heart-warming or touching. But for me, right now, it's kind of [about] what our goals are. It's another game." 

Prediction: Come Saturday, during the ceremony honoring the 2019 senior class before the Gators (39-13, 11-10) face Southeastern Conference foe Mississippi State (30-19, 7-14) in the regular-season series finale, someone — probably Coach Tim Walton — will say something really heart-warming or touching. Standing at home plate of Pressley Stadium will be Lorenz, Barnhill and senior classmates Theresa Swertfager, Lily Mann and Alex Voss. 

There will be crying.
 
This will be Walton's 14th senior sendoff at Florida. Every one, of course, has been special in its own way because every player he's watched make that stroll down the third-base line — flowers in hand and into the arms of their families — brings flashbacks of indelible images associated with that player.

Yes, senior days can take a toll on a coach, as well. 

"I don't know until I get there," Walton said, as he ticked off a conga line of past superstars —  off the top of his head, naming Megan Bush, Stacey Nelson, Aja Paculba, Kim Walezonia — that could just as easily been three-dozen names in length. "It's almost like a flash of life that goes in front of me. I see the big hits. I see the moments. I see their parents. I see the ups and the downs. It's almost like, 'Ohhhh,' and a drop of the shoulder. It is emotional. Sometimes it's an internal emotion that you can just see everything that has happened."

Lorenz, or so it seemed, had something of a similar instance just previewing that ceremonial stroll down the third-base line. A Southern California native and the No. 1-ranked prospect in the nation for the 2016 class, Lorenz committed to UF when she was in ninth grade and never wavered on the thought of swapping coasts. 

"I knew the second I stepped on campus that I wanted to be a Gator," Lorenz said. "I know I would not have become the person I am today without this university and the people here. I didn't know that decision I made my freshman year of high school would be so impactful in my life. It just changed everything for me. I knew Coach Walton would be so influential, but I had no idea the support staff would also have such a huge impact on my life. I just can't say enough about this place and how special it is to me." Lorenz will step to the plate Friday night batting .417 for her senior season. That ranks third in the SEC. For her career, though, Lorenz sits at .404, meaning she has a chance to become the first player in Florida softball history to average better than .400 for her career. Kelsey Stewart's .391 is the current all-time standard. 

Her thoughts on that individual chase?

"I don't really care about any records," Lorenz said. "I wanted to come here and be a better human being, better softball player and hopefully make some of my teammates better along the way."

She sniffled a bit through those words. 

"It's crazy."

Not really. For players, coaches and fans alike, the four-year turn seems whirlwind in hindsight, thus engendering rapid-fire nostalgia. 'Tis the senior-day season, which obviously will be taken to another collective level, as each player will be profiled on the jumbo video board in the Pressley outfield and cheered from the stands. Eventually, though, the Kleenex (or in Lorenz's case, air-sick bag) will be put away and that first pitch will be thrown. 

Barnhill likely will be throwing it. 

With that in mind, Barnhill put some proper context to the weekend, as the Gators head into the series in sixth place in the SEC standings and unlikely to get one of the four byes in the SEC Tournament, set for May 8-11 at College Station, Texas. 

Walton has never put a heavy-duty emphasis on the conference tournament, focusing instead on being in peak-performance mode the week after; in time for the NCAA Tournament and a run at the Women's College World Series. Getting to that NCAA happy place will be a challenge for the 2019 Gators, who sit last in the SEC in hitting with a team average of .273 — a statistic that tumbles to just .221 in conference play — and are next-to-last in runs scored. UF, however, tops the conference in pitching and defense, which means the Gators give themselves a chance every game. 

Back to Barnhill. 

Rather than preparing for the pending tears promised by Saturday's pregame festivities, it was the actually games — and however many the Gators have left — that Barnhill chose to focus on. Last week at Auburn, she threw her eighth career no-hitter on the same day she broke the team record for most career strikeouts, a mark previously held by the aforementioned Nelson on the way to leading UF to its first two WCWS berths and, no doubt, played out for Walton on her senior day in 2009. 

Ten years and nine WCWS later, Barnhill just as soon lock in on that next trip to Oklahoma City. And more memories to savor. 

"Instead of dwelling on the time we don't have left, let's focus on the moments that we do have left and cherish every single one of those moments we have together as a team," Barnhill said. "Just do everything in our power to play one more game, one more inning, one more pitch together.