GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The last time
Tim Walton began a softball season at Florida without a returning All-America pitcher was — get this — in 2008. That was Walton's third season with the Gators and it ended with the program's first trip to the Women's College World Series.
The next 12 seasons saw a slew of superstars (and strikeouts) in the circle. Stacey Nelson. Stephanie Brombacher. Hannah Rogers, Lauren Haeger,
Delanie Gourley,
Aleshia Ocasio. And, most recently (and officially departed),
Kelly Barnhill, whose sterling career of 104 wins, 60 complete games, 44 shutouts and school-record 1,208 strikes ended last May in Oklahoma City.
To say Barnhill was a workhorse on the 2019 squad would be akin to saying water is wet. She pitched in 52 of the team's 67 games (and all but six of its 24 Southeastern Conference outings), threw 287 of the team's 456 innings (63 percent), and had 358 of the staff's 524 strikeouts (68 percent).
She's gone.
The Gators, the nation's preseason No. 7-ranked team,
open the 2020 campaign Friday night against Illinois State in the USF-Rawlings Invitational at Tampa with very little in terms of pitching experience, especially in SEC play. So, just where will UF turn to get the most from the circle?
To their coach, of course.
"What is it they say about the rookie manager in [Major League Baseball]? The hardest thing for him to manage is the bullpen," Walton asked and answer rhetorically last week. "I think there's going to be a little over-management that we do, so it's going to be easy to come to the ballpark and second guess the coach. 'Who pitched? Who'd he bring in? Why?' All that. From that standpoint, I'm confident enough to know my personality."
And his personnel. UF returns four pitchers who took turns in the circle last season, with junior
Natalie Lugo expected to start the opener against the Redbirds. From there, Walton will choose among promising Texas freshman Rylee Trilcek, along with a trio of other returnees in senior
Katie Chronister, sophomores
Elizabeth Hightower and
Danni Farley.
Some games, Walton said, he may use all five. He just doesn't know yet.
CHARTING THE GATORS
A look at UF's four returning pitchers and their statistics during a 2019 season when they got the rare innings that All-American Kelly Barnhill took off.
"Overall, I've been happy with the way they've all kind of embraced their position and know they're going to get the ball at some point in time, and we've been working really hard to compete and actually be counted on, as opposed to watching Kelly pitch every game," Walton said. "That's really what I said last year. I was more fearful of what this year was going to look like than what last year was going to look like with Kelly pitching every game, because I knew Kelly could handle that part."
Now, next year has turned to this year, so Walton and his staff soon will find which of their arms can best handle the pressure of being handed the ball. In the interim, another interesting storyline is expected to develop that could perhaps take some of the weight from the women in the circle.
Last season, the Gators hit .264 as a team, the lowest batting average since the 2007 season and dead-last in the conference. UF, though, still reached the WCWS, thanks in great part to Barnhill, but also to timely and clutch hitting of 2019 SEC Player of the Year
Amanda Lorenz, who exited her Florida career as the program's all-time leader in average at .407.
Of UF's 10 trips to OKC, only four times did they bat less than .300 as a team — and three of those times came the last three years.
If the infusion of some new faces — such as Michigan State transfer infielder
Charla Echols and potential big bat in freshman Baylee Gooddard — is any indication, the Gators may be more equipped up and down the order to give their pitchers some breathing room.
"We have a lot more hitters who have the ability to produce more runs," said senior first baseman/catcher
Kendyl Lindaman, who hit .330 and led the team with 15 homers and 54 RBI after transferring from Minnesota last season. "I just think we're deeper than last year."
Walton does not expect the batting order to be as top-heavy as it's been the last few seasons, when too often rallies depended on the lineup being turned over to Lorenz in the lead-off hole.
Junior second baseman Hannah Adams batted .284 last season, but went on a 11-for-31 postseason tear over the team's final 10 games.
Second baseman
Hannah Adams got red-hot late last season, batting .355 and hitting safely over the final 10 games. Lindaman's big bat will be joined by Echols, her fellow former Big Ten standout, who hit .359 as a freshman with the Spartans last year. Returnees
Jaimie Hoover,
Jordan Roberts,
Jordan Matthews and
Sophia Reynoso each are expected to improve on their offensive numbers.
"The casual fan, they want you to be really good at pitching, really good on offense, really good on defense, and it just doesn't work that way all the time," said Walton, whose business model for outstanding pitching backed by top-flight defense has netted a 771-167 record at Florida, seven SEC titles and two national championships. "But I think we have a chance to be a little more exciting, a little more fun to watch. We're not super-fast in our starting nine or 10, but I do think we're a better offense [than 2019]."
All of this remains to be seen, but it's worth noting that despite being ranked seventh in the country, the Gators were picked in a preseason poll of SEC coaches to place fifth in the league. Last year, Florida went 12-12 in SEC play, finished in a tie for sixth, then stormed (behind a Barnhill barnstorm) to win the SEC Tournament and roll back to the WCWS.
Teams that underestimated the Gators will do so at their own risk. There's a reason the program boasts a winning percentage of .822 with Walton in command the past 14 seasons.
"I feel like there are more people — new and old people — throughout the lineup and in the field and on the pitching staff that are going to have a bigger role in the past," Adams said. "We just have to play our game. Each and every one of us knows how hard we go out there and work every day. We know we've gotten better overall since the fall and I'm confident about putting us up against anybody."
