Sunday, June 9, 2019

2019 Gator Baseball: A Year in Review

The 2019 Florida Gator baseball season was a little different than what most Gator fans were accustomed too. With so much talent being taken in these past couple of MLB drafts in addition to the plethora number of freshmen on the roster, this Gator team struggled.

They posted a record of 34-25 and 13-17 in SEC play as Florida stumbled into the NCAA Tournament. Once in the postseason, the youthful Gators could not do much as Florida did not reach the regional final for the first time since 2014. Here's a brief rundown of how the postseason went.

SEC Tournament
Florida finished 11th in the regular season standings and was paired with the No. 6 Texas A&M Aggies (39-23-1) in the First Round. Despite climbing out of an early 3-0 hole, the youthful bullpen would be Florida's downfall as Texas A&M walked off in the bottom of the 10th inning to knock Florida out of the SEC Tournament. At this point, much of Gator Nation was unsure if Florida would even reach the NCAA Tournament.

NCAA Tournament
Call it a miracle, but Florida did reach the NCAA Tournament and was assigned as a No. 3 seed to the Lubbock Regional consisting of the No. 8 nationally seeded Texas Tech Red Raiders (43-18), No. 2 seeded Dallas Baptist Patriots (43-20), and No. 4 seeded Army Black Knights (35-26).

Florida would face off against Dallas Baptist, score eight runs, but still lose 11-8. In the elimination game against Army, the Gators lived to see another day with a 13-5 thrashing of the Black Knights. In a rematch with Dallas Baptist, Florida again scored eight runs and lost as the Patriots defeated the Gators 9-8. At last, this painful and uncharacteristic 2019 season had been put to bed for good.

Season Notes
Despite not making it out of regional play, there are many positives that can still be taken away from this season of Gator baseball. Here are some of the achievements that the Florida Gator baseball team accomplished in 2019:

  • Two shutout victories 
  • Notched eight victories over five ranked opponents. They were (at the time): No. 6/21 Florida State (twice), No. 5 Mississippi State (once), No. 14 LSU (once), No. 23 Tennessee (once), No. 22 Missouri (thrice).
  • Five series sweeps (Long Beach State, Winthrop, Yale, Alabama, Missouri)
  • Won four of their 10 SEC series while suffering losses to Mississippi State (twice), Vanderbilt (thrice), Ole Miss (thrice), South Carolina (once), LSU (twice), Kentucky (once), Georgia (thrice), and Tennessee (twice).
  • Swept Florida State for the fourth consecutive season.
  • Won the Miami series for the fifth consecutive season.
  • Finished with a 26-11 home record in their second-to-last season at McKethan Stadium.
  • Made the NCAA Tournament for the 12th consecutive season and the 35th time overall. 
  • Won one elimination game in the NCAA Tournament.
  • Went 9-5 in midweek games.

Award Winners
After looking at what the team as a whole did, let's now look at some of the accolades that the players themselves earned:

SEC

MLB Draft Selections
Here's a look at the Gators who were selected in this year's MLB Draft:

  • Brady McConnell (sophomore): 2nd Round (44th overall) to the KC Royals, shortstop
  • Tyler Dyson (junior): 5th Round (153rd overall) to the Washington Nationals, pitcher
  • Wil Dalton (junior): 8th Round (257th overall) to the Boston Red Sox, outfielder
  • Nelson Maldonado (senior) : 31st Round (947th overall) to the Chicago Cubs, outfielder

Now that the SEC award winners and MLB draftees have been lauded, it's time now to look at the stat leaders for the 2019 season:

Offense

Hits: Brady McConnell (76)

RBI's: Kendrick Calilao (49)

Doubles: Nelson Maldonado (14)

Triples: Austin Langworthy (3) (Junior)

Home Runs: Brady McConnell (15)

Batting Average: Nelson Maldonado (.343)

Slugging Percentage: Brady McConnell (.576)

On Base Percentage: Nelson Maldonado (.408)

Stolen Bases: Jacob Young/Jud Fabian (7) (Freshmen)

Runs Scored: Brady McConnell (51)

Total Bases: Brady McConnell (132)

Strikeouts: Brady McConnell (57)

Walks: Cory Action/Jud Fabian (28) (Freshman)

Hit By Pitch: Wil Dalton (11)

Sacrifice Bunts: Jud Fabian/Austin Langworthy (3)

Sacrifice Flies: Kendrick Calilao (8)


Defense

Assists: Brady McConnell (114)

Putouts: Kendrick Calilao (409)

Errors: Brady McConnell (15)

Fielding Percentage: Austin Langworthy (.1000)


Pitching

Wins: Tommy Mace (8) (Sophomore)

Losses: Tommy Mace/Jack Leftwich (5) (Sophomore)

Strikeouts: Tommy Mace (74)

Walks: Tommy Mace (38)

Starting Pitcher ERA: Jack Leftwich (5.31)

Relieving Pitcher ERA: David Luethje (3.86) (Freshman)

Saves: Nolan Crisp (8) (Freshman)

Appearances: Christian Scott/Ben Specht (22) (Freshmen)

Innings Pitched: Tommy Mace (89.2)

Shutouts: Jack Leftwich (1)

Hit By Pitch: Tommy Mace (16)

Balks: Christian Scott (3)


Senior Sendoff
Nelson Maldonado and Blake Reese began their Gator careers in 2016 while Jonah Girand came on board in 2018 after transferring from Seminole State Community College. In their four years, Nelly and Blake have helped lead the Gators to a mark of 187-82 (.695 winning percentage) and 83-47 (.638 winning percentage) since Jonah joined the team. Though their final seasons for the Orange and Blue ended in regional play, these three can look back on their collegiate careers and take much joy in what they accomplished.

Nelson Maldonado
Photo Credits: AJC.com










Nelson Maldonado was a captain this past season and arguably had one of his best seasons to date as he hit over .300 for the first time and led the Gators in three offensive statistical categories. In his four years as a Gator, Nelly finishes with a slash line of .292/.391/.454 with 253 hits, 163 runs scored, 31 home runs, 149 RBI's, 20 stolen bases, and a .995 fielding percentage.

Nelly's collegiate accolades include:

  • 2019 SEC First Team All-American
  • 2018 & 2017 SEC Regular Season Champion
  • 2018 & 2017 SEC Academic Honor Roll
  • 2017 National Champion
  • 2016 NCAA Gainesville Regional All-Tournament Team

Statistically, Nelly also leaves the Gators as a member of the Top 10 career hits club with 253 base knocks.  This ties him with Mark Kiger for tenth all-time in UF history!

Nelly graduated with a degree in Anthropology, but will have a chance to continue his baseball career as the Chicago Cubs selected him 947th overall in the 31st Round of the MLB Draft. Thank you for these last four years, Nelly!

Blake Reese
Photo Credits: DothanEagle.com













A Tallahassee boy who chose to take his playing talents down to Gainesville, Blake Reese was an excellent utility man for the Gators and was also a captain this past season. After not playing much his freshman year, Blake's playing time sky-rocketed as he appeared in 141 games over the remaining three years of his Florida career.

One of Blake's most memorable moments came in Game 3 of the 2018 Gainesville Super Regional against Auburn. Standing on third base with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning in a 1-1 game, Blake successfully stole home plate as teammate Nick Horvath dashed for second base on a delayed steal. This run would prove to be critical, as the Gators would ultimately win the contest by a margin of 3-2.

Blake leaves Gainesville with a slash line of .247/.375/.371 with 91 hits, 68 runs scored, 6 home runs, 62 RBI's, 20 stolen bases, and a .949 fielding percentage.

Blake's accolades include:

  • 2018 NCAA Gainesville Regional All-Tournament Team
  • 2018 & 2017 SEC Regular Season Champion
  • 2018, 2017, & 2016 SEC Academic Honor Roll
  • 2016 National Champion

Blake graduated with a degree in Forestry and will probably do great things keeping Florida's wildernesses preserved as he was not taken in this year's MLB Draft. Thank you for these last four years, Blake!

Jonah Girand
Photo Credits: News4Jax.com










Jonah Girand transferred to the University of Florida at the start of the 2018 season. He will most fondly be remembered for his performance in the 2018 Gainesville Regional, where he mashed three home runs over the course of the weekend and earned himself the Most Outstanding Player Award for the regional.

Over the course of his two years at Florida, Jonah finishes with a slash line of .170/.278/.468 with 8 hits, 9 runs scored, 4 home runs, 9 RBI's, and a .1000 fielding percentage. He played a total of 25 games and started 10 of those contests. Jonah's lone collegiate accolade is the Most Outstanding Player Award he received for his performance in the 2018 Gainesville Regional.

Jonah graduated with a degree in Criminology and will do a great job enacting justice in the state of Florida as he was not taken in this year's MLB Draft. Thank you for these last two years, Jonah!

Final Takeaway
Before giving my final thoughts, here are my Top 5 Gator games of the 2019 season:

  1. Florida sweeps Florida State for the fourth straight season - 3/12, 3/26, and 4/9
  2. Wil Dalton hits a go-ahead double in the 8th inning against Miami - 2/23
  3. Jordan Butler hits a walk off home run against South Carolina to win the series - 4/13 
  4. Jack Leftwich shuts out Missouri - 5/17
  5. Florida scores 28 runs on Winthrop - 3/3

2019 can best be described as Florida finally suffering from its success. After losing so many talented and experienced guys to the MLB Draft, Florida had to rely mostly on freshmen during the course of the season. Four freshmen (Jacob Young, Kendrick Calilao, Cory Acton, and Jud Fabian) were in the everyday starting lineup while five freshmen (David Luethje, Nick Pogue, Nolan Crisp, Ben Specht, and Christian Scott) appeared in 15 or more games out of the bullpen.

Florida's roster for 2020 looks like it will consist of six seniors (four of whom transferred in previously), seven juniors, 11 sophomores, and 12 freshmen.

The 2020 Florida recruiting class will most likely contain:



In the transfer portal, I have heard news that both freshman infielder Roberto Pena and sophomore transfer pitcher Justin Alintoff will be looking to play ball somewhere else next season. I would not be surprised if rising junior catcher Cal Greenfield followed suit as he is the same year as starting backstop Brady Smith, who played in 56 games this year and started 53 of those contests. The Gators will also be losing long-time assistant coach, Brad Weitzel, who has served 12 years on the Gator staff along side head coach Kevin O'Sullivan.

As frustrating as it was to see the team struggle this year, a season like this can go a long way for these freshmen as they progress in their UF careers. Many of them received a good amount of playing time, and by the time they are juniors and seniors the Gators will once again be a juggernaut on the diamond. 

This isn't the first time Kevin O'Sullivan has dealt with a rough season. In fact, the last time Florida did not reach a super regional (2014), they only went on to rack up four straight College World Series appearances in the following seasons and of course a national championship in 2017.

Thank you for everything, 2019 Gator Baseball! Go Gators!

*All stats accredited to FloridaGators.com
**All awards & honors accredited to SECSports.com




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Tuesday, June 4, 2019

2019 Gator Softball: A Year in Review

The Florida Gator softball team came into 2019 with the usual national championship expectations that the program has become accustomed to. It was a shakier campaign than past seasons, as Florida failed to top 50 wins for the first time since 2012 and suffered five series losses in SEC play.

Despite a 49-18 overall record and 12-12 mark in conference play, the Gators were still able to make something of this season with their fifth SEC Tournament Championship and 10th appearance in the Women's College World Series.

SEC Tournament
In the SEC Tournament, the No. 6 seeded Gators used an exhilarating four-run 7th inning to walk off against the No. 5 seeded South Carolina Gamecocks (38-19). The game-winning double came off the bat of sophomore Jordan Matthews, who sent a missile off the left field wall.

In the next two games, senior Kelly Barnhill registered outstanding pitching performances as the Gators blanked the Tigers of No. 3 seeded LSU (43-19) and No. 10 seeded Auburn (39-21) by scores of 3-0 on route to the SEC Championship.

In a rematch with No. 1 seeded Alabama (60-10), who had swept Florida in Gainesville in mid-April, senior Amanda Lorenz hit a clutch two-run double with two outs in the sixth inning to propel the Gators to a 2-1 victory and an SEC Tournament title.

NCAA Regionals
Earning the No. 5 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Gators were back at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium hosting the Gainesville Regional. Florida did not allow a run throughout the entire regional as they blanked Boston University (37-20) by a mark of 3-0 and Boise State (36-16) by scores of 8-0 and 5-0 to advance to their seventh consecutive super regional.

NCAA Super Regionals
In supers, the Gators were paired up with a familiar SEC foe in the No. 12 seeded Tennessee Volunteers (43-17). The Vols had taken two out of three from the Gators in Gainesville in the first SEC series of the year, so this was no pushover opponent for Florida.

The Gators rode a solid outing from Kelly Barnhill to take Game 1 by a margin of 3-0. Game 2 would need extra innings as the Vols literally walked off 3-2 with a game-winning bases loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth inning. Game 3 would require an extra frame as well, but junior Jamie Hoover made sure the Gator faithful went home happy as she smoked a line drive over the shortstop's head into left field to plate Amanda Lorenz and send the Gators to Oklahoma City for the third straight year.

Women's College World Series
Once the Gators got to Oklahoma City, their magic began to fade. The No. 13 Oklahoma State Cowgirls (45-17) narrowly defeated Florida 2-1 in the opening round and then Alabama enacted their revenge with a 15-3 thrashing of the Gators in five innings. For the second straight season, the Gators had failed to even reach the semifinals of the College World Series.

Season Accomplishments
Despite another tough ending in Oklahoma City, the 2019 Florida Gator softball team accomplished much over the course of the season. Here are some of their noteworthy achievements from 2019:

  • SEC tournament champions for the 5th time in program history
  • Posted over 40 wins for the 20th time in school history and for the 17th consecutive year
  • 25 shutout victories
  • 11 run-rule victories
  • Notched 21 victories over 14 ranked opponents (Part I). They were (at the time): No. 14 MichiganNo. 6 ArizonaNo. 12 Arizona StateNo. 17 OregonNo. 5 WashingtonNo. 7/12 Tennessee (thrice), No. 8/10 LSU (twice)
  • Part II: No. 19 MinnesotaNo. 22 Ole Miss, No. 22 Arkansas (thrice), No. 4 Florida StateNo. 19/24 Auburn (thrice), No. 20 South Carolina, No. 4 Alabama 
  • 2 series sweeps (Arkansas, Texas A&M)
  • series wins (Arkansas, Texas A&M, Auburn)
  • Won their 12th regional title
  • Reached the Women's College World Series for the 10th time in program history.

Award Winners
After highlighting the team's success, let us now look at the individual Gator players who garnered recognition and accolades for their performances this season:

NFCA
  • NFCA First Team All-Americans 
    • OF - Amanda Lorenz
  • NFCA Second Team All-Americans
    • P - Kelly Barnhill
  • NFCA Southeast All-Region First Team
    • P - Kelly Barnhill
    • OF - Amanda Lorenz
    • UT/DP - Kendyl Lindaman
      SEC
      • First Team All-SEC
        • IF - Amanda Lorenz
        • DP/UT - Kendyl Lindaman
      • Second Team All-SEC
        • P - Kelly Barnhill
      • SEC All-Defensive Team
        • 1B - Amanda Lorenz

      Offense
      Now that we have highlighted the award winners, let us take a look at the stat leaders from the 2018 campaign:

      Hits: Amanda Lorenz (78)

      RBI's: Kendyl Lindaman (54)

      Doubles: Amanda Lorenz (14)

      Triples: Amanda Lorenz (4)

      Home Runs: Kendyl Lindaman (15)

      Batting Average: Amanda Lorenz (.422)

      Slugging Percentage: Amanda Lorenz (.719)

      On Base Percentage: Amanda Lorenz (.562)

      Stolen Bases: Sophia Reynoso (6)

      Runs Scored: Amanda Lorenz (57)

      Total Bases: Amanda Lorenz (133)

      Strikeouts: Jordan Roberts (55) (Junior)

      Walks: Amanda Lorenz (62)

      Hit By Pitch: Sophia Reynoso (19)

      Sacrifice Bunts: Hannah Adams (11)

      Sacrifice Flies: Amanda Lorenz (4)


      Defense

      Assists: Hannah Adams (97)

      Putouts: Jordan Roberts (325)

      Errors: Hannah Adams (5)

      Fielding Percentage: Jordan Roberts/Jaimie Hoover (1.000) 


      Pitching

      Wins: Kelly Barnhill (34)

      Losses: Kelly Barnhill (14)

      Strikeouts: Kelly Barnhill (358)

      Walks: Kelly Barnhill (81)

      Earned Run Average: Kelly Barnhill (1.61)

      Shutouts: Kelly Barnhill (11)

      Complete Games: Kelly Barnhill (14)

      Saves: Kelly Barnhill (3)

      Appearances: Kelly Barnhill (52)

      Innings Pitched: Kelly Barnhill (287.0)


      No-Hitters & Perfect Games
      This year the Florida Gators had two instances where their opponent failed to record a hit. Here's a brief breakdown of those games:
      • April 26th - In their last SEC road series of the regular season, Florida set the tone against Auburn in the series opener as Kelly Barnhill no hit the Tigers while striking out 10 batters.
      • May 18th -  In an abridged five-inning game in the regional semifinal, Florida's pitching kept Boise State confused all game as Kelly Barnhill (2.0 IP and 3 K's) and sophomore Natalie Lugo (3.0 IP and 2 K's) combined for the postseason no-no.

      Senior Sendoff
      In their four years playing for the Orange and Blue, the quintet of Kelly Barnhill, Amanda Lorenz, Alex Voss, Lily Mann, and Theresa Swertfager experienced the privilege of a Women's College World Series appearance in three of their four seasons. In the four years they all played at Florida, the Gators posted an overall record of 219-36 (.859 winning percentage).

      Kelly Barnhill
      Photo Credits: Pinterest










      Kelly Barnhill will be remembered as one of the greatest pitchers in Florida Gator softball history.  In her four years on the bump she has equaled and even surpassed many of elite arms that have come through this program before her.

      Despite a rough outing in her final start in Oklahoma City, Kelly finishes her remarkable UF career with a 104-22 record, a 1.26 ERA, 7 saves, 1205 strikeouts, and 170 walks in 787.1 innings pitched. In addition, she tossed one perfect game, six no hitters, and nine one hitters in her tenure for the Orange and Blue.

      The lengthy list of her career accolades include:



      NFCA
      • 2019 All-American Second Team
      • 2018 & 2017 NFCA All-American First Team
      • 2019, 2018, 2017 NFCA Southeast All-Region First Team
      • 2018 Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete
      • 2018 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Pitcher of the Week for the week of February 27
      • 2017 Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Pitcher of the Week for the week of April 18
      • 2016 NFCA Freshman of the Year Top Three Finalist
      • 2016 Third Team Southeast All-Region
      SEC
      • 2019 SEC Tournament MVP
      • 2019 All-SEC Tournament Team
      • 2018 & 2017 SEC Pitcher of the Year
      • 2018 & 2017 All-SEC First Team
      • 2018 SEC Community Service Team
      • 2018, 2017, 2016 SEC Academic Honor Roll
      • 2018 SEC Pitcher of the Week for the weeks of February 26; March 5 & 27; & April 17
      • 2017 SEC Pitcher of the Week for the weeks of February 20; April 11, 18, 25; & May 2
      • 2016 SEC All-Freshman Team
      • 2016 SEC Freshman of the Week for the weeks of March 21, & May 9
      USA Softball
      • 2018 USA Softball Player of the Year Top 4 Finalist
      • 2018 USA Softball Co-Player of the Week for the week of February 27
      • 2018 Team USA Member
      • 2017 USA Softball Collegiate National Player of the Year
      • 2017 USA Softball Collegiate National Player of the Week for the week of  April 18
      Miscellaneous Honors
      • 2018 CWSA Honda Sports Award Top 4 Finalist
      • 2018 Google Cloud/CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year
      • 2018 Google Cloud/CoSIDA Academic All-American First Team
      • 2017 Honda Sport Award Winner
      • 2017 EspnW Player of the Year
      • 2017 ESPY – Best Female Collegiate Athlete
      • 2017 WCWS All-Tournament Team
      • 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-American First Team
      • 2017 EspnW Player of the Week for the week of April 19

      Statistically, Kelly leaves the Gators as Top 5* in:
      • Strikeouts – 1,205 (First)
      • Shutouts – 52 (Second)
      • Wins – 104 (Third)
      • Starts – 137 (Third)
      • ERA – 1.26 (Fifth)

      Kelly graduated with a degree in Public Relations, but may not have to use that degree just yet as the Chicago Bandits selected her first overall in the 2019 National Pro Fastpitch College Draft. If she decides to play, Kelly would be the only Gator on the Bandits after the departure of Aleshia Ocasio (Class of 2018) to go coach at Howard University. Thank you for these last four years, Kelly!

      *Could not calculate Opponent's Batting Average, Strikeouts Per 7 Innings, Combined Shutouts, Strikeouts Looking, & Lowest Stolen Base Percentage because I don't have the necessary data available to me.

      Amanda Lorenz
      Photo Credits: Ventura County Star












      Earning the nickname "Mandy Softball", Amanda Lorenz has been one of the integral pieces of the Gator offense since the time she stepped on campus as a freshman. In her four years in Gainesville, Amanda finishes with a slash line of .403/.550/.686, 294 hits, 245 runs, 40 home runs, 192 RBI's, 31 stolen bases, and a .996 fielding percentage. Her collegiate honors include: 


      NFCA
      • 2019, 2018, 2017 NFCA All-American First Team
      • 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016 NFCA Southeast All-Region First Team
      • 2018 Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete
      • 2016 NFCA All-American Third Team
      • 2016 NFCA Freshman of the Year
      SEC
      • 2019 SEC Tournament MVP
      • 2019 SEC All-Defensive Team
      • 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016 All-SEC First Team
      • 2019 & 2018 All-SEC Tournament Team
      • 2018 SEC Player of the Year
      • 2018 SEC Tournament Most Valuable Player
      • 2018, 2017, 2016 SEC Academic Honor Roll
      • 2018 SEC Player of the Week for the week of February 26
      • 2016 SEC Freshman of the Year
      • 2016 SEC All-Freshman Team
      • 2016 SEC Freshman of the Week for the week of March 28
      USA Softball
      • 2018 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 4 Finalist
      • 2018 Team USA Member
      Miscellaneous Honors
      • 2018 CWSA Honda Sports Award Top 4 Finalist
      • 2017 WCWS All-Tournament Team

      Statistically, Amanda leaves the Gators as Top 10* in:
      • Batting Average – .403 (First)
      • On Base Percentage – .550 (First)
      • Doubles – 59 (First)
      • Walks – 238 (First)
      • Hits – 294 (Second)
      • Total Bases – 507 (Second)
      • Slugging Percentage – .686 (Third)
      • Runs – 245 (Third)
      • Triples – 12 (Third)
      • RBI's – 192 (Sixth)

      Amanda graduated with a degree in Sports Management but will most likely continuing playing as the USSSA Pride selected her second overall behind Kelly Barnhill in the 2019 National Pro Fastpitch College Draft. She will be the third Gator to join the Pride along with pitcher Hannah Rogers (Class of 2014) and Kirsti Merritt (Class of 2016). Thank you for these last four years, Amanda!

      Alex Voss
      Photo Credits: Daily Commercial

















      Hailing from my hometown of Coral Springs, Florida, Alex Voss was one of those players who began to see more playing time in her junior and senior seasons at Florida.

      A fantastic utility player, Alex finishes her four years for the Orange and Blue with a slash line of .210/.275/.299, 47 hits, 56 runs, 1 home run, 19 RBI's, 10 stolen bases, and a .982 fielding percentage. Her collegiate merits include:

      • 2018 Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete
      • 2018, 2017, 2016 SEC Academic Honor Roll

      Alex graduated with a degree in Sports Management and will not be pursuing a professional softball career. Thank you for these last four years, Alex!

      Lily Mann
      Photo Credits: FloridaGators.com













      Lily Mann saw plenty of action throughout her collegiate career as she appeared in 120 games. Unfortunately she was never given a start in any of those contests. Nevertheless, Lily concludes her Gator career with a slash line of .250/.421/.353, 6 hits, 29 runs, 3 RBI's, 5 stolen bases, and a .1000 fielding percentage. Her collegiate honors include:

      • 2018 NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete
      • 2018, 2017, 2016 SEC Academic Honor Roll

      Lily graduated with a degree in Applied Kinesiology & Physiology and will not be playing professional softball after college. Thank you for these last four years, Lily!

      Theresa Swertfager
      Photo Credits: Instagram















      Rounding out another great UF senior class is Theresa Swertfager. In her four years in Gainesville, Theresa ends her collegiate career with a triple identical slash line of .286/.286/.286, 4 hits, 1 RBI, 4 sacrifice hits, and a .1000 fielding percentage. Her collegiate honors include:

      • 2018 NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete
      • 2018, 2017, 2016 SEC Academic Honor Roll

      Theresa graduated with a degree in Education and will not be playing softball professionally. Thank you for these last four years, Theresa!

      Final Takeaway
      It definitely felt like a different season than I was accustomed to for Gator softball, but at the end of the day the girls still made it to the Women's College World Series. A team that finished sixth overall in the SEC regular season standings found a way to win the conference tournament, run the table in their regional, get back to Oklahoma City, and be competitive in one of the two games during their short stint in the WCWS.

      The loss of Barnhill will be a tremendous blow to the pitching staff while Lorenz's absence in the lineup will absolutely be felt on the offensive side. As it stands right now, the 2020 squad is set to boast six seniors, six juniors, eight sophomores (which includes transfer infielder Charla Echols from Michigan State), and probably six to seven freshmen in the incoming recruiting class.

      As always, head coach Tim Walton will figure it out and the expectations of making the Women's College World Series should remain the same at the University of Florida for the foreseeable future.

      Thank you for everything, 2019 Gator Softball! Go Gators!

      *All stats accredited to FloridaGators.com
      **All awards & honors accredited to NFCA.org & SECSports.com




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