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.
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.
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.
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 Michigan, No. 6 Arizona, No. 12 Arizona State, No. 17 Oregon, No. 5 Washington, No. 7/12 Tennessee (thrice), No. 8/10 LSU (twice)
- Part II: No. 19 Minnesota, No. 22 Ole Miss, No. 22 Arkansas (thrice), No. 4 Florida State, No. 19/24 Auburn (thrice), No. 20 South Carolina, No. 4 Alabama
- 2 series sweeps (Arkansas, Texas A&M)
- 3 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 Third Team All-Americans
- UT/DP - Kendyl Lindaman (Junior)
- 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
- Freshman All-SEC Team
- SEC All-Defensive Team
- 1B - Amanda Lorenz
- SEC All-Tournament Team
- P - Kelly Barnhill (MVP)
- IF - Amanda Lorenz
- IF - Hannah Adams (Sophomore)
- IF - Sophia Reynoso (Junior)
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
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| 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.
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:
- 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
- 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
- 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)
*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
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| Photo Credits: Ventura County Star |
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
- 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
- 2018 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 4 Finalist
- 2018 Team USA Member
Miscellaneous Honors
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:
Theresa graduated with a degree in Education and will not be playing softball professionally. Thank you for these last four years, Theresa!
- 2018 CWSA Honda Sports Award Top 4 Finalist
- 2017 WCWS All-Tournament Team
Statistically, Amanda leaves the Gators as Top 10* in:
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!
- 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)
Alex Voss
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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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