(SB) Ongoing UF Softball Commentary

I would've rather it got canceled. Though I think we will grow from this. Know we didn't have a lot of practice time this week, but i suspect what we practice this week will be intense. Hope Holtorf is okay.

 

When a Florida football or basketball player is hurt the fans are pretty much informed as to the seriousness of the injury and the expected return. Women’s sports at Florida is a completely different story. I don't know why but it is. That being said, does anyone have a clue as to when Red will be ready to pitch?

 

Seems it will be around March 1.

 

Fairly certain I jinxed us

 

Alabama walked off by OSU on the final strike. Tough weekend for Patrick Murphy.

 

Post-Bubly thoughts:

1. Bats were pretty mediocre all weekend (.333 or thereabouts by rough calculations), with several of our best hitters all slumping at the same time. I'm not panicking yet but numerous players are well short of their historical production at this point.

2. This made the several uncharacteristic defensive lapses much more costly, especially tonight. If Holtorf doesn't drop that line drive in the 2nd the outcome may have been different. 11 errors already this year, with several other plays that could have been scored as such.

3. I thought the team looked a little low energy several times this weekend. Not sure if that's fatigue, boredom after so much early dominance, or what. It seems like there may be a bit of a leadership drought this year. Need someone like Skylar to get on them and fire them up. By her own admission, she had to grow into that role. Who will step up this year?

4. Pitching behind Rothrock is currently an issue. Brown appears to struggle with the mental aspect of the game at times when things aren't going well. Hammock has been competent and Miller was terrific the only time we've seen her. The staff is still shaking out and Oxley may be a difference maker when she's healthy. Plenty of time to get it sorted out.

5. Overall, it's good to remember this team is 13-1 and hasn't come close to hitting its stride yet. Three games vs ranked teams: 2-1 with 2 run rules. The next two invitationals are mostly tomato cans; will be interesting to see how things progress and what steps Walton takes to further evaluate and develop the team.

 

Yep. Okie State scored three in the bottom of the seventh to win 4-3.

 

I liked your thoughts on the Bubley but I would not consider ASU & Grand Canyon as tomato cans. ASU is 6 & 3 but defeated once beaten Oregon and Grand Canyon is 9 & 2.

 

I’ve heard through the grapevine that she has been cleared to play. So it will be a matter of time for Coach Stephanie to get her ready for the circle.

 

Did Holtorf get injured? Or was she taken out for the defensive miscue to try to send a message? And not to make excuses but maybe we saw some early season fatigue today. 6 straight days with games. But defense shouldn’t slump. Defense up the middle has to improve.

 

In the SEC, the Gators now rank 5th in BA, 7th in ERA & 7th in fielding %.

 

Guess baseball is a women's sport because it's the same story there. We tend to get information on football and basketball presumably because of the gambling involved. It's not a women's sports issue.

 

GCU can definetley pull an upset. I belive they were who knocked UCLA off in regional a couple years ago.

 

Holtorf has been shaky all season. I'm not buying any injury taking her out unless it was the one I saw in between innings. During the mid inning warmup, Reagan throws the ball to the ground and it one hops over her glove right into her throat. I've not seen a player completely miss this many balls with her glove at this level. Coach must have seen the same thing because that's when he made the change. If you can hit a hard grounded to that gap vs Florida you will bat 700. Not to mention the constant interference with the outfield on bloopers. I'm also wondering why Jocey now has all these missed steals at second. Her throws have not been very accurate at all and several bad pitches have already made it to the backstop when last year those stayed in front of her. Not sure where her comfort level is now and whether she is trying to be too perfect to compensate for the defense in general. Geez, mia couldn't throw a 15 footer to first base Sunday, they are just not tuned in on defense. SEC teams are gonna eat them up if they don't get it fixed soon. These soft early season schedules are both good and bad. I never know if it's complacency or actual real issues.

 

We did look better when Gabbi came in, she made a great diving catch to get an out. Just seems like she has more range and a stronger arm than Rylee.

Positioning the infielders is going to be very important this year as both players on the left side have very limited range.

Maybe getting away to AZ this week will help the team get over this loss. CTW told us that the run rule loss to Michigan last year in California helped the team tremendously, maybe this loss does the same.

I’m anxious to see them practice Wednesday at Jocey’s & Rylee’s old HS out in Phoenix.

 

This is a great point that I hadn’t considered. Looking at the schedules, we’ve played 3-5 more games than anyone else in the country already in this early season. Anyone know why that is?

Like you said, it’s not an excuse, but playing that many games in such a short period could lead to a number of things - fatigue, complacency, boredom, lack of scouting time, etc.

 

And here is next years Clearwater list of teams....numerous repeats....no Gators:
Duke, FAU, Florida State, Georgia, James Madison, LSU, Missouri, NC State, Nebraska, Northwestern, Oklahoma State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UCF, and UCLA make up the full group of teams that will play in the ’26 version of the tournament.

Six teams in the 2025 tournament field will return in ’26, a group headlined by annual Clearwater stalwarts Florida State and Oklahoma State. UCF, Missouri, Texas A&M, and UCLA will also return to Eddie C Moore Complex next year.

 

Holtorf's husband was sitting behind me yesterday, and at one point after she had been pulled, I saw her make eye contact with him when she was walking back into the dugout and she just kind of shook her head and looked so sad and so tired. I want the best player out there, obviously, but it twisted me up a little to see her look so defeated. But... to add to what others are saying... I was right above the Gators' dugout and yeah, they just all looked and seemed drained. I've seen Keagan get shaken before, but there also appeared to be a bit of disappointment/frustration that her defense couldn't get her some outs that should have been givens. I completely agree that there is a leadership component missing. Falby seems to be trying, but there was something about the combined energies of her, Wallace, and Kistler last year that could get the other girls SO fired up. Part of me hopes CTW lets the bench take the reins on Wednesday against UNF so some of these girls can get some rest, and the other half of me wants him to run with his usual starters against them so they can get some of their mojo flowing again.

My other key takeaway... I like Gabi Comia. A lot. She's young and needs to settle in a bit, but she's fun to watch. She's a wiggly, fidgety little thing, but she will put her body on the line for a play or a base, and I'm not sure I've ever seen a dirtier uniform than hers was last night.