A weekend after their offense showed it was as good as advertised in winning several high-scoring affairs, the third-ranked Florida Gators showed that they have the capability of shutting down opposing lineups when Stephanie Brombacher is pitching.
As the season goes along, Coach Tim Walton’s Gators know they are going to get involved in more low-scoring battles against top-notch competition, so it’s good to know that they will be able to rely on Brombacher to deliver a lockdown performance.
But as the Gators (9-1) head into a weekend series with Northwestern State (8-2) with a Saturday doubleheader (1 p.m. start) and Sunday finale (12 noon), it is a good time to see what their freshman pitchers are capable of providing this season. As good as Brombacher can be, she won’t be able to carry the load by herself through the entire season.
Erin Schuppert and Ensley Gammel saw some action last weekend, but Walton was ready to pull them at the first sign of danger. Neither advanced past the third inning in their respective starts over the weekend, but Walton knows that protecting their confidence is more important over the long haul.
“I don’t want to ruin that [confidence],” Walton said. “I think there’s a line you have to draw between throwing them out in the fire and making them figure it out themselves, and also being able to protect them.”
Walton mentioned Gammel’s confidence in particular as something he is trying to get right as the season goes along. Gammel had control issues while allowing two unearned runs in her start against Kansas. It’s not uncommon for a freshman to have an adjustment period entering the college game, but Brombacher has shown that she will be there to help the freshmen through their struggles.
“[Gammel’s] kind of like me,” Brombacher said the day after Gammel’s start. “We’re both really perfectionists. If I have a bad game, I know I don’t really want to talk to anyone right then. I texted her last night, so I think that helped. It’s tough. I went through that my freshman year. Nothing anyone would say to me would help me. You just really have to battle yourself. But I believe in her. I told her that last night. I have all the confidence in the world in her. She’s shown in the bullpen that she can pitch. She just needs to get out there and do it. When she gets in a groove in a game, I think she’ll be fine.”
While Gammel is still finding that groove, Brombacher has proven more than capable of picking up the slack. It’s a tradition that has worked pretty well for Florida the past several years.
“That’s the one thing,” Walton said. “Stacey Nelson was protected by Stacey Stevens, Brombacher was protected by Stacey Nelson and now Ensley Gammel is being protected by Stephanie Brombacher.”
Brombacher is certainly up to the task, as she showed with her four appearances in the five weekend games. Although it seems like a lot of work this early in the season for someone the team will have to rely on to take them where they want to go, Walton puts that fear to rest by saying that he isn’t worried about her number of appearances, only the number of innings she pitched. With 21.1 innings over the weekend, Brombacher pitched about the equivalent of three full games, which is right where he wants her to be.
“Stephanie’s velocity has been maintained,” Walton said. “Her health has been 100 percent. She’s been feeling good. She wants the ball. It’s not like she’s sitting in the corner going, ‘I’m good. I don’t really want to.’ I want her to want it.”
As long as Brombacher wants it, she will get it. The only thing Walton noticed was that her performance deteriorated as the work piled up over the weekend, but she fought through her fatigue and came out with four wins, only surrendering one run.
“On Friday night, she was as good as I’ve ever seen her look,” Walton said. “Saturday she wasn’t as good as she was Friday. Sunday she probably wasn’t as good as she was on Saturday. But the thing is she was really fighting and competing. I’m happy with that. Just trying to build her stamina and build her up and get her stronger, so we can have her fresh as we get going.”
On Monday, Walton said he planned to give Brombacher two days rest to start off the week, which is one more day than usual. Gammel was also seen pitching an hour before practice started on Tuesday, and after a week of working out the kinks, it’s fair to assume she will be ready to go this weekend. It’s obvious that Walton thinks highly of Gammel’s ability when he speaks about her, so it’s only a matter of time before that talent starts showing through on the field.
“We’ll get Ensley right,” Walton said. “Her and Stephanie are obviously the key components to this season, but Ensley is the wildcard, just like Stephanie was the year before.”
Walton has also showed confidence in giving Schuppert some work as well. Schuppert has shown potential in pitching two innings of one-hit ball, but also showed that she is still adjusting to the game as well, as she gave up four runs in her next 6.2 innings. But the ability is certainly there.
“I think the biggest surprise so far has been Erin Schuppert,” Walton said. “Erin has done a really good job. She’s gone out and really given me some quality innings. I won’t say I didn’t expect it, but she’s probably going to be a one-time-through-the-lineup type of pitcher. The longer I can go with her, the more confidence I get in her.”
Schuppert was able to pick up the other win over the weekend, but Walton did show a little concern that Brombacher was taking home so many victories.
“Stephanie’s 7-1,” Walton said. “I worry about that. That’s too many for her and not enough for somebody else.”
But don’t expect Walton to change his blueprint, which has carried him to the Women’s College World Series the past two seasons.
“I think when you win 133 games in two years and the way we’ve gone about it, I don’t really look and try to evaluate what’s going to happen at the end of the year,” Walton said. “I think the main focus is to win every game you possibly can. That’s why you schedule them…You hear the one thing that everybody’s talking about in NCAA basketball is fighting for seeds and getting better seeds. Well, we’re fighting for a seed now. We’re not trying to get it later on.”
With Brombacher leading the way, Walton can certainly be patient in grooming his freshmen to be ready for the rigors that will come as the schedule gets tougher. It will be worth the wait. When they are ready, the team will be able to win any way they want.