The No. 6 Florida Gators softball team has a lineup that strikes fear in opposing pitchers with its ability to take any mistake and break a game wide open with a home run from any part of the lineup.
But perhaps what truly makes the Gator lineup so dangerous is that they may be even more patient than they are powerful. It comes as no surprise that the Gators lead the SEC in home runs with 46, but Florida also leads the SEC in walks with 155. Opponents have come to find that Florida’s lineup is truly a double-edged sword
“You can never take a pitch off with us,” said junior Kelsey Bruder, whose 12 walks make her one of six Gators with more than 10 this season. “That’s what makes it so hard for pitchers to pitch. That’s why they throw so many balls, just because of the fear we instill in the other team.”
The next team set to face Florida’s vaunted lineup is No. 24 Baylor (17-7). The Bears were one of three teams to defeat the Gators (20-3) last year and also made the Super Regionals. The teams will square off in Waco for a doubleheader at 3 p.m. on Saturday with the series finale at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Baylor’s pitchers will certainly be a good test for Florida’s hitters. The Bears have only surrendered 52 walks and nine home runs to go along with their team 1.73 ERA in 153.1 innings, so something will have to give. But Florida’s patience is unwavering due to the discipline coach Tim Walton instills in the program.
“I think that the discipline of this program carries over into every aspect,” Bruder said. “Just being patient, waiting for our pitch, knowing what’s a strike, what’s a ball, knowing what our pitch is to hit and what’s going to make us successful allows us to wait for that pitch.”
That discipline is maintained in every aspect of Florida’s program.
“All the way to the 6 a.m.’s to every aspect of our practice,” Bruder said. “Everything is completely controlled by the book. You know what’s expected of you. You know what you need to do. You know how to get your job done. Just bringing that to the plate that’s what we do.”
When the Gators take batting practice, Walton does not continuously lob pitches over the plate the batters will launch over the wall without thinking. Instead, he keeps them on their toes by mixing it up, something that pays dividends come game time.
“Coach Walton doesn’t like to just rep us good pitches because then we get into a routine,” said junior Aja Paculba, who leads the team with 23 walks. “We get into a rhythm where it’s swing at everything. Every once in a while, he will toss some bad pitches to us, just to see if our eye is good, making sure we’re not just going through the motions.”
The practice comes with a constant training not only for the bats but also for the eyes.
“I hit early with coach about every single day,” Bruder said. “He’ll mix in a rise-ball spin, a changeup spin, and I’ll have to see it and track it all the way in. I’ll ask him every time, ‘Ball? Strike?’ I see what’s a strike, I see what’s a ball and I can carry that into the game.”
The attention to detail carries over to the games, as the players carefully watch each pitch that is thrown to whoever is currently batting. So as the disciplined approach helps the batter wait for just the right pitch, it also gives the players more of an insight into what they will be facing when it is their turn to take the plate, something that gives an advantage to an already formidable lineup.
“A lot of pitchers have their go-to pitch,” Paculba said. “When you see a couple of batters before and you see the pitches that she’s throwing and in what order, how she’s throwing righties, how she’s throwing lefties, it kind of helps you know where to stand in the box, where you’re going to focus and where you’re trying to hit the ball.”
As the leadoff hitter, Paculba is key for the Gators in this aspect. She is adept both at taking a lot of pitches and also getting on base. Her .506 on-base percentage is just behind senior Francesca Enea’s .516 for the team lead.
“Aja’s main job is to get on base for us,” Bruder said. “The statistics show that when she gets on base as a leadoff batter, we almost always score. So it’s really important for her to see some pitches and be able to give us some feedback as well. The more pitches she sees, the more we can learn about the pitcher. What’s working for her, what kind of spins she has, stuff like that. When Aja gets on and she’s patient, it helps us tremendously.”
As the Gators showed in their comeback victory over Auburn on Wednesday, that discipline and patience still shines through when things aren’t going the Gators’ way. Stymied by Auburn ace Anna Thompson, who held the Gators hitless through five innings, Florida remained patient and drew two two-out walks that helped fuel the two-run inning that got the offense going.
Walton described it as a “business-like mentality” that separates the Gators from most teams they will face this year.
As long as the Gators stick to their guns and remain patient at the plate, good things will continue to happen. Patience is a virtue that Florida truly lives by, one that will continue to bring victories as the season goes on.