Lexie Delbrey pitching tonight vs. Southern Miss. Here's the starting lineup: Spot Pos # Player Bats Avg 1 lf 27 Kendra Falby L .519 2 2b 1 Hannah Adams L .462 3 1b 17 Skylar Wallace L .419 4 3b 4 Charla Echols L .327 5 ss 15 Reagan Walsh R .306 6 cf 2 Cheyenne Lindsey L .380 7 dp 52 Sarah Longley R .227 8 c 13 Sam Roe R .211 9 rf 29 Katie Kistler L .478 10 p 16 Lexie Delbrey
Time will tell, but I think Delbrey will be in that category. Maybe not this year, but by the time she's finished I think she could be one of the UF greats.
Gator softball lost their first game of the season, dropping a 5-4 decision to Southern Miss. Lexie Delbrey got off to a shaky start, with wildness again being a problem. She gave up a 3-run HR in the first inning and a solo HR in the 2nd before settling down to pitch pretty well until the top of the 7th, when she gave up a walk and single before being relieved by Marissa Mesiemore. Mesiemore got 3 consecutive ground balls that should have gotten them out of the inning but a throwing error by SS Reagan Walsh allowed a run to score. UF outhit Southern Miss 9-5, and had the game tied by the bottom of the 5th at 4-4. But after Southern Miss took the lead in the 7th, Skylar Wallace led off with a single, but Echols flew out to left and Walsh grounded into a double play to end the game. Walsh's defense is becoming more & more of a liability, as she now has 8 of the team's 9 errors on the season. Gators next play 5 games in 3 days over the weekend and hope to have Hightower back and able to pitch.
Great recap and insight. Much better than anything I'll read on Gatorsports or Gatorzone. Keep up the good work.
I know this has been asked before, but is there no way to get info on Haley Pittman's status-this is her 2nd season and she has pitched about 2 innings total.
I emailed Steve Russell a few days ago and asked him about her, but haven't heard back. He has responded to a few emails I've sent him in the past, so if I hear anything I'll pass it along.
Gator softball hosts Georgia State Friday at either 3:30 or 4 pm (I've seen both times given as start times), then Coastal Carolina 45 minutes or so after that game is concluded. They play Tennessee State Saturday at 1 pm, then on Sunday play Coastal Carolina at 11:30 AM, then Georgia State 45 minutes or so after that game finishes. Audio only for the entire weekend. Seems like they could do a basic video feed, but doesn't appear to be happening. Georgia State is 6-8, but beat Tennessee State 3-0 earlier today on a 2-hitter by pitcher Emily Buck.
Elizabeth Hightower starting in the circle for the Gators vs. Georgia State. Skylar Wallace is at SS, Avery Goelz at 1B and Reagan Walsh as DP.
Gator softball (17-1) beat Georgia State 3-1 on a combined 2-hitter from Elizabeth Hightower (4 innings) and Marissa Mesiemore, who gets the win. Florida only got 4 hits off their freshman pitcher, with Goelz scoring their first run on a wild pitch, their second on a 2 out single from Hannah Adams and their 3rd on a solo HR from Reagan Walsh. Next up is 8-6 Coastal Carolina about 6 pm.
Lexie Delbrey gets the start vs. Coastal. Wallace still at SS, Goelz at 1b, Walsh DP, with Roe behind the plate. UF up 3-1 top of the 2nd.
Apparently CTW reads this forum -- many advocated moving Wallace to SS, Goelz to 1B and have Walsh as DP and now he has done just that. Clearly Wallace has forgotten nothing from her days at Alabama playing SS. There were two difficult plays, deep in the hole and she got the runner each time. Granted a game does not a season make and CTW may change back, but its interesting to look back on what D1 softball wrote just a few months back:
UF beat Coastal Carolina 8-1 to go to 18-1. Lexie Delbrey gave up a solo HR in the first, but threw 6 innings, giving up only 1 more hut, striking out 8, with Rylee Trlicek pitching the 7th. Gators pounded out 11 hits, led by Skylar Wallace's 3-3 with 3 RBI/ Falby, Adams & Walsh got 2 hits each.
Right field has been interesting to watch as CTW is basically doing a platoon system waiting for someone to break out. It might just be Katie Kistler, but the jury is still out. The adjustment CTW makes sometimes in the late innings is Buffano to right, Falby to center, and Lindsay to left. I guess that's better defensively?
I think that is the optimal defense late games. Does anyone know if Goddard is done for the year? Wondering if she could DP at some point to add another power bat
Great to see Hightower back, Good to hear Wallace at ss ( no errors today), Delbry settled down after the early HR and Trlicek was stellar in relief. Hopefully Echols breaks out of her slump (for her) b4 SEC play starts.
I agree with most that Delbrey is going to be special after Bosch works with her. Having said that, her stats are troubling, especially given the caliber of opponent we have faced so far. She has 33% of the innings pitched so far. She has 80% of the home runs, 65% of the Hit By Pitch, 50% of the Base on Balls, and 70% of the Wild Pitches. When she's on target, she's unhittable. But she puts a lot of runners on base for free and gives up homers. This will probably get more pronounced with SEC play. I've said before that I think Mike Bosch is a genius, but he's gonna need to work fast if we're going to depend on Delbrey.
Gator softball beat Tennessee State today 6-0. Sophomore Haley Pittman got her first collegiate start and pitched 4 strong innings, allowing only 1 hit, 2 walks with 2 K's in picking up the win. Marissa Mesiemore thre 2 perfect inning with 2 K's and Rylee Trlicek only gave up a walk in the 7th. UF got 9 hits, led by Hannah Adams with 3, Kendra Falby with 2, plus a 2-run HR and 3 RBI from Reagan Walsh. Gators play a doubleheader on Sunday, the first game against against Coastal Carolina at 11:30 am.
I disagree about Coach Bosch, but I'm interested to read why you feel that way. My perception (admittedly just a fan, not especially knowledgable about softball pitching): since he's been at UF, the only pitcher that improved appreciably is Hightower. Barnhill regressed, Chronister didn't improve until her senior year (but only a bit), Trlicek is still stuck in the bullpen, and Delbray is TBD - but very rocky so far. They were all big-time recruits, but the results don't say "genius coach" to me - at least not so far.
UF softball destroyed Coastal Carolina Sunday 17-1 in 5 innings. Elizabeth Hightower picked up her 5th win by going 4 innings and giving up only 2 hits, 3 walks, 2 wild pitches and 5 K's. Marissa Mesiemore threw the 5th. The Gators offense scored 6 runs in the bottom of the 1st, single runs in the 2nd and 3rd and then 9 runs in the bottom of the 4th. Skylar Wallace went 2-4 with 4 RBI including an inside the park HR, Avery Goelz went 3-4 with 3 RBI, Charla Echols went 2-2, Cheyenne Lindsey went 2-3, with 6 other ladies getting a hit. They finish the weekend abround 2:15 with a game against Georgia State.