Ongoing UF Softball Commentary

Heard the announcer at the end of NC State's win over Notre Dame say that State's winning pitcher threw 308 pitches this weekend. Seems like alot.

 

Amanda has all the feels:

 

Amanda is in love:

 

I'm not sure this has ever been done before but we should have eight players making either first or second team All-SEC or All-Freshmen team: Korbe, Kendra, Skylar, Jocey, Reagan, Ava, Keagan and Ariel.

 

sec worst case = 4th with bye to thursday.

 

Erickson HR call (Gators radio)

 

the o had better put up more than 3. doubt ctw is going to have a high count with ava, pulled her early last time against fsu.

 

Or maybe add Katie

 

Because they'll give it to Trisha Ford because A&M hasn't finished high at all and the media is in love.

 

As much as I like her Katie's numbers aren't quite there. And we won't end uo having as many as we should unfortunately. Korbe, Jocey, and Reagen are for sure getting it. Thesw 3 should also be on the national top 25 finalists.. All three of the freshmen mentioned should also. Ava hitting numbers will help her. And Ariel has been strong lately.

 

I agree, the only way she gets All-SEC is to go on a tear this week and in the SEC tournament. I know it’s a wishful thinking of my part.

 

I totally agree with our Amanda. I am elated that Jocey chose to be a Gator. She is clutch in evey way she plays the game.

 

Reagan’s HR:

https://www.facebook.com/share/9239HbMv3AXEeBz9/?mibextid=WC7FNe

 

And here is Jocey's classy reply:

 

Well, we got back late last night from Athens and boy what a fantastic weekend it was. A few observations from our trip.

1. Our team is awesome - they went into a hostile environment and won 2 of 3 from UGA. Great to see one player after another pick up for other teammates that were struggling. Our timely hitting finally showed up and if we clean up the errors, we will be the team no one wants to play.

2. Our freshman pitchers are incredible. Keagan won 2 games and notched her 20th win of the year. She will only get better. Ava had a little bit of a rough outing on the mound but "Downtown" Ava Brown showed up this weekend and she brought out her big bat with 2 home runs and 5 RBI. We are lucky to have them.

3. Thanks to a call from Coach Walton to Coach Baldwin, the first three rows above the visiting dugout were reserved for family and friends of the Gators. Brittany told us that we had 85 people on the list for seating and it seemed like there was more than that. It was great to sit and chat with some of the parents and cheer their kids on right beside them. One thing that was a common theme was how much the players and their families love the coaching staff and the whole program. Another thing that was impressive is the parents thanking us for traveling to an away venue and supporting their daughters, they were truly grateful.

I would be remiss if I didn't comment on the UGA softball stadium. Please note that I hate UGA as much as anyone (and more than FSU) but:

As you may or may not know, UGA does not charge admission and there is no reserved seating for softball. People line up 3+ hours before first pitch to get in to see a game. Some think not charging is a bad idea but I can tell you that the atmosphere is electric. I have never seen that level of excitement and cheering at KSP ever! I think the reason why is that 1/2 the crowd were young girls who were all yelling and screaming all game long. The stadium hold 2,000 fans, they had 2,185 in attendance on Sunday and they probably turned away 300+ disappointed fans. We need to come up with a way to get younger fans to our games, As an old fart, I cheer for our team at KSP but no where near as loud or as long as pre-teen and teenage girls can and do.

After experiencing three days of ear splitting cheering - I can see how a recruit would choose to play at UGA, especially now that they are in the midst of 38.5 million dollar indoor softball complex build. The place is just electric and the cheering is louder than I've ever heard at any event with the exception of the football in the Swamp.

They also have an area between the home dugout and their bull pen where players families can sit or stand and watch the game - a fantastic idea.

One more thing of note - The concessions were top notch. They had at least three concession stands that I saw and the prices were incredible. A hot dog was only $ 2.50 (at KSP it's $ 9.00), a 32oz soft drink in their souvenir cup was only $ 4.00 (at KSP it's $ 8.00) and although I didn't get a beer, I know it was much cheaper than the $ 12.00 that we charge.

A family of 4 can go to a UGA softball game and not spend $50.00 and the same family of 4 cannot got to a UF softball and spend less that $100.00 - another reason why they typically draw 1600+ fans a game.

They have 10 seniors that will be playing their last softball at UGA and l'm ecstatic that Kearney, Fields, Mosely and Chambly will not suit up against us next year but with the program that Baldwin is building up there, they will be a pain in our butts soon enough - maybe not next year but they will be sooner than later.

With that being said, it great to be a Florida Gator and it was great to walk in there and slap those dogs with a rolled up newspaper.

Great job ladies now bring on A & M.

 

All: HOW are we looking to host a regional? Thoughts??