Now that I've been unbanned: I was in attendance for all three Texas games and the difference between UF and Texas is massive. Massive. UT could easily have swept by starting Kavan on Monday, but I think White was trying some things out with the series in hand. They were bigger, faster, stronger, more skilled, and--most importantly--more intensely focused. It was obvious. In-state games since have shown many of the same issues: low-energy, passive. No effective leadership. Batting subpar: popup after popup, unable to get the ball in play and force the issue. Watching way too many good pitches in pursuit of the perfect one, failing to adjust to the (admittedly inconsistent) strike zones they face. Timid. Basic fielding errors making everything worse. This is not a WCWS team right now. Not close. The switch still hasn't been flipped. Walton has to find a way to instill some kind of sense of urgency in this team, because they're sleepwalking right now. I'm not saying it won't happen, but something big needs to change. Without Rothrock, the team and coaching staff appear to be playing/coaching scared. Makes sense since every other pitcher has huge issues (Red>Ava>Kara>Miller), but you'd think the offense could step up and help them out a bit more. I thought the collapse would come vs A&M and I was wrong. They deserve credit for a gutty series win. But the wheels are coming off now. Getting shut out EASILY by a UCF freshman is an embarrassment and something an elite team just doesn't do. Will be interesting to see how they stack up with a scrappy (but 0-9 in league) Auburn team. Less than a sweep is the reddest of flags. Curious to see what (if any) personnel changes Walton makes. Looking forward to all the reasons I'm wrong and everything is fine.
Might be time to make some changes to get some people worried about losing their spot. Comia should play more. Walton claimed Lamar probably had the most power coming into the season, where has she been? Thomas and Hovermale are probably done for the year with undisclosed injuries. No chance now that if Rothrock comes back will she swing a bat. (and that's a big if as every week passes).
Interesting take…personally I’m not excited about two way Ava and her standoffish personality. Pick a position Ava. Jmo
In my opinion KR not pitching is what is wrong with the Florida softball program. This girl has supposedly a non serious injury that has kept her out of the lineup since February 22. That is a long time to be on a day to day basis. If she doesn't pitch this weekend, I wouldn't be surprised if she won't be done for the year and that is a huge problem.
Just a question here fellow soft ball ‘ites’: has the NIL era now taken a toll in softball to a point that UF can’t seem to recruit/stack enough top shelf pitchers that can actually produce ? Obviously KRoc is supposed to be our dominant pitcher. But Ava was supposed to be right there behind her. And Red may turn out to be a great one, but you can’t depend on freshmen. It kind of feels/seems like a similar situation to what Baseball is experiencing. Top rated recruiting classes that just aren’t producing at the needed level. How does/ What does CTW do to build a pitching roster that withstands a key injury ? Just curious for your thoughts. Thx.
No I haven’t….just observing her body language. It’s just my opinion, and no, I didn’t have to add it.
RPI = 2 ESPN poll = 4 Coaches poll = 4 Trying to figure out where this angst is coming from, so I checked the most obvious sign of a struggling team and there it was: 2nd to last in the SEC in triples allowed (all games) The good news is they've tightened up since SEC play began, so I'm willing to give this Walton guy a few more weeks to see how it goes. Go GATORS! ,WESGATORS
yeah I was curious to the issues?? lol whatever they are, AU pitching & D should cure what ails ya. they did beat ucf though..
This is an interesting question. I've been told that UF's NIL budget for softball has significantly increased recently and is now on par with the top programs. Like everything else re: NIL there is no transparency and speculation is the most we get. It is somewhat strange to me that in neither of the past two off seasons has Walton landed an elite transfer pitcher.
WTF are you talking about??????? Keagan Rothrock is not elite? Ava was the consensus #1 pitcher. Red was right up there near the very top. We have a commitment from Caroline Stanton who is the consensus #1 pitcher in the 2026 class. WTF are you talking about?????
Now. You just might consider that top pitching recruits knew that Keagan and Ava were coming in so before they arrived, that drove off some others. And the next year the next batch knew that Keagan and Ava were freshman and that drove off some potential recruits but we still got Red. Now that things are moving along, we get Caroline Stanton. I strongly suggest you do your homework and combine it with some rational thought before going off the ledge again.
Why do we need transfer pitchers????? I don't remember transfers a part of what started this. Is this a commercial for TV? Transfer? Oh, you will buy my house. I guess I will transfer. A couple years ago...yes. And Walton busted his butt to get Maxwell or Vawter but we didn't have the money to compete. We needed transfer pitchers then. We don't now. And, without busting my brain and going back to the original post, I believe your point was we can't recruit. Not buying that. Now, once a top level recruit has to perform, that is another question but it has nothing whatsoever to do with getting top level recruits.
I think the team would be in a much better place each of the past two seasons with the addition of a seasoned vet transfer pitcher, and not on the level of Hammock or the UVA transfer. And I'm not the one off the ledge here, pal. Calm down before you blow a gasket.
I can assure you I haven't the slightest notion to blow a gasket over this thread. I might blow out my stomach laughing but not a gasket.
