(SB) Ongoing UF Softball Commentary

I'm surprised that Olivia Miller hasn't pitched more innings because when given the chance she's been really good - 2 perfect games even. On top of that, Rothrock had some serious issues with her legs starting in the fall of 2022. She had surgery on her right leg 1/13/23 and on her left leg 2/3/23. Then she got a serious infection in one of the legs that was extremely painful. Yet she was able to play her senior season and report to Florida completely cleared. IHSAA softball: Keagan Rothrock has her mojo back, Roncalli on top
With all that said, softball pitching is much different from baseball in the way it affects the joints, muscles and tendons and doesn't require much recovery time to go again. Usually when softball pitchers get tired, it's the legs that go first, IMO. Stacey Nelson was a workhorse during her time at Florida and I believe she pitched a higher percentage of total innings than Rothrock has so far. Coach Walton has handled seasons where he used 2 primary pitchers, sometimes with a 3rd in there, but relied heavily on one stud to carry the load. He knows what he's doing and I have full confidence that between he, our new pitching coach, the team doctors and Keagan's parents, they aren't doing anything to put her in jeopardy. But one never knows when the injury bug could hit any one of our players and the more we rely on a single player, the greater impact it will have if they get hurt.

 

I just hope the 19-3 record isn't fool's gold. After today's loss, our SOS is only 193, RPI #49. We are 3-1 in Quad 1 games, 3-0 in Quad 2 games, 2-2 in Quad 3 games (MIchigan is Quad 3) and 11-0 in Quad 4 games. It gets real starting next weekend and we'll see what this team is made of. But for an offense that Coach Walton described before the season as "elite" and one of the best he's ever had, so far they haven't shown that eliteness against quality pitching. They destroy mediocre pitchers, but have a lot to prove over the next several weeks because every SEC team has 2 or more quality pitchers.

 

They've played a much tougher schedule than us. Oklahoma's SOS right now is #17, UF's #193. Not taking away from what our pitchers have done, just sayin'.

 

That's probably Bama's first loss. They have played a very soft schedule so far and had been undefeated. They have 2 really good pitchers we're going to have a hard time hitting against.

 

I wonder if Coach Walton will try to get a midweek game scheduled since we got rained out of a couple of games. The way it stands we're off until next Saturday because our Bama series is Saturday, Sunday, Monday.

 

Yes, and their SOS jumped considerably last week. They are now #36 in SPS and #8 in RPI. 19-1 record, their only loss a 2-0 shutout vs. South Alabama. Their offense isn't quite what it's been in the past, but their 2 main pitchers are really good. We'll see where the Gator team stacks up in the SEC starting Saturday afternoon.