Florida may have some youngsters on the mound, but the Gator roster as a whole is an older and experienced group, which head coach Tim Walton loves.
When speaking to the ESPN broadcast in between innings with his team trailing, Walton was asked about his team’s maturity and noted the older nature of the sport as a whole.
“Yeah, they’ve been good. You know, obviously they’ve gone through a lot with the pandemic and impacting the group — I think all of the senior class across the country got four, five and six-year seniors.”
But his team in specific has really come together.
“They’ve done a good job. They’ve really bonded well. You know, where we’re at right now, the maturity just needs to be, guys, have fun, be confident, continue to understand how to play the game without trying too hard.”
At times, though, that’s been an issue, per Walton: “I think that’s been the only knock on us this year, sometimes you’re just trying too hard.”
In this second game of their super regional series vs. Baylor, Florida made a pitching change just three batters into following a three-run home run from the Bears.
The Gators swapped one freshman for another, inserting Ava Brown at the mound in place of Keagan Rothrock. Baylor would score another run against Brown in the bottom of the second, but otherwise, she really calmed the game down for UF.
During his brief interview, Walton was also asked about the two rookies and Brown’s performance. He had to say:
“Well, I think the two of them are just so different as people and competitors all the way around. They’ve done a good job complementing each other and really growing together but also learning from each other too.”
It’s nice to know you have a reliable option behind your starter if things go awry, as they did, early on. Now, Brown has come in and provided solid and necessary relief.
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