Justine McLean has found her stride.
After a slow start to her freshman campaign, the Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., native is now one of Florida’s most consistent players at the plate.
Through Florida’s first six games of the season, in which McLean started five in the outfield, she garnered only one hit in 10 at-bats.
“She was still fast and she was still athletic through the first six games, but she was really nervous,” coach Tim Walton said. “She was trying to meet some expectations that she built up, and her insides were turning really fast.”
But in her last nine games, the first-year outfielder posted a .542 batting average and a .667 slugging percentage after logging 13 hits, including a double and a triple.
McLean said the upperclassmen have helped her relax and have eased her transition into college softball.
“It’s so nerve-wracking because I’ve been dreaming of this moment since high school,” McLean said.
“But we’re all really close, and they all know how to calm me down because they’ve all been in this position before.”
McLean’s .412 average at the plate is 17th in the Southeastern Conference and sixth among freshmen in the SEC.
Her six stolen bases are the second most among SEC freshmen, trailing only Tennessee’s Megan Geer, who has seven.
“She’s really doing a good job,” Walton said. “I can see her smile a little bit more and breathe a little bit easier.
“As fast as she is, as athletic as she is, it’s really hard to measure that when you’ve got your insides churning as fast as I think they were. I think the game’s slowing down for her now and she looks a lot more confident at the plate.”
Through Florida’s first three tournaments of 2014, Walton has been experimenting with McLean’s position in the batting rotation.
She started the season off as the last batter in the lineup, but Walton moved her to second in the order during Florida’s home opener against Jacksonville and kept her there through Day 2 of the Lipton Invitational on Saturday.
He intends to keep McLean at the bottom of the order.
“It’s going to be better in the nine-one just because of the way Kelsey Stewart was pitched around late in the game to get to Justine,” Walton said. “Justine is probably going to beat you, and she can. … But the likelihood of that happening doesn’t seem to be as high in the opponent’s perspective.”
Despite the improvement, McLean still feels she has room to grow.
“I have expectations for myself and I don’t think I’ve really met them yet,” she said.
“But overall, I think that I can work towards it and it’ll just get better from here.”
Follow Jordan McPherson on Twitter @J_McPherson1126
Justine McLean runs toward first base during Florida’s 6-0 win against Jacksonville on Feb. 19 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. McLean leads the Gators with a .412 batting average.
