When senior Delanie Gourley and junior Nicole DeWitt were asked about a teammate who’s particularly impressed them this season, the answer came to each of them fairly quickly.
And, not surprisingly, both of them selected the same teammate.
Sophia Reynoso.
“She has absolutely dominated,” Gourley said. “And she hasn’t looked back.”
Reynoso, a redshirt freshman from Palmdale, California, had to sit out her first year due to an ACL injury.
Now, she boasts a batting average of .453, knocking 34 hits and 21 RBIs through the first half of the season.
In UF's most recent SEC series against South Carolina, she had six total hits that contributed to the sweep.
“Coming back from her injury and being a redshirt,” DeWitt said, “I think it’s just so exciting to see how she is on the field. She’s having so much fun, and she brings so much energy to the team which makes it even more fun to play softball.”
The dominance Reynoso has brought both to the plate and the field — she has yet to make an error this season — has been a major force behind the 18-game win streak Florida is currently riding.
Or maybe it’s the work of DeWitt that has the Gators on a streak that has placed them atop the SEC standings unopposed.
The Garden Grove, California, native has 22 hits and four home runs on the season so far. Last season, she hit six home runs total.
Or maybe the skill set that No. 2 Florida (26-1, 5-0 SEC) has displayed this season is due to the team camaraderie that is seen on and off the field.
“I think being able to come out to practice every day and really enjoy being with a group of girls is something that plays a huge role in how far we are actually able to make it,” DeWitt said.
It’s a chemistry that Gourley said she hasn’t seen since her freshman year. Gourley, who just received her second SEC Pitcher of the Week award of the season, said team members are naturally able to pick up one another with words of encouragement.
“That’s special for how close this team is,” Gourley said. “You can’t teach that within teams, and that’s something that is either there or it’s not, and that’s something that we have.”
The Gators have the opportunity to extend their win streak to 19 games when they face USF (20-14) tonight, a team Florida already defeated 8-0 in the fifth game of the season.
In that victory, DeWitt smacked her first home run of the season.
But the Bulls have won four of their last seven games and could make for a tough opponent.
The game begins at 6 p.m. at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
Contact Cassie Amundson at camundson@alligator.org or follow her on Twitter @camundson_.
UF shortstop Sophia Reynoso bats during Florida's 9-3 win over Northwestern State on Feb. 17, 2017, at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
