It's no secret - chicks dig the long ball.
And after last weekend's tournament, it's not a secret anymore - chicks can hit the long ball, too.
The Gators (24-1) have hit 22 home runs, eight more than they had through the same amount of games a year ago.
"I think we're hitting more home runs because our swings have improved a lot since last season," said sophomore Francesca Enea, who along with senior Mary Ratliff and freshman Tiffany DeFelice have accounted for 17 of the team's 22 bombs.
Ratliff, who admits she watches the ball on no-doubt home runs, earned Southeastern Conference Player of the Week honors due in part to the three homers she hit over the weekend.
While coach Tim Walton has repeatedly pointed to pitching, and not the offense, as the reason for No. 5 UF's success - the team ERA is 0.93 compared with 1.57 through the same amount of games in 2007 - there's no denying the offensive display the Gators have put on.
UF will take an offense that has nearly doubled their runs scored and RBIs from a year ago into Thursday night's home game with Central Florida (14-10), the last contest before the SEC slate gets under way.
Sunday's showdown with Stanford proved UF can come from behind with just one swing of the bat and take pressure off of the stellar pitching staff.
"I told Stacey the inning before (Ratliff hit the walk-off home run), 'This year's team is different than last year's team,'" Enea said. "'We're going to score runs for you and we're going to win this game.'"
The Gators are hoping that newfound confidence will carry them to a win against the Knights and into conference play. UF holds a 5-1 all-time series lead against UCF.
