It's the elephant in the locker room; an obvious issue that goes unaddressed.
Tiffany DeFelice's left wrist, which required off-season surgery, has made its presence known to the UF softball team. The sophomore catcher has missed 14 of the team's 39 games this year due to the lingering effects of extensor carpi ulnaris subluxation - a condition where a wrist tendon slides in and out of its groove.
DeFelice, her coaches and the team's training staff treat her wrist like a petulant pro athlete: When it's ready to play, it will play.
"We just kind of go with the flow of whatever my wrist feels like doing," DeFelice said. "So if it's having a bad day, I just tell Coach, 'Bad day today,' and we'll go from there. If it's good, we just keep going. As long as it stays at a level where I can play and where I feel that I can perform and I'm not overwhelmed by pain, then we'll just go with it."
If she stays at that level, she'll see time against Mississippi State (17-17, 2-10 Southeastern Conference) this weekend, as the No. 1 Gators (36-3, 15-1 SEC) host the Bulldogs for a three-game series.
DeFelice's wrist was ready to go Wednesday at Auburn, so UF coach Tim Walton put her back in the starting lineup for Game 1 of the Gators' wins against the Tigers. In Game 2, Walton moved her to the second spot in the order, where right fielder Kelsey Bruder had started the last 19 games.
"I have no idea how that decision was made," DeFelice said. "I got on the bus, and Coach says, 'How's your wrist?' and I go, 'It's good,' and he says, 'OK, you're starting.'"
DeFelice responded by batting 1 for 3 with two RBIs and a walk in the second game of the series.
After the game, Walton explained his decision to move the versatile sophomore up in the order.
"Her on-base percentage is really high, and I didn't want to give up on an opportunity to drive in more runs," Walton said. "She's a matchup problem because she can do so many things - she can hit and run, she can bunt, she's so good at a lot of different things."
DeFelice was more modest about her abilities on the field, simply saying that she does whatever her coach asks her to do.
"I try to make the pitcher work as hard as they possibly can to get me out," she said. "I like to make them feel like they really had to work. I don't mind if I have to work at it. If I have to go 23 or 17 pitches, it doesn't bother me - I enjoy being there."
As a freshman playing in the Women's College World Series, DeFelice fought through a 23-pitch at-bat against Louisiana-Lafayette.
That amount of time can even wear on a player known to kick up the dirt and take the chalk off the clay upon entering the batter's box.
"Coach has said it a million times: I'm very intense. That's just the way I am," she said. "I really love this game and I really love playing it, so it just comes out in me like that."
