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Friday, March 29, 2024

After a weekend in which the offense and defense took turns carrying the load, the Gators were able to finally put it all together with a 6-1 win over Jacksonville in their home opener.

Battery mates Stephanie Brombacher and Tiffany DeFelice led the way for UF (4-1).

Brombacher got the complete-game win, allowing only one run on two hits while striking out nine, including the first four batters for the Dolphins (4-1).

After struggling late in games over the weekend, Brombacher retired the opposition in order from the fifth inning on Wednesday, striking out four in the process.

“I stayed a little bit more mentally focused, especially in the late innings, to just go out there and pitch my game instead of getting juiced up and trying to throw the ball harder because that’s not what I do,” Brombacher said.

While Brombacher’s mental focus certainly played a role, her physical stamina was just as impressive.

Despite throwing 109 pitches in the game, she was as sharp in the final frame, throwing nine of her 12 pitches for strikes.

“Anytime you’re going through some struggles in late innings, it’s mostly fatigue, and fatigue then mentally fatigues you, too, so I thought she did a good job coming out strong and finishing really well,” UF coach Tim Walton said.

DeFelice got the scoring started in the second inning for the Gators with a two-run home run off the left-field foul pole and later added a solo shot off the scoreboard to start the fourth.

The junior catcher’s 3-for-3 night really got her season on track after she went only 2 for 12 in the team’s season-opening tournament.

“I think it was just a lot of frustration coming out from last weekend so it was nice I had a good day. I felt good today,” DeFelice said.

The Gators added a pair of runs in the bottom of the third with an RBI single from senior Francesca Enea, who scored three pitches later on a double by junior Kelsey Bruder.

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Enea’s RBI was her team-leading 11th, while Bruder’s moved her into second on the team with four.

UF also added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth, as freshman Brittany Walker got her career at home started on a good note with a sacrifice fly to right that scored pinch runner Lauren Heil.

Florida improved in the area in which it struggled the most on opening weekend, leaving only four runners on base in Wednesday’s win.

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