The No. 3 UF softball team will open the 2010 season this afternoon when it takes on No. 13 Georgia Tech at the USF Wilson-DeMarini Tournament in Clearwater.
The Gators will also be squaring off against Long Island later today, USF on Saturday then Canisius and Illinois State in a doubleheader on Sunday.
Because the team will play five games in a span of less than 72 hours, the opening weekend will be a test not only for the players new to the starting lineup, but also for a number of the team’s reserves.
While facing a plethora of injuries in 2009, the Gators found they had a bunch of capable backups ready to fill in at a moment’s notice. But now, the majority of those players have worked their way into the starting lineup, and only two members of last year’s squad remain for depth, along with seven freshmen.
“We’re not as deep. We had tremendous role players and speed on the bench last year — people who embraced what they were doing,” UF coach Tim Walton said. “We’re a little thinner than I’d like to see us be, but sometimes that’s a good thing because you rely on people and they get a little more comfortable.”
While the focus will be on pitcher Stephanie Brombacher’s rise to the role of staff ace, the opening weekend’s action will also be a proving ground for a pair of freshmen currently battling it out for the No. 2 spot.
Ensley Gammel and Erin Schuppert were solid in limited action during the fall season and have done nothing but improve since setting foot on campus.
“The two of them have a lot of growing to do yet, but both of them have made strides from the beginning of the fall season up to now,” Walton said.
The two talented freshmen have contrasting pitching styles. While Schuppert’s game is based mostly on spin and movement, Gammel is able to pitch with more velocity and move the ball from side to side.
Stylistically, it seems like Gammel and Schuppert would be the perfect duo to pitch in a combination game, but that’s something Walton will try to avoid doing too much.
“We don’t typically like to combo very much, so a lot will depend on how well they develop,” Walton said. “But with the way they pitch, it can be good to change a hitter’s eye level up and down, so it’s nice. The two of them complement each other very well.”
