It didn’t take long for the Gators to hit their stride.
The No. 5 Florida softball team wrapped up its first weekend of the season with an impressive 12-0 win against South Florida at the USF-hosted Wilson DeMarini Tournament in Clearwater.
Led by senior Stephanie Brombacher, who pitched the second perfect game of her career Saturday against North Carolina State, the Gators went 5-0 during their opening weekend.
Florida scored 53 runs, slammed a whopping 14 home runs and recorded an .803 slugging percentage.
The key to the offense? Getting started early.
Center fielder Michelle Moultrie and second baseman Aja Paculba both went 9 for 18 at the plate and scored a combined 16 runs as the Gators outscored their opponents 53-3.
Paculba was the spark plug again Sunday as she ignited the offense with a solo home run in the first inning.
Left fielder Kelsey Bruder added a two-run homer in the fifth, her third of the season.
The senior also hit a triple and is tied for the team lead with 10 RBIs.
“Every season starts differently for me,” she said. “I never walk to the plate thinking ‘I want to hit a home run,’ but right now, I’m seeing the ball really well.”
While Brombacher said there are some expectations after pitching a perfect game, she didn’t let that pressure affect her mentality. She also said she and her teammates didn’t realize she was pitching a perfect game until it was over.
Following the perfect game, Brombacher shut down the Bulls lineup Sunday, allowing only four hits and recording nine strikeouts.
As for the new left side of the infield, highly touted freshmen Kasey Fagan and Cheyenne Coyle did not disappoint.
Coach Tim Walton was pleased with the way they maintained their intensity over the long weekend and was particularly happy with the way freshman Hannah Rogers pitched right out of the gate.
Coyle homered in her first collegiate at-bat against Marshall and added two more during the weekend.
For a player who prides herself on defense, she attributed her early success at the plate to UF’s coaches.
“I’ve always been known for my defense as the strongest part of my game,” she said. “Now, I have a better approach when I go up to bat. Coach Walton taught me you don’t hit the inside pitch the same as the outside pitch, where before I used to go up just swinging.”
Although Fagan only managed to go 3 for 11, she recorded two stolen bases and did not commit an error.
The early success of the team’s young players didn’t surprise Bruder.
“I really don’t even consider them to be true freshmen because a lot of them are more mature than typical freshmen are,” she said. “We’re really counting on them to do a lot for us this season, and I think that’s a role they can fulfill.”
