The crowd sees Hannah Rogers stare down batters with a steely, hardened gaze as she whips her arm back to crank a 65-mph fastball mere inches away from bare flesh and bones.
Rogers’ teammates see a regular class clown.
Last year’s freshman phenom and All-American has not only avoided a sophomore slump, but has steadily maintained her spot as one of the best pitchers in the country. And her fellow Gators claim she owes at least part of her success to her quirky and joking personality.
Junior Kelsey Horton knows Rogers better than most, catching for her since they were on the same travel-ball team in high school and currently rooming with her in an off-campus apartment.
“She’s just a fun girl,” Horton said. “She never gets too serious. Whenever I go out there [in the circle] we always joke around. In tight situations, if I go out and talk with her, we both are really loose. That’s very positive in big games, just not letting the pressure get to you and not feel nervous.”
Rogers is tied for fourth in the nation in wins with 14, while only dropping one game to rival Tennessee earlier this year. By allowing just 0.82 earned runs per seven innings pitched, Rogers also ranks among the top 15 in ERA.
Doing all this in a competitive Southeastern Conference, Rogers has garnered respect from junior Ensley Gammel who pitched her first two years at Florida.
“Hannah is tough,” Gammel said. “She’s a tough pitcher to hit off of when we hit off her in practice. She likes to get you out and I think she has done a fantastic job stepping in and putting us on her back. She can definitely lead because of her experience last year.”
Being with the team for a year has comforted Rogers, allowing her to truly be herself. For Rogers, being herself is focusing on her team rather than on numbers. Even when entering a hostile SEC environment, she puts that out of her mind and stays the loose player that everyone describes her as.
“I don’t think about if I’m at the top or not,” Rogers said. “I don’t want to be too far ahead of myself. I just want to give my team encouragement and thank them because they are the reason I have these accomplishments.”
Horton sees this encouragement through Rogers’ jokes and lightheartedness in the clubhouse. When asked to describe Rogers in just one word, Horton came right back with the word “spunky.”
“She’s always making everyone laugh,” Horton explained. “She knows when to be serious, but she is always just fun to be around.”
