Aubree Munro did not like to hit last season, and her stats showed it.
During her freshman campaign, the Brea, Calif., native accrued a meager .145 batting average and struck out on 17 of her 55 at-bats.
“Last year, coach (Tim Walton) really challenged me,” the catcher said.
“He said, ‘You need to love hitting. You need to learn to love hitting,’ which I didn’t love hitting because it wasn’t good to me. I’ve always been defensive. Me and defense were like best friends and hitting and I weren’t always on speaking terms.”
But through her first five games of 2014, Munro is already hitting .400 while logging seven RBIs and three doubles. She hit only four doubles and drove in only six runs last season.
Munro attributes her early success to her commitment to improve throughout the summer.
“I went home. I worked hard. I hit every day. I did something for my swing every day,” she said. “I watched video of myself. I really tried to hammer out the details of my swings.
“Coach and I talked about my balance being a huge factor of my swing, so I just worked on being really balanced, simplifying and being really aggressive.”
Munro hopes to keep the hot streak going tonight at 6 when No. 2 Florida (6-0) plays its first home game of the season against Jacksonville (3-2) at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
“It’s going to be fun to open up at home,” she said. “It’s a great town, great fans. Gator nation has been very good to softball, so we’re excited for everyone to come out, watch us play at home, and start off the season.”
After their match against the Dolphins, the Gators will be heading back on the road to compete in the Easton Desert Classic in Las Vegas. Despite the quick turnaround, Munro feels the amount of playing time the team is receiving will only benefit them.
“February’s kind of a heavy month for us,” she said.
“We play a lot of games in a short amount of time. But it’s kind of good for us. … We’re living out of a suitcase for a little bit, but we get tons of reps, tons of game experience to lead us into SEC play where it really starts to get really intense.”
Freshman pitcher provides depth: Delanie Gourley impressed her teammates throughout the USF Wilson-DeMarini Tournament.
“Delanie is so much different from me and Hannah (Rogers),” junior Lauren Haeger said. “We all bring something super different to the table, which as a hitter in my mind, that’s really hard to adjust to.”
The freshman left-handed pitcher, who Walton called a “program changer,” left Tampa with her first two collegiate wins, including a 9-4 victory against then-No. 5 Michigan.
Haeger, who has team-bests in strikeouts (18) and ERA (1.08) among Florida’s starters, feels that having three pitchers in the starting rotation will only benefit the team.
“All the pitches are going in a different direction, so I think everyone, all three of us go together well because we are so different,” Haeger said.
“And I think it’s going to help us in the long run when we need that last out to have a fresh pitcher.”
Follow Jordan McPherson on Twitter @J_McPherson1126
UPDATE: Florida's home game against Jacksonville was postponed to Feb. 19 at 6:05 p.m. due to an inclement weather forecast, the school announced Wednesday. Florida's next game is against Seattle in the Easton Desert Classic in Las Vegas on Friday.
Coach Tim Walton studies the field during Florida’s 11-1 win against USF on May 18 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
