It is rare to find a pitcher who can hit the ball out of the park when she steps up to the plate.
But Florida junior right-handed pitcher and first baseman Lauren Haeger does just that.
Since she joined the Gators in 2012, the Peoria, Ariz., native leads the team with 32 home runs while also maintaining a career ERA of 2.10 in 253 innings pitched.
“It’s good because I get the pitcher mentality of it, and I get the hitter mentality of it,” Haeger said.
“It works to my advantage most of the time. I think it’s good because I can read pitchers’ spins well and I can see movement because I do the same thing. I think it’s good for me; it’s just how I’ve been playing my game my whole life. I think it can only help.”
Haeger’s dual-threat ability was one of the reasons Florida had an unexpected successful season in 2013.
Before last season started, the Gators were expected to finish fourth in the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division and seventh in the conference as a whole.
“When I first saw at the beginning of the season what people thought about us, I was like, ‘Well, there are still people here. Things happened, but there are still people here who really care,’” Haeger said.
But thanks in part to Haeger’s team-leading .676 slugging percentage, 23 RBIs and eight home runs in conference play, which helped spark the Gators offense, UF finished 18-6 in SEC regular-season play.
Florida followed that performance by going 3-0 in the SEC Tournament, defeating Alabama, Georgia and Missouri by a combined score of 27-13 to win the conference title.
“We all came together at the right time last year,” Haeger said. “We’re all really close; there’s no drama. Everyone is fun to be around. I love being around these girls, and you have to, especially with all of the hours you put in with each other. I think with our chemistry and everything has been carrying over to this year as well.”
Haeger finished 2013 with a .319 batting average and a team-leading 70 RBIs and 18 home runs — the third- and sixth-highest UF single season totals, respectively. In the pitching circle, Haeger went 16-2 with a 2.6 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Six of her wins came against top-25 opponents.
For her career, Haeger holds Florida’s fourth-highest slugging (.652) and on-base (.451) percentages while also ranking eighth in batting average (.320) and ninth in home runs (32).
In the circle, Haeger’s 6.86 strikeouts per game is the third-best UF mark, and her 248 strikeouts, 31 wins, 20 complete games and eight shutouts all crack Florida’s top 10.
With the start of the No. 4 Gators’ 2014 season only three days away, Haeger, a member of the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 50 watch list, hopes for the team to build on their unexpected triumphs from last season.
“It’s more motivating and exciting than it is feeling pressure,” Haeger said.
“I like pressure. That’s how I like to play and that’s how I like to perform.”
Follow Jordan McPherson on Twitter @J_McPherson1126
Lauren Haeger swings at a pitch during Florida’s 11-1 win against USF on May 18, 2013, at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
