Florida’s bats are alive.
Since its nine-game win streak began on April 4, No. 5 UF has outscored its opponents by a score of 65-15 while posting a .341 batting average.
In its road sweep of Texas A&M this weekend, Florida had a .400 clip at the plate with 36 hits, including nine home runs.
“More than anything, give the kids credit for really coming out and putting in some good swings,” coach Tim Walton said following the series-ending contest. “Stephanie Tofft, Kelsey Stewart had phenomenal weekends, so there’s a lot of good weekends. Katie Medina had a really nice weekend. So just good for everybody, a good team win.”
Tofft hit a home run in each of the Gators’ games against the Aggies while batting .700 and bringing in a team-best 10 RBIs, which earned her the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week award on Monday.
For the season, the Lincoln, Calif., native has a .326 clip at the plate, nine home runs and a team-best 51 RBIs — the fourth-best mark in the SEC.
Stewart continued to showcase her offensive prowess that has been evident all season. Against TAMU, the sophomore second baseman went 9 for 11 at the plate while hitting a home run and two doubles in the series finale.
Stewart is tied with Texas A&M’s Emily Albus with an SEC-leading 69 hits. The Wichita, Kan., native also has top-10 conference marks in batting average (seventh, .416), doubles (tied for fourth, 12), triples (tied for first, four) and stolen bases (fourth, 24).
But of Florida’s strong showings on offense, Medina’s was probably the most eye-popping. The shortstop, a sub-.250 batter through her first two seasons, went 4 for 7 against the Aggies and hit a grand slam — the first of her career and the seventh of the season for the Gators — during UF’s 17-4 win on Saturday.
Following the series, Medina has career-best marks in batting average (.268), slugging percentage (.357) and on-base percentage (.359).
Little becoming regular starter: After being used sparingly to start the season, outfielder Briana Little is seeing more time in the starting lineup as the regular season winds down.
The Middleburg native started Florida’s last five games — four in left field and one in right field — after starting only seven of UF’s first 43 contests.
Little, a veteran who started 64 games in her first two seasons, has proven to be a valuable asset for the Gators as of late. In her 12 starts this season, which includes four contests against top-25 teams, Florida is undefeated.
Since returning to the starting lineup on April 11, Little has a .471 batting average, six RBIs and five runs. She paces the Gators with a .517 on-base percentage while batting .364 on the year.
Notes: After sweeping Texas A&M, Walton now has 600 career wins as a head coach. After going 123-64 in his three years at Wichita State to start his career, Walton’s record in nine years at UF is 477-110. … Junior Lauren Haeger hit two home runs against Texas A&M this weekend. Prior to the series, the Peoria, Ariz., native had not recorded a home run since UF’s 10-2 win against LSU on March 16. Haeger now has 12 home runs on the season, tying her with Auburn’s Branndi Melero for the fourth-most in the SEC. … After its powerhouse performance this weekend, Florida now holds the top spot in the conference in on-base percentage with a .441 mark. UF also leads the SEC with 245 walks.
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Briana Little bats during Florida’s 8-0 win against Indiana on Feb. 22 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. Little has six RBIs since April 11.
