Every battery has two sides with different charges.
UF's freshman battery of Stephanie Brombacher and Tiffany DeFelice is no different.
The Gators took one blossoming superstar fireballer (Brombacher), added one unassuming, big-hitting catcher (DeFelice) and installed a power source Duracell would brag about to help fuel their finely tuned machine.
Like a battery, the two are long lasting - the expiration date doesn't come around until 2011 - powerful - Brombacher averages close to six strikeouts per seven innings while DeFelice is third on the team with six homeruns - and dependable - Brombacher has made 14 starts in the circle, while DeFelice has started in 30 of 37 games.
As far as team chemistry goes, Brombacher and DeFelice, better known as "TD" around the field, are also best friends who have known each other since the seventh grade.
The No. 3 Gators (35-2, 7-1 Southeastern Conference) prepare to resume conference play against South Carolina (13-13, 2-5 SEC) on Wednesday, and the softball prowess and off-the-field familiarity of their two young stars will be on display during the doubleheader.
"I think we read each other's minds," said Brombacher of their bond.
But after six or seven years of playing together - it has been so long that they are unsure of the exact total - on travel and high school teams in South Florida, the two were almost unable to keep their psychic act going at the next level.
"In the beginning, we thought we could try to go together," said DeFelice of attending the same college. "But after awhile, it just did not look like that was going to happen."
DeFelice said she was always planning to come to UF, but it was her bullpen partner that was uncertain of where she would pitch until two weeks before signing day.
Brombacher said she was under heavy pressure from her high school to attend Stanford, because American Heritage High, where the two went to school in Plantation, had never had a student go there.
Ultimately, Brombacher chose UF rather than Stanford and SEC rival LSU because of the coaching staff and a little convincing from an old friend.
"I took her out for coffee one day," DeFelice said. "She had just got back from her trip to Stanford. We were talking about that, and I was like, 'UF's got this, this and this, and it's so much better than Stanford, just come!'"
Both say they couldn't be happier with their decisions, and it appeared Brombacher made the right choice when the Gators defeated the Cardinal 4-3 earlier this season.
"I wanted to kill them," said Brombacher, who didn't get an opportunity to pitch in the game.
As the No. 2 starter, she has had plenty of chances to show just how good she can be for a top-five team right away. In 78 2/3 innings, she is 12-0 with a 1.51 ERA while recording two saves in clean-up duty.
Even with those gaudy numbers, it's tough to say which one of the long-time friends has been more impressive in her inaugural campaign.
Just past midseason, DeFelice has moved to the clean-up spot in the batting order while leading the team in slugging percentage (.649) and trailing only Kim Waleszonia, UF's career batting average leader, with a .364 average.
The switch to college hasn't come without some change in their dynamic, however, and the once inseparable duo has adapted well to becoming part of a team.
On the field, junior Kristina Hilberth has caught Brombacher for a large portion of the season, and off the field, coach Tim Walton put them in different dorms to better integrate them with all of their teammates.
"I really love this team," DeFelice said. "That was one of the things that got me from the beginning. The team was so welcoming when we came on our visits; everyone was so nice."
As many of the other players have said all year, Brombacher and DeFelice think the team's ability to get along off the field has led to success in between the lines.
"We get along better than any other team I've played on," said Brombacher, making it clear that it takes more than one battery to power a team of 20 talented players.
