Balance Boosts Florida Gators Softball In Bubly, Walton Hits Win 800
Tim Walton won his 800th win as the head coach of the Florida Gators softball program last Saturday.
In the second day of Florida’s Bubly Invitational, the Gators notched two wins in their doubleheader against Georgia Southern and Charlotte. However, the Gators didn’t win either of the games handedly.
No. 6-ranked Florida found itself in a one-run deficit to the Georgia Southern Eagles heading into the final inning. The Gators struggled to find offensive rhythm against Georgia Southern sophomore righty Kyleigh Richardson before finally piecing together a 2-1 walk-off win behind Charla Echols’ two-RBI hit.
And though the Gators picked up the pace in Saturday’s second game with a 5-2 win over Charlotte, Florida’s performance fell well short of what the sixth best team in the country is capable of.
And Walton took notice.
When asked about reaching the 800 milestone, joining Florida volleyball’s Mary Wise in the lofty 800 club, Walton was quick to offer his gratitude and fond reflections of his time at Florida.
“Anytime you can be mentioned with coach Mary Wise on any achievement at the University of Florida it just talks about a sustained success,” Walton said. “I give all the credit to all of our players.”
But when jokingly asked if win No. 800 aged him, he was just as quick to brush off his 800th win.
“The way we played today makes me feel old,” Walton sighed. “We didn’t play very well and I’m not very happy with that. But yeah, overall 800 wins here at the University of Florida is a lot of wins.”
And that’s called balance. And most aspects of life require balance – especially softball. And no one understands that more than Tim Walton.
Back when Kelly Barnhill and Amanda Lorenz led the Gators’ program, there wasn’t a tandem in college softball more balanced that Barnhill and Lorenz.
Barnhill’s defensive execution and Lorenz’s abilities at the plate countered each other perfectly. As did the reserved emotions from Florida’s leader in strikeouts and the intensity that the now-volunteer assistant coach put on display.
But that type of balance isn’t found often – simply because those type of players aren’t found often.
But balance still exists within Tim Walton’s softball program. Now, it just happens to be the perfect balance of old and new... young and old.
When the NCAA canceled the remainder of the 2020 softball season, there were countless hard conversations to be had. But perhaps none harder than telling seniors that their career was over, or telling high school recruits that their roster spot was no longer available.
Tim Walton had to have those conversations. And in Tim Walton fashion, it seems he found the right balance.
While Jaimie Hoover, Kendyl Lindaman and Katie Chronister returned for their fifth year in the Orange and Blue, seniors Jordan Roberts, Jade Caraway and Sophia Reynoso elected to hang up their cleats.
The departure of Roberts, Caraway, Reynoso and a handful of outbound transfers paved the way for five freshmen to join the program in the offseason, four of which appeared in games over the weekend, with two rookie Gators getting starts.
The return of southpaw pitcher Katie Chronister was surprising.
A native of Gainesville, Chronister has been hidden in the shadows through much of her college career. Albeit, Barnhill was on the roster for the first three years of Chronister’s career.
In 2019, the last full season Florida softball had, Chronister had just 14 appearances in relief for the Gators.
However, on Sunday afternoon, the hometown pitcher went the distance in a seven-inning complete game for the first time in her career. The lefty’s six strikeouts were also a career high as she and the Gators’ field pitched a 4-0 shutout to the Charlotte 49ers.
“Every player has some ups and downs, but I thought the biggest turn with Katie was that her velocity is up, her location is better, her walks are down, which ultimately indicates her level of success that she’s had not only this year but last year as well. Huge strides.”
In the second game of Sunday’s slate, junior Elizabeth Hightower was an eyelash away from hurling a perfect game against the Georgia Southern Eagles.
The Eagles spoiled Hightower’s perfect game with a one-out walk in the fifth inning, followed by the day’s first hit on the right-handed pitcher.
"I think both Katie and Elizabeth made great strides,” Walton said. “For our team to be one of those teams that’s standing in the end, we’re going to have to do a really good job of continually pitching well like we did this week.”
Meanwhile, to counter the Gators’ success from their elder members, a number of Florida’s rookies also stood out during the weekend’s action.
Despite expressing concerns earlier in the season about the Gators’ youth at shortstop, freshman Kali Reis fielded an impressive game, in addition to sitting down a sacrifice bunt in the seventh inning to move the tying run into scoring position against Georgia Southern and avoid an upset on Saturday.
Fellow first-year Emily Wilkie started the first game of her career during Saturday’s action.
The Cummings, Georgia native notched her first hit in a Gators uniform during the start and did so in convincing fashion. With a three-run home run in first inning, Wilkie helped bust the game against Charlotte wide open.
“I think this team is a good team,” Walton said following the Gators’ 5-0 weekend. “You hope that you build a lineup of players that don’t all have the same strengths, that don’t all have the same weaknesses. I think we have that... For us to go from a good team to a great team, I think we’re going have to learn how to deal with our at-bats a little better.”
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