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Florida Softball: Pitchers must make leap for Gators to be successful

By Benjamin Henderson

Jun 5, 2022; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Florida Gators pitcher Elizabeth Hightower (22) throws a pitch during the fourth inning of the NCAA Women's College World Series game against the UCLA Bruins at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium. UCLA won 8-0. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 5, 2022; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Florida Gators pitcher Elizabeth Hightower (22) throws a pitch during the fourth inning of the NCAA Women's College World Series game against the UCLA Bruins at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium. UCLA won 8-0. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Florida Gators enter the 2023 season with the same high expectations as always. Coming off another appearance in Oklahoma City, Florida softball enters this year as the favorite to win the SEC.

In order for Tim Walton’s crew to have continued success this season, the pitching staff is going to have to fill a hole left behind by graduation.

Florida Softball: Next arm up

Elizabeth Hightower, who threw 167 innings last year, the sixth-most in the SEC, served as the Gators’ rock on the mound. Hightower could eat innings and be the star of the staff when her stuff was on. During the NCAA tournament’s Gainesville Regional, she pitched a no-hitter.

However, when it wasn’t working, she was quite pedestrian, as shown by her performance against Virginia Tech in the Super Regional. With the season on the line against the Hokies, Coach Walton decided to start freshman Lexie Delbrey on the mound for games two and three. The move worked off as Florida softball returned to Oklahoma City.

Hightower and Delbrey are both back, but Natalie Lugo is no longer with them because she graduated. While Rylee Trlicek, Samantha Bender, and Olivia Gigante will compete for the position of third pitcher on the staff, Hightower and Delbrey are the obvious top two.

Hightower’s ERA during the previous season was 2.42, almost a full run higher than the 1.61 she recorded for the prior year. Hightower’s ERA dropped from top 50 in the nation to just making the top 150.

With opponents hitting.178 against her, Delbrey had a somewhat better 2.26 ERA but was second in the SEC in opponents’ batting average. Walks were both her and Hightower’s demise last year. Delbrey pitched 111 innings and faced 70 batters.

For Florida softball to have sustained success this season, Hightower and Delbrey will both want to get their ERA under 2.00. While the Gators did make it Oklahoma City last year, it is easy to forget that Florida was the 14th seed heading into the NCAA tournament. The win over Virgina Tech in the Super Regionals masked a number of issues Florida had last year.

But with what should be a high powered offense behind them, Hightower and Delbrey need to do just enough to keep Florida around every night.

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