Just a day after being named the Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Week for the second week in a row, Florida senior softball player Stephanie Brombacher has been named the NFCA Division I National Player of the Week, announced by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Tuesday. Brombacher was 3-0 on the week and allowed no runs off of just 10 hits with only three walks and 16 strikeouts over 17 innings of work.
“This is a tremendous honor for Stephanie and a great start to the season for both her and our team,” head coach Tim Walton said. “Stephanie is a good representative for the University of Florida, for the sport of softball and for our team.”
The Pembroke Pines, Fla., native threw two complete game shutouts on the week, with both of them coming against then-No. 22 North Carolina. In her appearance against Jacksonville last week, Brombacher allowed just one hit over five innings, her eighth career one-hitter.
“It’s an honor to be recognized by the NFCA,” Brombacher added, “but this is really a reflection of our team’s work ethic and passion for the game.”
In six appearances so far in the 2011 campaign, Brombacher is 6-0 with just 14 hits, five walks and 35 strikeouts. She also has not allowed a single run, earned or unearned, this season. With a three-game sweep of the Tar Heels and the win over Jacksonville last week, the Gators are now 9-0 on the year.
Florida, which jumped up a spot in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll to No. 4 this week, has shut out seven of nine opponents, racked up 82 runs to opponents’ three and are off to the third-best start in program history (9-0). Helping Brombacher out offensively, Florida has dropped 20 home runs, 18 doubles and owns a .750 slugging percentage through nine games.
UF will head next to the Cathedral City Classic in Palm Springs, Calif., where the Gators will play five games in the three-day tournament, including key match-ups with No. 2/2 UCLA and No. 11/12 Texas, while also facing Indiana, San Diego State and Utah before heading home for its home tournament, the 2011 Lipton Invitational March 4-6.
