RANKINGS
EVENTS
I COMMITTED
COLLEGE
ABOUT
In its inaugural softball season, the Florida Gulf Coast League has been a big success in providing playing opportunities for college and incoming college players.
One of the seven teams on the softball side (there’s a baseball component as well) is the Bradenton Lynx, managed by Lindsay Fico, the former Florida Gator infielder and team captain. Lindsay now coaches the Santa Fe College Saints softball team after having coached in the Santa Fe Inferno club organization for six years previously.
Click HERE to read our team preview on the Lynx!
Currently, the Lynx is 5-6 in the 25-game season which wraps up the regular season two weeks from today (July 17) and then starts playoffs on Monday, July 20 with the FGCL Championship on Tuesday, July 21.
We caught up with Lindsay this week to ask about her Lynx experiences and how the team is doing, especially now that the Lynx just picked up Mary Beth Feldman, who was a freshman pitcher at Utah last year.
Thursday Mary Beth helped lead the Lynx to a 5-2 win over the Pioneers by pitching three hitless innings while striking out four.
“She will be a difference-maker in the circle,” said Coach Fico.
The Lynx plays tonight (Friday) at 7:30 EST against the River Mocs and Saturday versus Fastpitch U at 2 pm EST.
Here’s our Q&A with Lindsay…
*****
Tell us how you became the head coach of the Lynx…
Jason Nowling, who is the president of Santa Fe Inferno, was contacted by Ryan Moore, the president of the Florida Gulf Coast League, and asked him if he knew anyone who would be interested in coaching. Jason has been a big supporter and gave my contact info and Ryan and I talked and that’s how it got started.
What were your initial thoughts… any reservations about being a coach?
The first call I made was to (Univ. of Florida head coach) Tim Walton and he said the league was great for softball and would be great for me.
At this point in the season, what is your initial impression about the quality of teams and players?
It’s been high scoring, as expected, because the hitters have come back more quickly and sharper after the season shutdown while pitchers have had to hone-in on spots they normally hit. A lot of the scores have been high, we’ve only had one 1-0 game while others have been 11-3 (a June 20 win over Fastpitch U) and 10-8 (a June 20 win over Bradenton Slice). On opening day we lost 8-6 in extra innings to the River Mocs.
How has the support been, including fan attendance?
It’s great in that that there are a number of players from Florida who have the local support, but as a whole there are a bunch of fans, even people in tents beyond the fences. The later games bring in more fans, naturally, as people get off work, but we’ve been happy with the support including FGCL baseball players watching us play.
It’s a strange summer, for sure, with the cancellation of the college season due to the Coronavirus… along with coaching the Lynx, how has this year been different for you?
In a normal year we would be doing a lot of recruiting and camps, but in the landscape we’re in with COVID-19, we have to watch a lot of games through Athletes Go Live since we can’t recruit in person. We can look at email and texts for incoming players and recruits and, for me, I’m able to work as a Santa Fe employee at the beginning of the day and Lynx employee later in the day!
How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the games?
We are taking strong precautions to ensure the safety of everyone—each player and coach gets temperature checked every single day and we have a trainer on site. Spectators are allowed but have to do social distancing. Being an outside sport, it’s a little bit easier and Bradenton and Manatee Counties (where games are played) have strongly encouraged everyone to wear masks.
What has it been like for you to coach the Lynx team so far?
I have to manage as much as I have to coach—managing personalities, learning their styles on and off the field, how they work together. These girls know how to play the game, the key thing is just managing how they play the game together and finding the best combination to win.
How are the players enjoying the FGCL?
The players are having a blast! My kids seem to be having the time of their lives and have done well playing together. Some have played together in travel ball before, and someone like Devyn Flaherty (Florida State infielder) has come in humble and been a leader. Haley Lee, a catcher at Texas A&M, has really come through offensively for us. All of our pitchers love throwing to her because of how she manages the game.
Tell us more about the players and who’s impressed so far…
Devyn has been very impressive with her ability to communicate with her teammates on every level. She’s also one of the smoothest defensive players I’ve seen. Devyn is hitting over .400 and doing well playing shortstop mostly, also a little first base.
Pitcher Dani Bauer (Charleston) is a little bitty thing, but she’s impressive with her riseball and curve that jumps out of the zone but she also can fool you with her changeup. A younger player who’s impressed is Lauren Hobbs, she is signed with Stetson and is one of the few lefties in the league. She’s a good complement to the others with her dropball and changeup.
Any young players or sleepers who’ve wowed you?
Incoming Elon freshman Mekayla Frazier is very similar to Flaherty in every category you grade by, offense to defense. She has been very impressive. Facing Shannon Saile (Oklahoma pitcher), Shannon’s first batter in the league was Mekayla and she introduced her to the league with a left-center home run! When someone throws that hard, if you can manage to make OK contact and get the barrel on the ball, it will go far and Mekayla did just that.
How about in the League?
Lizzie Shubert, the shortstop for the River Mocs, is quite the competitor and is enjoyable to play against. Mack Leonard of the Mocs pitches and plays first base. Those two kids have been to fun to watch. Not always fun to play against, but fun to watch and they’re great for the game!
Anything surprising for you so far leading the Lynx?
I have been surprised at how well the head coaches of each team have been working together and have put in their full support to make sure the League comes back and will be better in the future, especially with the recent events in softball with people losing their seasons. It’s been reassuring and validating being around coaches who have the same concerns in making sure this is done right the first time so, in the future, we can have better sponsorships and opportunities for the girls. I’m also surprised at how seriously the girls are taking these opportunities to get reps and develop, but they want to win, do well and get along with each other and we’re seeing that.
What are your hopes for the FGCL in the future?
I hope the FGCL stays around for a long time, with people like Ryan Moore and Lesley Ginder who oversees the League’s Community Outreach, it’s just the beginning and I hope it continues to get better and better over the time. It’s a pretty cool atmosphere!
*****
Here are the Florida Gulf Coast League scores via GameChanger…