Over the first three years of her softball career at the University of Georgia, Brittany Gray showed that she could hang with the best collegiate hitters in the country.
This spring, the hitters are having a tough time proving that they can hang with Gray.
The Greenwood graduate has gotten her final season off to a dominating start, leading the way for a Bulldogs team that has positioned itself as a national championship contender.
“Things are really clicking for her right now,” Georgia pitching coach Rachele Fico said. “She’s made big pitches in big moments for us, and the defense has played awesome behind her and made big plays in big moments for us, too, and that definitely helps.”
Gray was virtually untouchable in the first few weeks of the season, allowing just one unearned run over her first 64 innings. Though she finally allowed her first earned run in a win against then-No. 2 Florida on March 16, she still heads into this weekend’s series at Mississippi State with a 0.19 ERA, the lowest in the nation.
The 5-foot-11 right-hander said that she was blissfully unaware that she had an ERA of zero for more than a month.
“I didn’t really notice it until I went back and I rewatched the games on WatchESPN,” Gray said, “and they had that on there after the Arkansas series and I was like, ‘Oh wow.’”
Though she certainly enjoyed some success during her first three seasons, Gray has managed to find another gear in 2018. In her 73 innings of work so far, opponents are batting just .125 against her — and Gray (13-0) has struck out 110 while walking just 12.
Fico, a two-time All-American at LSU, said Gray has improved her ability to locate pitches effectively, a nice complement to a fastball that can get up above 70 mph. But Gray believes that much of her uptick in production can be attributed to more intangible factors.
“I’ve had the pitches, and really my big thing was working on my mental game,” she said. “Just going out there and keeping everything the same from bullpen to in game, and keeping my morale the same the whole time.”
“She’s definitely always had the physical tools, and I think that the work that she’s put in this offseason has translated to her having confidence in herself,” Fico added. “Just the way that she’s leading on the field, we’ve really seen her develop into a fierce competitor and a true senior leader.”
The growth in Gray’s confidence has carried over to her teammates as well, and it has only grown as the Bulldogs have kept rolling through the season.
After an early loss to then-No. 3 Oregon, Georgia reeled off 25 victories in a row before dropping one game of its three-game set with the Gators last weekend. Gray did not appear in either of the team’s losses.
The Bulldogs, who currently sit at 27-2 overall and 5-1 in the Southeastern Conference, are ranked seventh (with one first-place vote) in this week’s USA Today/NFCA coaches poll.
Gray believes that the team has what it takes to make it back to the Women’s College World Series at the end of May. Georgia last earned a bid in 2016, when Gray was a sophomore.
“Our ultimate goal is the World Series for sure,” she said. “We put a sticker up on our door that says OKC (Oklahoma City), which is where the World Series is played, and so we all have that mindset.”
Though her collegiate career will reach its end this spring, Gray hopes that she’ll have a chance to keep playing in the National Pro Fastpitch league. Whether or not that happens, she plans to graduate from Georgia in December with a degree in communication studies and then pursue a master’s degree with an eye toward teaching special education and potentially coaching.
In the meantime, she has unfinished business in the pitching circle, where she appears to be more comfortable — and less hittable — than ever.
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A look at how Brittany Gray has fared during her career at the University of Georgia:
Year;W-L;ERA;K;BB;Opp. BA
2015;15-6;2.20;99;51;.218
2016;11-9;3.21;128;52;.271
2017;18-11;2.17;134;77;.190
*2018;13-0;0.19;110;12;.125
* – through March 21
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