Florida Gators: Softball faces 3 ranked teams this week

The No. 1 ranked Florida Gators softball team is spending its spring break in California where they will take part in a weekend tournament for the second straight weekend in Cali.

The weekend will start early for the undefeated Gators as they will play a Wednesday game against Long Beach State before heading to Fullerton, California where they will play in the Judi Garman Classic that starts on Thursday and runs through Saturday evening.

Florida will join No. 2 Oregon, No. 3 Michigan, No. 12 Arizona, Cal. State Fullerton, Fresno State and San Jose State in the tournament that will be by far the Gators toughest weekend slate to date this season.

Here is this week’s schedule of game:

Florida vs. Long Beach State on Wednesday at 5:00 P.M.

Florida vs. Michigan on Thursday at 4:30 P.M.

Florida vs. San Jose State on Thursday at 7:00 P.M.

Florida vs. Arizona on Friday at 1:00 P.M.

Florida vs. Oregon on Friday at 6:00 P.M.

Florida vs. Fresno State on Saturday at 3:00 P.M.

 

That’s a look at this week’s game but let’s dig a little deeper into this weekend’s opponents in our scouting report.

 

Scouting the Long Beach State 49ers:

Long Beach State will bring its 10-10 record into play at home on Wednesday night but the 49ers are coming off of a big weekend that included wins over UCLA and Syracuse and a close loss to Stanford in extra innings.

Darian Tautalafua is coming off a week that saw her receive Big West Field Player of the Week after she batted .438 last week with three home runs and slugged 1.063 in three wins.

Long Beach State is likely to throw Christiana Clermont on Wednesday as she leads the 49ers with 13 appearances and a 4-2 record with a 2.36 ERA while striking out 47 hitters in 50.1 innings pitched.

 

Scouting the Michigan Wolverines:

The Wolverines will bring their No. 3 ranked team into play this weekend and a record of 18-1 with their lone loss coming against Florida by a score of 2-1 on February 7th.

Since that game Michigan is 18-0 and outscored its opponents 57-12 last weekend during in the Arizona State tournament.

At the plate Sierra Romero is hitting .500 with 6 home runs and 23 RBI’s in 42 plate appearances this year and as a team Michigan is hitting .339 with 35 home runs and 140 RBI’s.

Michigan, much like Florida, has a three woman rotation in the circle  led by Megan Betsa who has made 10 appearances and has just a 1.63 ERA while striking out 58 batters. Florida faced Haylie Wagner in the last game and so far this year she is 6-1 on the year with a 1.79 ERA.

 

Scouting the Oregon Ducks:

Oregon comes into this weekend as the No. 2 ranked in the country with a 16-2 record which includes a loss to Florida last weekend by a score of 3-0.

At the plate Oregon is led by Gwen Svekis who is hitting .520 on the year with 2 home runs and 11 RBI’s.

In the circle Cheridan Hawkins is 6-2 with four complete games and an ERA of 0.47 but the Gators did beat her last Friday.

Last Friday against Florida, Oregon was limited to just two runs and committed three errors so getting hits will be a key this time around.

 

Scouting the San Jose State Spartans:

San Jose State heads up the state to take on top teams this weekend and they will bring a record of 14-6 and coming off a big weekend in Honolulu that included a close game against No. 13 California that seen San Jose State fall 3-2.

When Florida faces San Jose State at the plate they must be aware of Jessie Hufstetier who is hitting .533 with 7 home runs and 36 RBI’s and has walked 14 times this year. The Spartans at the plate are hitting .354 at the plate with 20 home runs and 123 RBI’s.

Florida will most likely face Allison Lang in the circle for the Spartans as she is 4-2 in 13 appearances this year with a 3.09 ERA.

 

Scouting the Arizona Wildcats:

Arizona heads to California ranked as the No. 12 ranked team in the country with a 17-3 record including a perfect 15-0 at home but that won’t be in play this weekend.

Chelsea Suitos leads the Wildcats at the plate with a .485 batting average and 6 RBI’s while Kellie Fox is providing the power at the plate with 3 home runs and 22 RBI’s.

As a team Arizona is hitting .383 with 24 home runs and 145 RBI’s while allowing opponents to only hit .229 with 9 home runs.

In the circle Trish Parks leads the team with 12 appearances and a 7-1 record while having a 2.09 ERA and striking out 32 hitters in 47 innings pitched.

 

Scouting the Fresno State Bulldogs:

Fresno State heads into this weekend’s tournament with a 14-5 record including an 8-2 record in neutral site games so far this season.

Brenna Moss leads the Bulldogs at the plate with a .470 batting average and 8 walks but only has nine RBI’s on the year.

Jill Compton has been the leader in the circle with a 2.80 ERA and an 8-4 record in 17 appearances including 16 starts this season.

 

Leaders for the Gators: 

Sophomore hurler Delanie Gourley was named SEC  pitcher of the week this week and so far this season she 6-0 with a 0.56 ERA including a big win over No. 2 Oregon last weekend.

Freshman hurler Aleshia Ocasio was named SEC freshman of the week and she has deserved the honor by going 6-0 with a .064 ERA this year and is also .364 at the plate including a home run.

Overall Florida’s leading hitter is Taylor Schwarz who is hitting .389 with two home runs and 10 RBI’s while playing excellent first base so far this year.

It wouldn’t be a softball update unless I mentioned the excellent work by senior pitcher/hitter Lauren Haeger who is a perfect 9-0 in the circle with a 0.46 ERA and at the plate she is hitting .386 with six home runs and 25 RBI’s this year.

 

 

Stay tuned to GatorCountry.com all week for updates on the Gators softball team.

Andrew Spivey
Andrew always knew he wanted to be involved with sports in some capacity. He began by coaching high school football for six years before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. While coaching, he was a part of two state semifinal teams in the state of Alabama. Given his past coaching experience, he figured covering recruiting would be a perfect fit. He began his career as an intern for Rivals.com, covering University of Florida football recruiting. After interning with Rivals for six months, he joined the Gator Country family as a recruiting analyst. Andrew enjoys spending his free time on the golf course and watching his beloved Atlanta Braves. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewSpiveyGC.