Florida Gators softball preview for the Auburn series

The No. 2 ranked Florida Gators softball team went a perfect 4-0 last week and run-ruled USF on Wednesday night to start this week off on a high note.

The Gators take their 27-1 record and 19 game winning streak into a tough home series against number 4 ranked Auburn this weekend.

This weekend the Gators will take on an Auburn team who is 27-3 and 2-1 in conference play.

Entering this weekend the SEC has 10 teams ranked in the top 25 and Missouri is just outside of the top 25 this weekend.

 

How the teams have fared in conference play:

Florida comes in with a 5-0 conference record after back to back sweeps in conference play.

Auburn enters with a 2-1 conference record after dropping one game to LSU and last weekend they were in out of conference play.

 

In the batter’s box:

Junior Kayli Kvistad is one of the best hitters in the country and has a .435 batting average on the year. Kvistad has walked an incredible 38 times this year but still, has three home runs on the year.

Sophomore Amanda Lorenz is on fire lately and has close to a .500 batting average in conference play. On the year she’s hitting .390 with four home runs and 20 RBI’s. Lorenz reaches base at a clip of .505 this season.

The surprise hitter this year for the Gators is redshirt freshman Sophia Reynoso who is hitting .430 on the year and is third on the team with 21 RBI’s. Reynoso is now the Gators lead-off hitter and has done well in that spot.

 

In the circle:

The Gators four-man rotation brings in an incredible 0.54 ERA on the year and is led by Kelly Barnhill’s 0.23 ERA. Barnhill is a perfect 10-0 on the year and is striking nearly two batters an inning. Barnhill has cut down on her walks this year and has only given up 15 in 61.2 innings pitched.

Senior Delanie Gourley is the Gators ace this year and has a 0.82 ERA and is 11-1 on the year and 3-0 in SEC play. Gourley is dominating hitters at the plate with her off-speed and has struck out 105 hitters in 68.1 innings this year.

 

Auburn scouting report

Auburn is like the Gators in that its pitching staff paces them but the offense is very capable of carrying the Tigers much like the Gators. Auburn’s lineup like Florida’s is deep and this year Auburn has 31 home runs compared to Florida’s 26.

At the plate, Auburn is led by Victoria Draper with a .411 batting average as she’s more of a singles hitter than power hitter.

Carlee Wallace is Auburn’s best all-around hitter with a .388 batting average and five long balls. Wallace has 30 RBI’s on the year as well.

Kasey Cooper is another hitter to be aware of for Florida as Cooper has six home runs and 30 RBI’s to go along with five doubles.

In the circle, Auburn goes with a two-man rotation most of the time that includes Kaylee Carlson and Makayla Martin.

Carlson carries a 0.93 ERA and pitches more to contact than Martin. Martin has a 0.98 ERA and has 71 strikeouts in 85.2 innings pitched.

 

Player to watch:

For Florida:

Delanie Gourley is the pick this week because she will be tasked with trying to hold down this good Auburn line-up. Gourley has been good this year and has carried the Gators but this weekend she will be tested. Gourley will have to use her change-up to keep the Tigers hitters off balance.

 

 

Here’s the schedule for this weekend’s game.

  • #2 Florida vs. #4 Auburn on Saturday at 6:00 P.M. on ESPN2
  • #2 Florida vs. #4 Auburn on Sunday at 7:00 P.M on ESPN2
  • #2 Florida vs. #4 Auburn on Monday at 7:00 P.M on SEC Network
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.