The No. 1 ranked Florida Gators softball team will take its 30-1 (5-1 SEC) record on the road to face yet another top 25 SEC opponent this weekend in an odd three game over two day series.
This weekend the Gators travel down to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to take on No. 7 LSU in another key series for Florida.
If Florida is able to win on Friday the Gators would set a school record for the best start to a season as they are currently tied with the 2011 team for best start.
Since Sunday is Easter, the Gators will play a doubleheader on Friday followed by a single game on Saturday before taking Sunday off.
Here’s the schedule for this weekend’s game and all games will be broadcasted
- #1 Florida vs. #7 LSU on Friday at 5:00 P.M on ESPN3
- #1 Florida vs. #7 LSU on Friday at 7:30 P.M on ESPN3
- #1 Florida vs. #7 LSU on Saturday at 12:00 P.M on ESPN2
That’s a look at this weekend’s games but let’s dig a little deeper into this weekend’s opponent in our scouting report. Here’s a quick scouting report on the Florida Gators softball team as well.
Scouting the Florida Gators
Florida enters this weekend with a .986 fielding percentage which is the best in the country. The Gators also lead the country with a 0.87 ERA between its three pitchers including SEC freshman of the week Kelly Barnhill.
The Gators enter this weekend’s series with the nations best on-base percentage (.479) and the ninth best batting average in the country (.349).
Sophomore Kayli Kvistad leads the Gators with a .435 batting average and also leads the Gators with 32 RBI’s this year. Senior Kelsey Stewart had a good weekend against Tennessee and the Gators will look for her to continue that hot streak. Stewart enters play on Friday with a .347 batting average and 11 stolen bases lead the team.
In the circle the Gators trio of Kelly Barnhill, Delanie Gourley and Aleshia Ocasio are the third trip to win 10 plus games in a season. Ocasio enters the series with the best ERA in the nation at 0.41 and Gourley who has a 0.86 ERA follows her closely. Barnhill leads the Gators with 99 strike outs on the year and the freshman is 10-0 this year.
Scouting the LSU Tigers
LSU enters conference play with a 26-5 record (3-3 in conference) and a 20-2 record at home. The Tigers enter with the 7th best batting average in the country with a .360 average this year.
Sahvanna Jaquish is the Tigers best hitter with a .427 batting average and she also leads the team with nine home runs this year. Jaquish is second to Blanka Bell with 37 RBI’s on the year. Bell is the second best hitter on the team with a .407 average and seven home runs while driving in 39 runs this year.
The Tigers have four pitchers on staff but mainly use a three-man rotation during SEC play. Carley Hoover has appeared in 16 games and supports a 2.31 ERA while going 10-1 on the year. Sydney Smith has a 7-1 record this year and supports the best ERA on the team with a 0.60 ERA this year.
Stay tuned to GatorCountry.com all weekend for updates on the Gators softball team.