The No. 3 ranked Florida Gators softball team went undefeated in the Judi Garman Classic last weekend in California. The Gators defeated two top 25 teams before taking this week off for spring break.
The Gators take their 20-1 record into the opening weekend of SEC play and Florida will get to stay at home for the series.
This weekend the Gators will take on Missouri in a match-up that puts two top 25 teams against each other. This weekend is an odd weekend for Florida, as the Gators will have the Saturday-Monday series.
Entering this weekend the SEC has 10 teams ranked in the top 25 and Arkansas is just outside of the top 25 this weekend.
How the teams have fared in conference play:
This is the first weekend of conference play for both schools and both teams are ranked in the top 25.
The Gators come in with a 12 game winning streak and the two teams did not face each other in 2016.
Missouri comes in on a two-game winning streak and is 11-8 on the year.
Florida owns a 7-4 record in the all-time series against Missouri.
In the batter’s box:
The Gators’ bats really picked up while in California last weekend and that was a huge relief for Tim Walton and his staff. The Gators are now hitting .317 on the year.
At the plate, Amanda Lorenz and Kayli Kvistad have reached base in all 21 games this year for the Gators.
Kvistad is leading the Gators with a .479 batting average this year and has added two home runs, five doubles and 17 RBI’s. Sophia Reynoso continues to impress at the plate and is hitting .456 on the year and is second on the team with 19 RBI’s.
Amanda Lorenz leads the Gators with four home runs and freshman Jaimie Hoover leads the team with 24 RBI’s but is just batting .288 on the year.
In the circle:
The Gators are being paced by Kelly Barnhill who is a perfect 8-0 on the year with a .028 ERA. Barnhill has struck out 98 batters in 49.2 innings pitched.
Delanie Gourley has pitched the most for the Gators this year with her 12 appearances. Gourley is 8-1 with two saves but has a 1.11 ERA on the year. Gourley has thrown 50.1 innings and struck out 82 batters in those innings.
Players to watch:
For Florida:
The obvious choice here is Lorenz or Kvistad but the Gators lineup really needs Janell Wheaton to continue improving at the plate. Wheaton improved her batting average by over 50 points last weekend and is now hitting .217 on the year. Wheaton has hit two home runs and drove in seven runs.
For Missouri:
Kirsten Mack leads Missouri at the plate with a .346 batting average and scored 14 runs. Mack has three home runs and driven eight runs.
Braxton Burnside is the Tigers power hitter and has hit six home runs and driven 19 runs this year. Burnside is hitting .317 and scores 14 runs while walking six times.
In the circle, Madi Norman leads Missouri with a 2.13 ERA and a 6-3 record. Norman has appeared in 14 games and has three complete games this year.
Here’s the schedule for this weekend’s game.
- #3 Florida vs. #24 Missouri on Saturday at 11:30 A.M on ESPNU
- #3 Florida vs. #24 Missouri on Sunday at 6:00 P.M on ESPNU
- #3 Florida vs. #24 Missouri on Monday at 7:00 P.M on SEC Network