Florida Gators softball preview for the USF tournament

The No. 3 ranked Florida Gators softball team will begin the 2017 season on the road in the USF-Wilson Demarini tournament that will be held in Tampa, Florida this weekend.

Florida has taken been involved in this tournament the last three years and has gone undefeated in those games.

This weekend the Gators will up against some tough competition while head coach Tim Walton tries to figure out his line-up and defense with several young players making their Florida debut.

Joining Florida in Tampa will be Illinois State, St. John’s, No. 4 Michigan, Delaware, and USF.

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

  • #3 Florida vs. Illinois State on Friday at 4:15 P.M
  • #3 Florida vs. St. John’s on Saturday at 10:00 A.M
  • #3 Florida vs. #4 Michigan on Saturday at 12:30 P.M
  • #3 Florida vs. Delaware on Sunday at 1:30 P.M
  • #3 Florida vs. USF on Sunday at 4:00 P.M.

That’s a look at this weekend’s games, but let’s dig a little deeper into this weekend’s opponents in our scouting report. Here’s a quick scouting report on the Florida Gators softball team as well.

 

Scouting the Florida Gators:

The Gators lose five seniors who were starters the last four years so a lot of news faces will be making first starts this weekend.

Last season the Gators were lead by Amanda Lorenz and Kayli Kvistad and Florida returns both them this year. The Gators will look for Justine McLean or another newcomer to take over the leadoff spot that was left vacated by Kelsey Stewart.

In the circle, the Gators return the three-headed monster that leads them in 2016 as senior Delanie Gourley, junior Aleshia Ocasio, and Kelly Barnhill will all see a lot of action in the circle.

Walton will likely go with a rotation like he did last year so it will be interesting to see who emerges as the Friday night hurler.

 

Scouting the Illinois State Redbirds:

Illinois State returns MVC’s defensive player of the year Jordan de los Reyes this year who is one of the best players to ever play for the Redbirds.

De los Reyes and shortstop Riley Strandgard were both named to the MVC preseason all-conference team this year but Illinois State was picked fifth in the conference this year.

In the circle, Sarah Finck returns to the team after leading Illinois State in the circle last year but behind her is two ladies who haven’t pitched in their college careers. The key for Illinois State is keeping Finck in the game.

Florida holds a 6-2 all-time record against Illinois State heading into the weekend series.

 

Scouting the Michigan Wolverines:

Michigan had another successful season last year that saw the Wolverines win 52 games and in the WCWS.

The Wolverines return five starters from last year including outfielder Kelly Christner who was All-Big Ten last year.

In the circle, Michigan returns Big Ten pitcher of the year Megan Betsa who was 28-5 last season and was one of the top pitchers in the country.

The Gators have won the last match-ups against Michigan and all of them took place in February over the last three years.

Scouting the St. John’s Red Storm:

St. John’s was picked to win the Big East conference by the coaches last week as they return eight starters.

Savannah Warren leads St. John’s on offense as she returns after hitting .377 last season and slugging .698. Brittany Garcia also returns after hitting .357 and driving in 33 runs last year.

Returning in the circle is Tori Free who was the Big East pitcher of the year in 2015 and Grace Kramer actually lead the team in wins last year and returns as well. All in all St. John’s has three quality arms this year.

 

Scouting the Delaware Blue Hens:

The Blue Hens return five starters from last year’s team that went 20-21 and played in the CAA tournament in 2016.

Delaware set a school record with 101 stolen bases last year and will be led on offense by Mariah Kondravy who was a first-team All-CAA member last year. Kondravy hit .382 while driving in 46 runs and hitting 14 doubles in 2016.

Jordan Cargile and Taylor Curran will be back in the circle for Delaware after leading the Blue Hens last year.

This will be the first match-up between Florida and Delaware in school history.

 

Scouting the USF Bulls:

USF enters the year after going 45-16 last year and winning the AAC conference title in 2016. USF also competed in the NCAA tournament a year ago.

The Bulls return all nine starters this year including Juli Weber who was the AAC player of the year after hitting .406 in 2016. Weber is also on the watch list for the USA collegiate player of the year award.

In the circle, USF returns all four of its pitchers from a year ago and are led in the circle by Susan Wysocki.

 

Stay tuned to GatorCountry.com all weekend 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.