The No. 1 ranked Florida Gators softball team bring its 38-3 (12-3 SEC) record into a rare out of conference weekend series this weekend in Gainesville, as the Gators have a break from the tough SEC.
A break from SEC play but not a break from tough competition as the Gators will host No. 4 Louisiana Lafayette in a three game series.
Florida sits at atop the SEC and this week gained the top spot in the NCAA RPI rankings and that is sure to improve this weekend.
Here’s the schedule for this weekend’s game and all games will be broadcasted.
- #1 Florida vs. #4 Louisiana Lafayette on Saturday at 1:00 P.M on ESPN3
- #1 Florida vs. #4 Louisiana Lafayette on Saturday at 3:30 P.M on ESPN3
- #1 Florida vs. #4 Louisiana Lafayette on Sunday at 1:00 P.M on ESPN3
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 .982 fielding percentage which is the best in the country. The Gators also lead the country with a 0.84 ERA between its three pitchers.
The Gators enter this weekend’s series off of a great Ole Miss series that raised the team’s batting average to .321 on the year after the sweep of Ole Miss.
Sophomore Kayli Kvistad leads the team with a .420 average and also leads the team with seven home runs and 41 RBI’s this year. Freshman Amanda Lorenz continues to tear the cover off the ball with her .410 average and she leads the team with 10 doubles from the cleanup spot.
Aleshia Ocasio and Delanie Gourley enter the series with the number 1 and number 3 ERA in the nation respectively as Ocasio has the nations best with a 0.45 ERA. Ocasio is 13-1 with five saves and Gourley is 11-2 with three saves while posting a 0.78 ERA. Freshman Kelly Barnhill is still perfect this year with a 14-0 record and a 1.38 ERA while striking out a team best 128 hitters.
Scouting the Louisiana Lafayette Rajin’ Cajuns:
Louisiana enters the series with a 32-3 record (13-1 in conference) and a 12-2 road mark. Lafayette supports the nations 7th best batting average with a .347 average this year. While Louisiana may not be a household name the Rajin’ Cajuns have made multiple trips to the women’s college world series the last few years.
Catcher Lexie Elkins leads the nation with a .538 batting average and was the number one overall pick in the national fast pitch softball draft on Thursday night. Elkins has 17 home runs and 41 RBI’s which both lead Louisiana. Aleah Craighton has 13 home runs this year and has also driven in 38 runs while hitting .386 on the year.
In the circle Alex Stewart leads Louisiana with a 17-1 record in 23 appearances and she has a 1.55 ERA on the year. Stewart has struck out 121 hitters, which leads the team. Kylee Jo Trahan has appeared in 15 games and supports a 10-2 record with a 1.76 ERA.
Stay tuned to GatorCountry.com all weekend for updates on the Gators softball team.