Florida Softball - National Champion 14 15

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3.16.2016

Next up: Tennessee for 3 games in Gainesville this weekend

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 1 Florida softball team defeated Winthrop, 7-0, on Wednesday night at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. Freshman Kelly Barnhill threw a two-hit shutout with three walks and a school-record high tying 18 strikeouts to run her record to 9-0 on the season.

Three players had multiple hits for the Gators (27-1), who bounced back after losing their first game of the season on Monday night.

Barnhill's 18 strikeouts tied a UF single-game record that she and junior Delanie Gourley set a few weeks ago against Florida A&M.

On Sunday, March 6, that duo combined for 18 strikeouts against the Rattlers in the second game of Florida's doubleheader. Gourley recorded a career-high 13 strikeouts in 5.1 innings pitched, and Barnhill dealt five strikeouts to the only five FAMU hitters she faced.

The rookie tried to mirror that performance tonight over seven innings, as Florida's first-year pitcher fanned two batters in the fourth and struck out the side in five of the other six innings.

Barnhill now holds the Florida individual-game record for strikeouts. That mark was previously held by her teammate, Aleshia Ocasio, and former Gator, Renise Landry, who each had 17 in a game.

Offensively, Florida scored its runs in bunches as the Gators recorded two in the first, two in the fourth and three in the sixth.

In the first inning, UF scored a pair of runs on four hits, including RBI singles by Amanda Lorenz and Kayli Kvistad.

UF recorded its runs in the fourth on a Kelsey Stewart double and a Winthrop miscue. The two-bagger scored Justine McLean, who led off the inning with a single. Stewart crossed home plate on an error by the Eagles' second baseman.

Nicole DeWitt notched a two-run double in the fifth and Aubree Munro singled her in, which turned out to be the final run of the contest.

News & Notes•Florida is now tied with its 2008, 2011 and 2014 teams for the second-best start in school history with a 27-1 record. UF opened its 2015 season 28-0.

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Gators shutout the vols 5-0 in game 1:


Pitching, Defense Carry Florida to 5-0 Win Before Season-High Crowd

UF shutout UT for the first time since March 11, 2012 and blanked the Vols in Gainesville for the first time since May 7, 2011.

By Will Pantages | Friday, March 18, 2016

Aleshia Ocasio improved to 10-1 on the season and 3-1 in SEC play.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In a matchup of top-25 squads, the No. 1-ranked University of Florida softball team defeated No. 16 Tennessee, 5-0, on Friday night in the first home game of the Gators' Southeastern Conference schedule. Sophomore Aleshia Ocasio (10-1) threw a complete game, two-hit shutout in front of a season-high crowd of 1,413.

Thanks to a 1-6-3 double play in the second inning, Ocasio faced the minimum 15 batters through five innings of work. In addition, UF shutout UT for the first time since March 11, 2012 and blanked the Vols in Gainesville for the first time since May 7, 2011.

Florida jumped on Tennessee early with three runs on two hits in the bottom of the first inning.

Seniors Kelsey Stewart and Kirsti Merritt kicked off the inning with a single and a walk to place runners on first and second base with no one out.

Freshman Amanda Lorenz followed with her team-leading eighth double of the season, which scored Stewart. After a sacrifice fly plated Merritt and moved Lorenz to third, the rookie came into score on an error by the UT catcher.

UF scored its only other runs in the third inning when Aubree Munro recorded an RBI single and Merritt notched an RBI base on balls.

The Vols had their best chance to score in the sixth, when UT had runners on first and third with one out. Ocasio bared down and forced back-to-back UT hitters to groundout and strikeout to end the inning.

Tennessee's Matty Moss (6-2) started and shouldered the loss, but was one of three pitchers to throw in the game for the Volunteers.

News & Notes•Florida is now tied with its 2011 and 2015 teams for the best start to a season in school history with a 28-1 record.

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Gators take game two 4-2. Kelly Barnhill got the win pitching 5 innings with 9 strikeouts and Aleshia Ocasio picked up the save pitching 3 up and 3 down in the top of the 6th and 7th innings. After failing to get the sweep at Auburn last weekend, UF will likely send Delanie Gourley out on Sunday afternoon to try to nail down the sweep of Tennessee:

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Sophomores Nicole DeWitt and Kayli Kvistad drove in all four Florida runs, while freshman Kelly Barnhill earned her 10th win in the circle during Saturday's rain-delayed series-clinching win, as No. 1 Florida downed No. 16 Tennessee, 4-2.

With the win, UF continued its streak of not dropping a series against Tennessee in Gainesville since 2007. In addition, Florida has now opened Southeastern Conference play with back-to-back series victories for the first time since 2014.

Barnhill (10-0) allowed two runs on four hits and recorded nine strikeouts to go along with just one walk. She was relieved by sophomore Aleshia Ocasio who threw two perfect innings and earned the third save of her season.

Florida got on the board early with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first on three hits. This was the third straight game that UF's offense plated at least two runs in the first inning.

The Gators scored those runs on a pair of RBI singles by Kvistad and DeWitt. Senior Kelsey Stewart set the inning up for success when she led off with a single up the middle.

After the Volunteers failed to score with the bases loaded in the fourth, they didn't miss their chance in the fifth.

UT's Megan Geer capitalized on a bases-loaded RBI opportunity, as she recorded a two-run single up the middle to even the score at 2-2.

Undaunted, Florida had an answer.

In the bottom half of the inning, Florida retook the lead on a hit by pitch and three walks. DeWitt was the one who notched the RBI base on balls for the Gators.

UF added an insurance run in the seventh on a Kvistad single to center. Tennessee opened the door for that run on an error by its second baseman.

News & Notes•Florida is now tied with its 2011 team for the best start to a season in school history with a 29-1 record.

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3.20.2016

Delanie Gourley pitched a 1 hit gem in leading the Gators to the game 3 win 3-0 and a sweep of the volsintears:

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Senior Kelsey Stewart went 3-for-3 and junior Delanie Gourley picked up her 10th win of 2016 as No. 1 Florida shutout No. 16 Tennessee, 3-0, to sweep its first SEC series of the season. The Gators (30-1/5-1 SEC) swept the Volunteers (21-8/3-3 SEC) for the first time since May 6-8, 2011.

This was eighth time in school history that Florida completed a three-game sweep of Tennessee. In addition, Florida recorded its first SEC sweep since April 24-26 of last season against Texas A&M.

UF allowed just two runs this weekend, marking the fewest Florida allowed Tennessee to score in a three-game set since these two schools met in 2009.

After Florida was held scoreless in the first two innings, Stewart took matters into her own hands in the third. The senior led off with a single, stole second base, moved to third on a groundout, and came into score on a wild pitch.

Stewart continued her impressive day in the fifth when she notched a two-run single up the middle to extend the Florida lead to 3-0. Sophomore Nicole DeWitt and junior Justine McLean found their way into scoring position on a single and a Tennessee error to setup Stewart for the RBI opportunity.

Junior Delanie Gourley (10-0), who threw seven shutout innings to go along with eight strikeouts, allowed just one Tennessee base runner to get into scoring position all afternoon.

News & Notes•Florida is now tied with its 2011 team for the best start to a season in school history with a 30-1 record.

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3.21.2016



Kelly Barnhill Named SEC Freshman of the Week:

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – After earning two wins and recording 27 strikeouts in 12.0 innings pitched last week, University of Florida right-hander Kelly Barnhill garnered Southeastern Conference (SEC) Freshman of the Week honors, the league office announced Monday. The accolade marks the first SEC weekly award of her career, and Florida's first weekly accolade this season.

Barnhill ran her record to 10-0 this week with a pair of wins over Winthrop and No. 16 Tennessee.

Against the Eagles, the freshman threw a two-hit shutout with three walks and a school-record high tying 18 strikeouts. Barnhill's 18 strikeouts tied a UF single-game record that she and junior Delanie Gourley set a few weeks ago against Florida A&M.

On Sunday, March 6, that duo combined for 18 strikeouts against the Rattlers in the second game of Florida's doubleheader. Gourley recorded a career-high 13 strikeouts in 5.1 innings pitched, and Barnhill dealt five strikeouts to the only five FAMU hitters she faced.

The rookie tried to mirror that performance over seven innings against Winthrop, as Florida's first-year pitcher fanned two batters in the fourth and struck out the side in five of the other six innings that day.

Barnhill now holds the Florida individual-game record for strikeouts. That mark was previously held by her teammate, Aleshia Ocasio, and former Gator, Renise Landry, who each had 17 in a game.

On Saturday against Tennessee, Barnhill allowed two runs on four hits and recorded nine strikeouts to go along with just one walk. She was relieved by Ocasio who threw two perfect innings and earned the third save of her season.

The win was Barnhill's first career SEC victory.

The Marietta, Ga. native has 99 strikeouts this season and is looking to become the fifth Gator freshman in six years to record 100+ strikeouts.

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UF is headed for a showdown in Red Stick. The doubleheader on Friday will be on SEC Network+ and the Saturday game will be on ESPN2. As the article states, UF beat LSU in the college world series, but the tiggers came to Gainesville and beat the Gators 2 games to 1 during the regular season. It should be a great series. Game times are EDT:

BATON ROUGE, La. – It's another weekend and another top-25 opponent for the University of Florida softball team. The No. 1-ranked Gators (30-1) travel to Baton Rouge, La., this weekend to continue Southeastern Conference play, as No. 7 LSU hosts Florida for a doubleheader on Friday and the series finale will be Saturday afternoon at Tiger Park.

UF enters this weekend looking to open its season with three-straight SEC series victories for the first time since 2013.

Florida, picked in the preseason to win the SEC, is looking to win its second-straight SEC regular season crown in 2016, a feat UF last achieved in 2008 and 2009.

Florida and LSU last met at the Women's College World Series on May 29, 2015, when the Gators defeated the Tigers, 4-0. The Gators hold a slight 6-4 advantage over the Tigers in the two schools' last 10 meetings, but LSU holds the all-time series lead, 32-24, including a 15-9 mark in Baton Rouge, La.

Friday's doubleheader will be broadcast on SEC Network+. Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN2. Florida posted a 15-5 record on national television a season ago and is 4-1 so far this season.

Coaches' Corner
Head Coach Tim Walton:
"I was really excited about our sweep of Tennessee last weekend, and I can't thank our fans enough. We had almost 2,100 people in attendance on Sunday and had really good crowds on Friday night and Saturday afternoon. It was really fun to see our fans be so energetic and involved in the games, so we appreciate them.

"Last weekend wasn't the best for us overall offensively, but our pitching and defense was as advertised, as we played excellent defense and we pitched really well. But now we're ready for LSU. This was a tough week of preparation and we're going to Baton Rouge, La., which is one of the best and toughest places to play in the entire country. It's going to be tough for our team to play well, not only because of their environment, but LSU has a great pitching staff with a lot of depth and they are a really athletic team. They are a team that always plays us well, especially at home. I'm excited for this weekend and I know our team is excited for this challenge."

Quick Hits
•Florida is currently tied with its 2011 team for the best start to a season in school history with a 30-1 record.
•The Gators have won five of their first six SEC games for the first time since 2014.
•UF has an overall scoring margin of 208-28, including 17 shutouts and 13 mercy-rule victories. Florida entered this week with the highest win percentage in the country (.968) and if the Gators win Game 1 of this three-game series, UF will improve to 31-1 on the season, marking the best start to a season in school history.
•Although UF's offense is averaging 6.71 runs per game, which ranks 20th in the country, its Florida's pitching and defense that have carried the torch thus far in 2016. Florida has allowed just 28 runs and committed only 11 errors through 31 games. UF's 28 runs allowed through 31 games is tied for the second fewest in school history through this point in any season. Florida's 2009 squad allowed 23 tallies through 31 contests.
•The Gators currently sport the best fielding percentage (.986) and earned run average (0.87) in the nation. For comparison through 31 games last season, Florida had committed 22 errors and had a fielding percentage of .972. UF went on to record a fielding percentage of .981 and commit just 33 errors, both school records.
•The Gators have allowed just two stolen bases this season, the fewest in the SEC.
•Offensively, UF is atop the country in on-base percentage (.479), ranks 20th in scoring (6.71) and ranks ninth in batting average (.349). Florida's OBP through 31 games is the highest in school history through 31 games, while its batting average ranks second to UF's 2011 squad that was hitting .362 through 31 contests.
•Kayli Kvistad, who has the highest batting average and RBI total on the team, is hitting .440 (11 for 25) over her last 10 games with two home runs, 14 RBI and four runs scored.
•Kelsey Stewart is the NCAA active leader in career hits (326) by almost 50 tallies.
•UF hitters have struck out 86 times on the year while two of the Gators' three pitchers have 95+ strikeouts.
•(Kelly Barnhill - 99, Delanie Gourley - 95, Aleshia Ocasio - 73). This group is looking to become the second trio in school history to all record 100+ strikeouts in a season. UF achieved this feat last season when Lauren Haeger (214), Aleshia Ocasio (155) and Delanie Gourley (105) all reached the century mark.
•Delanie Gourley (10-0), Aleshia Ocasio (10-1) and Kelly Barnhill (10-0) are the third trio in three years and third in school history to all record at least 10 wins.
•Ocasio has the best ERA in the nation (0.41) and Barnhill is second in strikeouts per game (11.6).
•The pitching trio of Delanie Gourley, Aleshia Ocasio and Kelly Barnhill has combined to allow the fewest runs in the SEC (28) and record the most strikeouts (267).

Setting the Stage: LSU•Florida and LSU last met at the Women's College World Series on May 29, 2015, when the Gators defeated the Tigers, 4-0.
•The Gators hold a slight 6-4 advantage over the Tigers in the two schools' last 10 meetings, but LSU holds the all-time series lead, 32-24, including a 15-9 mark in Baton Rouge, La.

Broadcast Information
The SEC Network+ will broadcast Friday's doubleheader in Baton Rouge, La. And Saturday's contest will be aired on ESPN2.

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UF beat LSU 3-0 in both games of the doubleheader to take the weekend series in Red Stick. The series finale will be on ESPN2 at 12 PM EDT on Saturday. Kelly Barnhill will likely get the start, but both Ocasio and Gourley will be available as the Gators take out the brooms for the sweep. All of the SEC softball schools moved their games up to avoid playing on Easter Sunday. I commend that decision:

3.25.2016

BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 1-ranked University of Florida (32-1/7-1 SEC) softball team swept a Friday doubleheader against Southeastern Conference rival No. 7 LSU (26-7/3-5 SEC) with two shutout wins at Tiger Park. Florida scored six runs in the doubleheader, taking Game 1 by a 3-0 score before clinching the holiday weekend series with a 3-0 (nine innings) victory.

Tiger Park held an LSU-record 3,242 fans on Friday.

With the pair of victories, Florida is now 32-1 on the season, which is the best start in school history. In addition, UF has now opened SEC play with three-straight series victories for the first time since 2013.

Florida shutout LSU in last May's meeting at the Women's College World Series and did the same in both games on Friday. This marked the first time that UF blanked the Tigers in three-straight contests since Florida shutout LSU on March 30, 2008 and followed that performance with a doubleheader sweep on April 18, 2009.

In addition, Florida has now earned shutouts in three straight SEC games for the first time since April 25-26, 2009 when the Gators blanked Arkansas in a three-game set in Gainesville.

Florida blanked Tennessee last Sunday to begin this current streak. UF has not allowed a run 25 consecutive innings after sophomore Aleshia Ocasio and junior Delanie Gourley combined for 16 scoreless frames on Friday.

Friday's nightcap marked the first time UF went into extra innings since May 31, 2015 when UF beat Auburn at the Women's College World Series. This was the first time that UF and LSU played free softball since March 14, 2014 when the Gators defeated the Tigers, 7-6.

Florida is now 3-0 overall in extra-inning games against LSU.

Ocasio (12-1) gave up five hits and struck out eight batters in a complete-game effort to earn the win in the opener. Junior Delanie Gourley tossed the first 6.1 innings in game two, as she recorded seven strikeouts and left 11 Tigers on base.

Ocasio relieved Gourley in the seventh and threw the final 2.2 innings without allowing a hit or walk. The sophomore became the first Gator pitcher to win both ends of a doubleheader this season.

Offensively, rookie Amanda Lorenz paced the Gators in game one as she went 1-for-3 with an RBI double and a walk. In game two, sophomore Nicole DeWitt mashed a three-run home run in the top of the ninth inning to give Florida the extra-inning victory.

Florida improved to 10-1 on the season against ranked opponents.

Game 1 Recap
After Aleshia Ocasio worked out of a pair of jams in the first and second innings, Florida scored the game's first two runs in the third on two hits.

During that frame, a Kelsey Stewart single placed runners on second and third, which set the table for freshman Amanda Lorenz.

Before the rookie launched her team-leading ninth double into left-center field, junior Justine McLean scored on a wild pitch. The two-bagger drove in Stewart to give Florida the two-run advantage.

Florida tacked on an insurance run in the sixth when sophomore Kayli Kvistad launched her fifth home run of the season, tying her with Janell Wheaton for the team lead.

After those first two troublesome innings for Ocasio, the sophomore allowed just one LSU baserunner into scoring position during in the final five innings of the contest.

Game 2 Recap
Florida's defense led the way behind junior Delanie Gourley, as LSU stranded 11 runners on base across her 6.1 innings pitched.

LSU's best chance to score was in the fourth inning when Gourley walked a pair and hit an LSU batter to load the bases with two outs. Unfazed, the Lakeside, Calif. native struck out Bailey Landry to get out of the jam.

In the seventh, Gourley walked a pair of Tigers with one out, which prompted a pitching change from UF head coach Tim Walton. Sophomore Aleshia Ocasio, who threw a complete-game shutout in game one, induced a double play to the first batter she faced to get out of the inning without any damage.

Florida finally broke the scoreless tie in the ninth when Nicole DeWitt launched a three-run home run to right-center field. Taylore Fuller led off the inning by getting hit by a pitch and Kirsti Merritt later singled to set the table for DeWitt.

Ocasio retired the only eight batters she faced to record the win.

News & Notes
•With its doubleheader sweep, UF has now opened its season with three-straight SEC series victories for the first time since 2013.
•UF has now outscored its opponents this season, 214-28.◦In 2015, UF had a plus-174 run differential (235-61) through 33 games.
◦In 2014, UF had a plus-186 run differential (238-52) through 33 games.

•Florida's 28 runs allowed through 33 games is tied for the second fewest in school history through this point in any season.◦UF's 2009 squad allowed 23 tallies through 33 contests and Florida's last two NCAA Championship teams had allowed 52 (2014) and 61 (2015) runs, respectively.

•The Gators have made just 12 errors this season and currently sport one of the best fielding percentages (.986) and earned run averages in the nation (0.80). For comparison, Florida had committed 25 errors in its first 33 contests last season and had a fielding percentage of .970. UF went on to record a .981 fielding percentage and commit just 33 errors, which were both school records.
•Florida's senior class is now 205-29, which currently ranks eighth among four-year class records in program history.◦They surpassed UF's 2008 graduating class on Friday night, as that group went 204-75 throughout its four seasons.
◦Taylore Fuller, Kirsti Merritt, Aubree Munro, Taylor Schwarz and Kelsey Stewart are trying to catch UF's 2011 class which boasted a 238-33 mark during their four years.

•Tim Walton is now just 17 wins away from his 600th win at Florida.◦Walton earned his 700th career win on March 12 at Auburn.

•Kayli Kvistad, who has the highest batting average and RBI total on the team, is hitting .393 (11 for 28) over her last 10 games with two home runs, 11 RBI and three runs scored.◦Kvistad and her classmate Nicole DeWitt have a combined four home runs and 16 RBI in SEC play this season.

•Delanie Gourley crossed the century mark for strikeouts during her outing in game two on Friday night. Meanwhile, UF's other two pitchers are closing in on that mark. (Delanie Gourley - 102, Kelly Barnhill - 99, Aleshia Ocasio - 83).◦They are looking to become the second trio in school history to all record 100+ strikeouts in a season.
◦UF achieved this feat last season when Lauren Haeger (214), Aleshia Ocasio (155) and Delanie Gourley (105) all reached the century mark.
◦Barnhill is looking to become the fifth Gator freshman in six years to record 100+ strikeouts.

•Florida's pitching trio has now combined to allow just 28 runs, while they have totaled 284 strikeouts. Both of those numbers lead the SEC.
•Ocasio ran her scoreless innings streak to 18.2 with 9.2 shutout innings on Friday. Her season and career long streak is 20 innings.
•Gourley ran her scoreless innings streak to 15.0 with 6.1 shutout innings on Friday. Her season long streak is 27.0, while her career long is 29.0.
•Florida recorded its 16th double play of the season in the sixth inning of game one and its 17th in the seventh inning of game two.
•Kvistad is now one long ball shy of her total from 2015 after she hit her fifth home run of the season in the sixth inning of the game one.
•Amanda Lorenz hit her team-leading ninth double in the opening game of Friday's doubleheader.
•Nicole DeWitt's homer was her second three-run homer in SEC play and her fourth this season.

Coaches' Corner
Head Coach Tim Walton:
On Florida's pitching…
"I thought Delanie (Gourley) did what she had to do, as she was able to make a pitch every time she needed to. Additionally, Delanie had a couple of well-timed strikeouts and we were able to use our defense well enough to get a pair of wins tonight. The double play we turned in the seventh inning of the second game was as big of a moment as you have in a game. Overall, I thought both Aleshia (Ocasio) and Delanie both did a good job of making pitches when they had to."

On Florida's clutch hitting…
"We're constantly searching for an identity as an offense. We've got some young hitters that when they are going good, they're great. When things aren't going as well, they are thinking a lot and getting inside their own heads. Amanda Lorenz got that nice two-strike hit in the gap in the first game, and Nicole DeWitt's two-out three-run homer in the second game was huge. You can recruit, but you just don't know what kind of DNA somebody has until you see them in certain moments. For Nicole to hit a home run like that says a lot about who she really is."

Series History
•The Gators now hold a 7-3 advantage over the Tigers in the two schools' last 10 meetings, but LSU holds the all-time series lead, 32-26, including a 15-11 mark in Baton Rouge, La.
•Florida and LSU last met at the Women's College World Series on May 29, 2015, when the Gators defeated the Tigers, 4-0.

Next Up
The series concludes tomorrow afternoon at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

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3.26.2016

UF completes sweep of LSU in Red Stick. Next up: bama next weekend in Gainesville:

BATON ROUGE, La. – Freshman Amanda Lorenz went 3-for-3 with a career-high tying three RBI and freshman Kelly Barnhill picked up her 11th win as No. 1 Florida defeated No. 7 LSU, 6-2, to sweep its second SEC series of the season. The Gators (33-1/8-1 SEC) swept the Tigers (26-8/3-6 SEC) for the first time since April 3-4, 2010.

In addition, this weekend marked the first time since April 18-19, 2009 that Florida recorded a three-game sweep of the Tigers in Baton Rouge, La. During that series, UF shutout the Tigers in all three games.

This was fourth time in school history that Florida completed a three-game sweep of LSU.

It took the Gators until the ninth inning to score in last night's game, so Florida flipped that script and got on the board early on Saturday with two runs in the third inning.

After UF stranded a pair of runners in scoring position in the second inning, the Gators didn't make that mistake twice. With the bases loaded and two out in the third inning, Lorenz recorded a two-run single to left. Seniors Kelsey Stewart and Kirsti Merritt set the table for the rookie, as they recorded a pair of bloop singles to get into scoring position.

Stewart and sophomore Nicole DeWitt led off the fifth inning with a back-to-back singles to place runners on first and second with no one out. Merritt followed with a sacrifice bunt, but instead of just moving the runners up just one base, Stewart scored all the way from second on the play.

With DeWitt on third after the sacrifice, Lorenz drove her in with a sacrifice fly to center field.

LSU answered with a run in the fifth and sixth innings, both unearned. Sandra Simmons accounted for both of the Tigers runs as she led off the fifth with a single, moved to third on a Florida miscue and scored on a fielder's choice. In the sixth, Simmons recorded a clutch two-out RBI single up the middle.

UF scored the game's final two runs in the seventh when sophomore Kayli Kvistad roped a two-run single into left.

In the circle, Barnhill (11-0) allowed a two runs (both unearned) on five hits while notching seven strikeouts in 6.2 innings pitched. LSU's Carley Hoover (10-3) shouldered the loss as she tossed four innings and gave up four runs.

Sophomore Aleshia Ocasio relieved the rookie with two on and two out in the bottom of the seventh and retired the second hitter she faced to get out of the jam. For her work out of the bullpen, Ocasio earned the fourth save of her season.

News & Notes
•Florida is now 33-1 on the season, which is the best start in school history. In addition, UF has now opened SEC play with three-straight series victories for the first time since 2013.◦Also, Florida has started 8-1 in SEC play for the first time since 2012, when UF got off to a 10-1 start.

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3.31.2016

A Softball Weekend of Elite Teams, Nostalgia, Emotion

No. 1 Florida welcomes No. 6 Alabama, who together have won the last eight SEC titles, during UF's alumni weekend.

By Chris Harry, Senior Writer | Thursday, March 31, 2016

floridagators.com/news/2016/3/31/chris-harry-a-softball-weekend-of-elite-teams-nostalgia-emotion.aspx

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida softball team has played just nine "true" home games to date, which is half the number of neutral-site games and only two more than its seven road games.

For the Gators and their devoted followers at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium, this weekend should make up for lost time.

No. 1 and two-time reigning national champion UF (33-1, 8-1) plays host to Southeastern Conference rival and sixth-ranked Alabama (29-6, 3-3) in a series starting Friday that could go a long way toward determining the league champion. Yes, it's only the first weekend in April, but it has been either the Gators or Crimson Tide who have won the previous eight SEC regular-season crowns (dating to 2008), not to mention three of the last four NCAA titles.

The two programs met in the 2014 Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, where UF swept 'Bama in the best-of-three championship series to claim the first national crown in school history.

"There are teams in the SEC you want to beat because you don't like them, they bug you," senior catcher Aubree Munro said. "But when we play Alabama, there's a mutual respect. We want to beat Alabama because we know they are a great team and a great program — and beating them means something. You just know it's going to be a good game."

In this case, a good weekend, also. Probably an emotional and nostalgic one, as well. 

Some of the greatest names ever to come through the program — Stacey Nelson, Ali Gardiner, Francesca Enea, Kelsey Bruder, Hannah Rogers and Lauren Haeger, to list a few — will be back in town for alumni weekend, an occasion usually celebrated during the fall season. This year, the Gators will parade their past for the fans during the most anticipated home series of the spring.

Want a seat? Get there early.

"I used to come here for games as a little girl and grew up cheering for those players — and now they've become my friends," said senior third baseman Taylore Fuller, out of Chiefland, Fla., some 35 miles from home plate at KSP. "To say that your idols have become your friends, and will be out there cheering for you, that's kind of a dream for me."

"I know a lot of girls are excited about it," said Megan Bush, the former superstar first baseman for four WCWS teams and now the color analyst for UF radio broadcasts. "And they'll get to see some great softball."

There could also be some tears.

Heather Braswell, the pediatric cancer patient "adopted" by the team through the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation in 2009, will be remembered when her mother, Terri, throws out the first pitch of Saturday's game. The story of Heather and the Gators has been well chronicled over the years. She's the reason the Florida players wear the sunflowers in their hair, twirlrally Twizzlers and chow watermelon Sour Patch Kids in the dugout.

Heather came to the Gators when she was 12. Her cancer went into remission, then returned. The team was with her up until she died in March 2014. Three months later, Florida won its first national championship.

In her memory, both Florida and Alabama will wear yellow visors Saturday as part of pediatric cancer awareness.

"I don't think you can put it all into words," Terri Braswell said. "It's priceless, what they meant to Heather and what they mean to us."

Eventually, the fanfare will give way to softball. The Gators, in a tie with Kentucky atop the league standings and two games up on Auburn and Tennessee, aren't hitting the ball with the kind of power displayed in years past (their 25 home runs rank 10th in the SEC), but they're certainly hitting it well enough (.336 as a team) without one player ranked in the league's top 20 for average. Where Florida wins games, though, is with the best pitching and defense in the country.

Armed with the three-headed monster of sophomore Aleshia Ocasio, junior Delanie Gourley and freshman Kelly Barnhill, UF's combined ERA sits at 0.78, nearly a half-run better then next-best Auburn in the league. All three rank among the top nine in the conference for ERA and collectively are allowing teams to bat just .150 against them.

So just imagine if the bats come around for this team. This one-loss team.

Coach Tim Walton said his squad's greatest challenge might be getting the players to accept that they're making outs at a rate, individually, they're not used to. It's OK.

"I think our offense has to get better for each individual in the lineup to feel normal, to feel excitable, to feel worthy," Walton said. "They need to realize there's so much failure that goes into it and so much preparation that goes into getting them out; there's so much that goes into dealing with the letdown some of the times — and you can see it in their faces. I saw it last weekend at LSU."

Some context: That would be the LSU team that came to UF last year and took two of three and did so with some big, booming bats. Those Tigers, like UF, also advanced to WCWS and were eventually eliminated. In last weekend's series, Florida collected just seven hits in the first two games against the No. 7 team in the country. The Gators won both by 3-0 shutouts. Then they got 10 hits in the finale in a 6-2 victory.

For the sweep.

This team is phenomenal. They'll be looking for a weekend to match.

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4.1.2016

Bama took game 1 2-1. UF bats need to pick it up:

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida (33-2/8-2 SEC) was held to just five hits as Alabama (30-6/4-3 SEC) defeated the UF softball team on Friday night, 2-1, in the series opener at KSP Stadium. A season-high 2,109 Florida fans were in attendance on Friday night.

Sydney Littlejohn (13-2) earned the win as she allowed just one run in 6.1 innings pitch to go along with a pair of strikeouts. UA's Alexis Osorio relieved her teammate in the seventh and retired the only two hitters she faced to earn her fourth save of the season.

In the circle for UF, sophomore Aleshia Ocasio started and threw the first 4.1 innings before junior Delanie Gourley (10-1) relieved her and threw the final 2.2 innings. The duo combined to allow two runs on nine hits while striking out six Crimson Tide hitters.

Alabama opened the scoring in the second inning when Reagon Dykes walked, moved to second on a sac bunt and third on an infield single. With runners at the corners and one out, Alabama's Sydney Booker recorded an RBI fielder's choice to score the game's first run.

UF scored its lone run of the game in the fourth inning when senior Kirsti Merritt mashed her fifth home run of the season to right field.

UA and retook the lead for good in the sixth when Booker notched her second RBI of the game. The sophomore hit a double down the left-field line to score Andrea Hawkins, who reached base via a fielder's choice.

Florida had runners on second and third with two outs in the sixth but failed to score.

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4.2.2016

UF took game 2 3-2 - rubber game on Sunday afternoon on SEC Network+ - watching the first two games have been like watching games in the CWS:


Gators Even Series with Alabama Behind Balanced Offensive Effort

The Gators overcame a 2-1 fourth-inning deficit with a run in the bottom of the fourth and fifth to capture the win.

By Will Pantages | Saturday, April 2, 2016

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Behind six hits and three runs scored by six different Gators, the No. 1-ranked University of Florida softball team evened its series with No. 6 Alabama on Saturday afternoon with a 3-2 win before a season-high crowd (2,241) at KSP Stadium.

The Gators overcame a 2-1 fourth-inning deficit with one run in the bottom of the fourth and one in the fifth to capture the win. Freshman right-hander Kelly Barnhill (12-0) struck out six batters and yielded three hits, two runs and four walks in 5.1 innings pitched.

Junior Delanie Gourley relieved the rookie in the sixth and tossed the final 1.2 innings to earn her second save of the season.

UF scored the game's first run on Saturday with in the third inning on one hit. After Kirsti Merritt was hit by a pitch with one out, rookie Amanda Lorenz powered a double into right-center field to score the senior and give Florida the early lead.

Alabama wasted no time and took the lead on the top of the fourth on a Reagan Dykes two-run home run to left.

Undaunted, Florida answered in their half of the fourth.

Senior Taylor Schwarz tied the game up at 2-2 when she mashed her second home run of the season to left.

UF continued to apply the pressure, as Kelsey Stewart led off the fifth with a single to right. The senior moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a Kayli Kvistad single to left.

Alabama threatened to tie the game in the top of the seventh when they had a pair of infield singles but they were unable to score.

Team Notes
•With today's win, Florida is now 34-2, which is tied with its 2008 and 2009 squads for the best start to a season in school history.
•UF is now one win away from opening SEC play with four-straight series victories for the first time since 2013.
•Florida's senior class is now 207-30, which currently ranks eighth among four-year class records in program history.◦Sitting seventh on this list is UF's 2013 graduating class that went 211-45 throughout its four seasons.
◦Taylore Fuller, Kirsti Merritt, Aubree Munro, Taylor Schwarz and Kelsey Stewart are trying to catch UF's 2011 class which boasted a 238-33 mark during their four years.

•Tim Walton is now just 14 wins away from his 600th win at Florida.◦Walton earned his 700th career win on March 12 at Auburn.

•Saturday's game was broadcast on ESPN2. Florida posted a 15-5 record on national television a season ago and is now 6-1 so far this season.

Stat Watch
•UF has now outscored its opponents this season, 224-34. In 2015, UF had a plus-187 run differential (257-70) through 36 games. In 2014, UF had a plus-176 run differential (250-74) through 36 games.

•Florida's 34 runs allowed through 36 games is the second fewest in school history through this point in any season. UF's 2009 squad allowed 26 tallies through 35 contests and Florida's last two NCAA Championship teams had allowed more than 70 runs each, respectively.

•The Gators have made just 16 errors this season and currently sport one of the best fielding percentages (.983) and earned run averages in the nation (0.85). For comparison, Florida had committed 27 errors through 36 contests last season and had a fielding percentage of .970. UF went on to record a .981 fielding percentage and commit just 33 errors, which were both school records.
•UF did not allow a stolen base on Saturday, remaining the only team in the SEC who has yet to allow more than three stolen bases in 2016. In addition, three stolen bases is the fewest Florida has allowed in school history through 36 games.


Pitching Notes
•Strikeout totals = Kelly Barnhill – 112, Delanie Gourley - 107, Aleshia Ocasio - 85 They are looking to become the second trio in school history to all record 100+ strikeouts in a season. UF achieved this feat last season when Lauren Haeger (214), Aleshia Ocasio (155) and Delanie Gourley (105) all reached the century mark. Barnhill became the fifth Gator freshman in six years to record 100+ strikeouts last weekend at LSU.

•Florida's pitching trio has now combined to allow just 34 runs, while they have totaled 304 strikeouts. Both of those numbers lead the SEC.
•Kelly Barnhill, who currently holds a miniscule 1.36 ERA, is challenging Stephanie Brombacher's freshman record 1.40 ERA that she achieved in 2008.
•Other freshman ranks that Barnhill is climbing into: Wins – T-10th (12) Strikeouts – 8th (112)


Hitting Notes
•Hitting Streaks:
Kelsey Stewart – three games
Amanda Lorenz – three games
Kayli Kvistad – three games

•Kirsti Merritt was hit by a pitch in the third inning. She is now tied with Auburn's Myesha Finney with an SEC Record 67 HBP's.
•Taylor Schwarz mashed her second home run of the season and first since Feb. 14 at USF.
•Amanda Lorenz recorded her team-leading 10th double of the season during today's game.
•Lorenz, who's currently hitting .406, is on pace to record the highest batting average for a freshman in school history. In addition, she could become the first rookie in program history to have an on-base percentage over .500. Kelsey Stewart holds the batting title as she hit .378 during her freshman season in 2013.

•Other freshman ranks that Lorenz is climbing into: Doubles – T-7th (10) Walks – T-10th (29)


Coaches' Corner
Head Coach Tim Walton:
On today's game…
"Obviously they've (Alabama) done a good job scouting us. (Alexis) Osorio did a really good job as she pitched very well today. I thought the difference was that we just found ways to get out of two-strike situations. In addition, Taylor Schwarz's at bat was kind of a game-changer. For her to just to tie it back up and take back the momentum after they had scored their two runs in the previous inning was huge. Overall, we've got a lot going on here this weekend and had a lot of great people back here to see us, including a lot of alumnae. Also, Denise (Lockwood) and Terri (Braswell) threw out the first pitch today, which was huge. It was a very momentous occasion that we were able to remember the lives of those two great people (Ian Lockwood, Heather Braswell)."

On the emotional importance of today…
"It is very important to pass along the memories of Heather (Braswell) and Ian (Lockwood) and just understand how much of a role our athletes play in other peoples' lives. I think that's the biggest thing you could see today. It's funny, we've done a lot of things in regards to cancer research and awareness, between games like this, home run contests and celebrity games and alike. However, what we did today was more about bringing the awareness to it all. Our girls have been wearing the sunflowers for years just to show the spirit of not only Heather, but to celebrate the color and the symbol of pediatric cancer awareness. I think we should do this every year. "

Series History
•The Gators have won five of the past seven meetings between the two schools, but Alabama holds the all-time series lead, 34-31, including a 15-11 mark in Gainesville, Fla.
•Prior to last season's three-game matchup in Tuscaloosa, UF and UA last met in the 2014 Women's College World Series Championship Series when Florida swept Alabama to capture its first NCAA Championship.

Next Up
This series concludes tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. on SEC Network+ and it can be heard on Florida Sports Talk (WGGG-AM & WMOP-AM/FM. Live stats links for the contest can be found on the Gators' schedule page.

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4.3.2016

I've seen this dog and pony show before. At this point in the season, it's hard to maintain excellence when getting everybody's best shot. Tim Walton got himself tossed today arguing with the umpires, but I think he was just trying to put a charge into his listless team. If it works, great. I guess it's nothing ventured = nothing gained:


GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida softball team (34-3/9-3 SEC) dropped its series finale with Alabama (31-7/5-4 SEC), 3-0, on Sunday afternoon at KSP Stadium. Florida dropped its first SEC series since LSU topped the Gators in Gainesville a season ago.

Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium held a three-day attendance record 6,759 fans this weekend. In addition, this was the first time in program history that UF drew crowds of over 2,000 fans in three-straight games.

Sunday's contest had 2,409 fans in attendance, which was the fifth-largest crowd in program history.

Alabama put the pressure on Florida's defense early, as Haylie McCleney led off the game with an infield single. UA's Chandler Dare followed with a sacrifice bunt attempt, but a throwing error allowed McCleney to score and Dare to advance all the way to third.

Dare came around to score later in the inning on a passed ball to make the score 2-0.

The Crimson Tide added an insurance run in the sixth on an RBI double by Sydney Booker.

Florida was only able to get one runner get into scoring position all day.

UA's Sydney Littlejohn (14-2) picked up her second win of the weekend with Sunday's complete-game shutout. Junior Delanie Gourley (10-2) shouldered the loss for Florida as she tossed 5.1 innings and allowed three runs (one earned) on three hits.

Team Notes
•Florida dropped its first SEC series since LSU defeated the Gators last season in Gainesville.
•UF was shutout for the first time since Michigan blanked the Gators on June 2, 2015 in the second game of the Women's College World Series Championship Series.
•Florida was shutout at home for the first time since Alabama blanked the Gators 7-0 on March 23, 2014.

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4.6.2016

UF went to Orlando and beat UCF 3-1. The hitting needs to pick up with UF scoring 3 runs on 5 hits. True freshman Amanda Lorenz got 2 of the 5 hits. She is a phenom. The rest of the lineup needs to catch up with her:

ORLANDO, Fla. – The No. 2-ranked Florida softball team (35-3) defeated UCF (24-14), 3-1, on Wednesday night at the UCF Softball Complex. Freshman Kelly Barnhill (13-0) allowed just one run on three hits with seven strikeouts in 5.0 innings pitched.

Junior Delanie Gourley relieved the rookie in the sixth and tossed two scoreless innings to earn her third save of the season.

Florida bookended its scoring in Wednesday's midweek matchup as the Gators scored a pair of runs in the first inning and its final run in the seventh.

In the first, UF scored its two runs on only one hit as junior Chelsea Herndon and senior Taylore Fuller drove in those tallies on a fielder's choice and a walk with the bases loaded. In the seventh, Florida loaded the bases with no one out but only pushed one run across when Nicole DeWitt earned an RBI walk.

UCF threatened in the fourth when Barnhill walked the leadoff hitter, Brittany Solis, and UCF's Courtney Rotton followed with a single down the right field line to place runners on first and third with on no one out.

Barnhill was unfazed.

The rookie struck out the first hitter she faced after the single and then induced a 5-4-3 double play to get out of the inning without any damage.

One inning later the Knights didn't miss their chance.

UCF's Samantha McCloskey's led off the fifth by getting hit by a pitch and she moved to second on a fly out. Jasmine Acevedo then drove her teammate in with a single to right to cut the deficit to in half, 2-1.

After UCF earned a walk and single to begin the sixth, UF head coach Tim Walton made a pitching change and brought in left-hander Delanie Gourley.

The junior got out of the jam in the sixth without any damage and tossed a perfect seventh inning to record her third save of the season.

Team Notes•Florida is now 35-3, which is tied for the second best start to a season in school history with its 2013 and 2009 squads.◦UF began the 2008 season with 36-2 mark.

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4.8.2016

UF run rules Ole Miss 8-0 in 6 innings in Oxford with Delaney Gourley pitching the shutout:

OXFORD, Miss. – The No. 2-ranked University of Florida softball team (36-3/10-3 SEC) defeated Ole Miss (28-11/4-6 SEC), 8-0, in the opener of the teams' three-game Southeastern Conference series on Friday at the Ole Miss Softball Complex. Four different players hit home runs for the Gators and junior Delanie Gourley (11-2) threw a complete-game shutout and recorded seven strikeouts while yielding two hits and four walks.

Florida hit four home runs in a game for the first time since March 22, 2015 against Mercer.

Solo home runs were the story early, as Aubree Munro, Kayli Kvistad and Amanda Lorenz all hit solo shots in the second and third innings, respectively.

In the fourth, senior Kirsti Merritt joined the party as she hit a three-run shot to extend Florida's lead over Ole Miss to 6-0. Munro and junior Justine McLean set the table for that home run as Munro was hit by a pitch and McLean singled with one out.

Kvistad and Merritt now lead the team with six home runs on the season.

UF added two runs in the sixth inning to bring Florida to its run-rule lead of 8-0.

After Florida loaded the bases with no one out, Kvistad recorded an RBI fielder's choice and Nicole DeWitt notched an RBI single to right to drive those two tallies in for the Gators.

Defensively, Munro flashed her brilliance behind the plate on Friday night as she caught two Rebels trying to steal second base and picked off an Ole Miss runner as well.

Ole Miss entered Friday's contest 106 for 123 on the season in stolen base attempts. The Rebels were 0 for 2 on Friday night.

Team Notes•Florida is now 36-3, which is tied for the second best start to a season in school history with its 2013 and 2009 squads.◦UF began the 2008 season with 37-2 mark.

•After tonight's win, Florida is 10-3 in conference play, which is its best start since 2013 when the Gators began 11-2.
•UF recorded its first run-rule win over an SEC team this season and its first since the Gators defeated Texas A&M, 9-1, on April 26, 2015.

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4.9.2016

Gators win series at Ole Miss - will take out the brooms for the sweep tomorrow:

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OXFORD, Miss. – Senior's Taylore Fuller and Aubree Munro hit solo home runs, while sophomore Aleshia Ocasio earned her 13th win in the circle during Saturday's series-clinching win, as No. 2 Florida (37-3/11-3 SEC) downed Ole Miss (28-12/4-7 SEC), 6-1. The Ole Miss Softball Complex held a program-record crowd of 1,342 fans on Saturday night.

With tonight's win, Florida secured its 12th series victory in its last 13 matchups with the Rebels. In addition, Florida is now 11-3 in conference play, which is its best start since 2013 when the Gators began 12-2.

Florida wasted no time getting the lead on Saturday night as UF scored a pair of runs in the first inning on two hits. During that frame, UF loaded the bases with two outs and sophomore Janell Wheaton drove in two runs with a single up the middle.

Munro led off the second inning with her second solo home run in as many days to give UF a 3-0 advantage.

Later in the frame after Florida loaded the bases again, Kayli Kvistad recorded an RBI base on balls and Amanda Lorenz notched a sacrifice fly to score two more runs and give Florida a 5-0 lead after two innings.

Ole Miss scored its lone run in the third inning when Ashton Lampton drove in Kylan Becker, who led off the inning with an infield single and moved to third base on a Florida miscue.

UF scored Saturday's final run in the fifth inning when Fuller recorded her solo blast to left.

In the circle, Ocasio (13-1) threw a complete game and allowed just one run (unearned), while striking out seven and not walking a batter.

Team Notes

•Florida is now 37-3, which is tied for the second best start to a season in school history with its 2013 and 2009 squads. UF began the 2008 season with 38-2 mark.