Florida Softball - National Champion 14 15

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H I S T O R Y ! 25-0! BEST START IN FLORIDA SOFTBALL HISTORY!


#1 Florida 10 (RECORD 25-0)

#13 Arizona 0 (RECORD 19-4)


TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 R H E L

UF 2 0 0 1 2 5 10 12 1 8
AZ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 4

Final - W: Delanie Gourley (7-0); L: Floyd, Michelle (8-3)


Next up - #2 Oregon at 6 PM EST - UF beat UO last week 3-0.

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Top-Ranked Gators Blank Wildcats


Courtesy: Arizona Athletics
Release: 03/06/2015


FULLERTON, Calif. – In its first game of the Judi Garman Classic, Arizona was run-ruled by the defending national champion Florida Gators, 10-0 in six innings.

The top-ranked Gators (25-0) hit three home runs, including a Taylore Fuller sixth-inning grand slam, to pace an offense which plated 10 runs on 12 hits, the most runs and hits since then-No.1 Oregon plated 14 runs on 16 hits against UA on May 10, 2014.

Meanwhile, Arizona (19-4) managed just three hits off UF starter Delanie Gourley (7-0), who struck out three and walked two in the game.

Michelle Floyd (8-3) was charged the loss, giving up five runs, four earned, in five innings. The sophomore allowed eight hits and struck out three to go along with two walks in the contest.

Nancy Bowling entered to pitch the fifth inning and gave up five runs on four hits without recording an out. Siera Phillips entered to get the final three outs of the game.

It was Arizona’s first shutout of 2015 and first since an 8-0, five-inning loss at then-No. 11 Washington on May 4, 2014.

Arizona returns to action on Friday afternoon to take on 14th-ranked Auburn. The Wildcats are 0-4 against the SEC this season and 19-0 against all other conferences.


Arizona Softball

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UF extended its school best starting record to 26-0 with a 5-1 win over #2 Oregon. UF has beaten Oregon twice in a week, 3-0 last Friday and 5-1 today (Friday). Oregon had a single first place vote in the poll after losing to UF last week keeping UF from garnering all of the #1 votes. It'll be interesting see if the voter does that again in the next poll:


Final

Gators 5

VS

Ducks 1

---1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
UF 2 0 0 3 0 0 0 5 6 0
UO 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 6 2


Next up: Fresno State on Saturday at 2PM EST.

After the Fresno State game, UF will be off until 3/13 when LSU comes to Gainesville for a huge SEC weekend series.

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Gators knock off No. 2 Oregon and No. 13 Arizona, set mark for best start in school history


Special to The Sun


Published: Friday, March 6, 2015 at 8:03 p.m.


FULLERTON, Calif. — Florida's top-ranked softball team surpassed the school record for the best start to a season in impressive fashion Friday by defeating No. 2 Oregon and routing No. 13 Arizona at the Judi Garman Classic.


Facts

UF's Next Home Series

Who:LSU
Game 1:Friday, March 13 at 6 p.m.
Game 2:Saturday, March 14 at 1 p.m.
Game 3:Sunday, March 15 at noon
Radio: Saturday and Sunday's games can be heard on AM-1230
Television: Saturday and Sunday's games can be seen on the SEC Network


The Gators, thanks to solo home runs by Kirsti Merritt and Bailey Castro, zipped past Oregon 5-1 to improve their record to 26-0 after having run-ruled Arizona 10-0 earlier in the day to break the school mark of 24 consecutive wins to start a season. The win over the Ducks (16-3) extended the streak and made it two wins over the Pac-12 Conference school in a week, as UF defeated Oregon 3-0 on Feb. 27 at the San Diego Classic, the start of the Gators' long California trip.

Merritt later added an RBI double in the nightcap to support the pitching of Aleshia Ocasio.


In the win over Arizona (19-4), UF was powered by Taylore Fuller's grand slam and two-run home runs from Brianna Little and Lauren Haeger to help improve pitcher Delanie Gourley's record to 7-0 in the six-inning win. Gourley scattered three hits.

Florida continues Classic action against Fresno State at 3 p.m. (WGGG 1230-AM) Saturday.

UF returns home to begin SEC play against LSU in a three-game series that starts at 6 p.m. Friday.

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Friday March 6, 2015

No. 1 Florida Beats Pair of Pac-12 Powers to Extend Best Start in School History

Aleshia Ocasio's complete game against No. 2/3 Oregon capped No. 1 Florida's twinbill sweep.


Fullerton, Calif. – The No. 1-ranked University of Florida softball team defeated two Pac-12 opponents on Friday at the Judi Garman Classic to run its season-opening winning streak to 26 games. The Gators took Game 1 against No. 13/12 Arizona, 10-0 (6 innings) before defeating No. 2/3 Oregon, 5-1. Delanie Gourley earned the win in the opener after she allowed three hits and two walks with three strikeouts over six scoreless innings, while Aleshia Ocasio notched a victory in the second game as she gave up one earned run on six hits with no walks and eight strikeouts in seven frames.



Florida’s offense came alive early against the Wildcats as Kirsti Merritt drew a one-out walk in the top of the first to set up a two-run home run to left-center field by Lauren Haeger. The Gators loaded the bases in the fourth on two singles and a UA error before a walk to Aubree Munro forced in a run to extend UF’s lead to three.



A leadoff single from Bailey Castro and a fielder’s choice by Taylore Fuller set up another two-run home run in the fifth, this one down the left-field line by Briana Little. Five straight batters reached for the Orange and Blue to start the sixth, with Haeger driving in Stewart on an RBI single before Fuller produced the final 10-0 margin with a grand slam to left.



The home-run theme continued for Florida in Game 2 against Oregon, as Merritt and Castro both hit solo shots in the top of the first to put the Gators ahead 2-0. After two quiet innings, UF erupted for three runs in the fourth. Taylor Schwarz scored on a bases-loaded fielder’s choice by Stewart, who then teamed with Medina on a double-steal to send the shortstop home. An RBI double by Merritt then plated Stewart to push the lead to 5-0.



Oregon scored a run with one out in the bottom of the seventh on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to left. A groundout to Ocasio finished the 5-1 win and moved Florida to 26-0 on the season.



STARS OF THE GAMES

· Home run hitters: Florida hit five home runs on the day (Castro, Fuller, Haeger, Little, Merritt). Haeger’s blast was her team-best eighth of the year, while Castro, Fuller and Merritt are in a three-way tie for second with six home runs apiece.

· Delanie Gourley: The sophomore southpaw shut out Arizona, allowing three hits and two walks while striking out three Wildcat hitters to earn her seventh win of the season.

· Aleshia Ocasio: The freshman improved to 9-0 on the year, allowing one earned run on six hits with no walks and eight strikeouts in a complete-game effort against Oregon.



NOTABLES

· With the wins against Arizona and Oregon, Florida extended its winning streak to 26 games. This establishes a record for the best season-opening run in program history (previous: 24, 2011).

· Florida improved to 4-5 all-time against the Wildcats and 4-0 under Head Coach Tim Walton.

· The Gators raised their all-time mark against the Ducks to 9-2, including an 8-2 record under Walton. UF has won eight consecutive games in the series dating back to Feb. 9, 2007.

· Stewart’s stolen base against Oregon was the 84th of her career, breaking the previous Florida school record (Michelle Moultrie, 83, 2009-12).

· Merritt was hit by a pitch once against Arizona and twice vs. Oregon, bringing her season total to 20 HBP in 26 games. This total ties Florida’s single-season record (Little, 2013).

· Haeger’s first-inning home run against the Wildcats was her eighth of the season and the 60th of the senior’s career; the Arizona native now is five home runs behind Megan Bush for the all-time school record.

· Game 1 marked Haeger’s team-best tenth multi-RBI game of the year and her seventh multi-hit contest, which ranks second on the Gator roster (Stewart – 9).

· Fuller’s grand slam was the sixth of her career.

· The Gators now have four grand slams this season out of 40 total home runs.

· Little’s home run was her fourth of the season and her first since her historic three-homer game against Mercer in the first game of a doubleheader on Feb. 22.

· Stewart extended her hitting streak to 12 games (Feb. 20-present) with a sixth-inning single in each contest. The junior has a hit in all but one game this season.

· The home runs for Castro and Merritt were the sixth of the season for both Gators, pulling into a tie with Fuller for second on the team.

· Castro’s blast was her second in five career games against Oregon; the senior has six lifetime hits vs. the Ducks.

· Ocasio has earned the win in each of her three appearances against ranked teams (Michigan – Feb. 7, UCF – Feb. 25, Oregon – Friday). In these three outings, the right-hander has a combined 0.67 ERA (2 ER / 21.0 IP) with just two walks allowed and 26 strikeouts.



UP NEXT

Florida will conclude play at the Judi Garman Classic on Saturday with a game against Fresno State at 3 p.m. EST.

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UF added to its school record season starting winning streak with a 4-1 win over Fresno State. UF is now 27-0:


Score by Innings R H E
-----------------------------------------
Fresno State........ 000 001 0 - 1 6 3
Florida............. 201 001 X - 4 6 0
-----------------------------------------


Next up: LSU next Friday to start a 3 game weekend series in Gainesville. The tigers will come to UF with their 25-0 record and the #2 national ranking if they can sweep the SEC weekend series with Arkansas tomorrow.

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Wowzer! What a schedule! Not only has UF played and beaten #2 Oregon and #3 Michigan twice this season, get a load of the next 2 weeks!:


Fri, Mar 13 LSU *
Gainesville, FL
6:00 pm
WGGG-AM

WGGG-AM

Live Stats

.
Sat, Mar 14 LSU *
Gainesville, FL
1:00 pm SEC Network
WGGG-AM

WatchESPN

WGGG-AM

Live Stats

.
Sun, Mar 15 LSU *
Gainesville, FL
12:00 pm SEC Network
WGGG-AM

WatchESPN

WGGG-AM

Live Stats

.
Sat, Mar 21 Alabama *
Tuscaloosa, AL
2:00 pm ESPNU
WGGG-AM

WatchESPN

WGGG-AM

.
Sun, Mar 22 Alabama *
Tuscaloosa, AL
5:30 pm ESPNU
WGGG-AM

WatchESPN

WGGG-AM

.
Mon, Mar 23 Alabama *
Tuscaloosa, AL
7:00 pm SEC Network
WGGG-AM

WatchESPN

WGGG-AM


LSU is 25-0 and bama is 18-4. Both will be top 5 this week when the poll comes out.

The matchup next weekend between UF 27-0 and LSU 25-0 could be a matchup of 1 vs. 2. I can't imagine there have been many, if any, match ups of undefeated teams this far into the season. One thing is certain, somebody finally has to lose.

Last year, UF beat bama 2-0 in the best 2 of 3 for the national championship. The tide might be a bit below their last year team as they lost 2 in Tuscaloosa to #3 Michigan.

The next two weeks will be college softball at its finest with it happening in the SEC.

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To beat LSU, #1 UF will have to beat two of the back to back best hitters in the nation:

pbs.twimg.com/media/B_nSo5rWwAAqUM4.png:large

Bianka Bell and Sahvanna Jaquish = Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle

LSU is tied with Michigan at #3 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. The tigers at 25-0 should be #2, ahead of both #2 Oregon and #3T Michigan. I watched the final game of LSU's sweep of Arkansas. The tigers are the real deal. My guess is neither UF or LSU will make it out of the coming weekend undefeated. Hopefully, UF's home field advantage will give the Gators a chance to win the series.

Looking ahead a week, bama at 18-4 came in at #5 this week.

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#1 UF vs. #2/3T LSU

LSU is tied for 3rd in the USA Today Coaches Poll and #2 on the ESPN College Softball Poll. ESPN will be advertising an undefeated #1 vs. an undefeated #2 matchup. If it's a history making weekend series, I'm sure ESPN will come up with the scoop. UF at 27-0 vs. LSU at 25-0 is compelling weekend of college softball. The Saturday and Sunday games will be televised by the SEC Network.

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Taylor and JJ Schwarz - Sibling Diamond Domination:

www.gatorzone.com/story.php?id=30092

Taylor is the starting 1st baseman for the softball team.

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Gators stub toe against LSU in opening SEC weekend series:

aolcfboutcasts.proboards.com/thread/14977/lsu-uf-softball-series-week

The Gators travel to Tuscaloosa for a 3 game series with bama. The games will be played on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. The first two games will be televised by ESPNU and the finale will be televised by the SEC Network. #5 Bama took 2 of 3 from #8 UGALY this weekend in Athens.

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We may look back to discover that LSU did UF a favor. UF had a bad run last season before righting the ship and going on to win the national championship. It's not another day at the office, but there is no panic on this talented team:


Sunday March 15, 2015
Softball team will go back to work, not overreact
Updated: 5:27pm, March 15


GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Lauren Haeger tapped freshman pitcher Aleshia Ocasio on the shoulder.

“I got it,” she said.

Haeger was referencing the post-game mini-scrum of media waiting to hear reaction to LSU’s 10-3 beating Sunday of the top-ranked Florida, a decisive defeat that came less than 24 hours after Ocasio surrendered a grand slam in the final inning in what turned out to be a 14-10 victory for the Tigers and UF's first loss of the season. On Sunday, it was Haeger serving up a three-run homer in the sixth to hit machine Bianka Bell, the key blow in 10 unanswered runs against the UF pitching staff.

As a senior, Haeger felt it her responsibility to speak on the team’s behalf. And make no mistake, as a senior she’ll also make it her responsibility -- as well the rest of veterans on this team -- to do whatever is necessary to bounce back from two eye-opening outcomes.

“We need to play better. We need to execute better and have better approaches at bat,” Haeger said. “That was not our best series at all.”

Far from it.

Coming into their Southeastern Conference opening series, the top-ranked, unbeaten Gators had played a difficult non-league schedule and along the way surrendered just 28 runs in 27 games.

Well, third-ranked LSU left town with 27 runs over three games. And with two wins on the road, the Tigers (27-1) likely left town as the nation’s new No. 1 team.

It’s also just March 15.

Florida has 25 more games to play.

“I don’t think we’re going to overreact,” said junior center fielder Kirsti Merritt, who provided all of UF’s offense with a three-run homer in the third to give the Gators a 3-0 lead that the Tigers vaporized over the final three innings. “They’re a good team. We’re a good team. We just have to keep going hard at practice. As long as we do that, we’ll be OK.”

Rest assured, the Gators will keep going hard. Coach Tim Walton knows no other way.

“I’m not happy, I guarantee you that,” he said. “We’re going to have to make some adjustments, but fortunately, we’re early in the season.”

Florida’s hitters were behind the count on LSU starter Kelsee Selman virtually the entire game. Unproductive at-bats, though, pretty much were the theme of the weekend against the high-powered Tigers. With the exception of Taylore Fuller (three homers Saturday; nine of her team's 12 RBI in the series) and Kelsey Stewart (6-for-11), the Gators really struggled to mount offense. Their 3-4 hitters, Haeger and Bailey Castro, combined to go 2-for-17; he bottom third of the order went 1-for-22.

And then there was Bell, the LSU shortstop and Tampa product who came into the series hitting .513 -- and raised her average by 32 points. She was 10-for-14 against the Gators, with eight RBI, including the big blast in Sunday’s game.

Yeah, LSU is a good team, all right. A really good team. One Florida figures to see down the line again when the stakes are much, much higher.

If Walton's track record is any indication, when the time comes to see the Tigers again, the Gators will be much, much better because of the events of this weekend.

“We didn’t play very well, didn’t pitch very well, didn’t hit very well, but I’m not going to say it’s alarming. What are we now, 28-2?” said Walton, correctly calling the team’s record. “If we had won 3-2 today, I wouldn’t have been satisfied. We'll go back and look at some things, like personnel, and see what we have to do better.”

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This from Gatorzone on the UF at bama series:



Thursday March 19, 2015

Gators Travel to Alabama for First SEC Road Series



Gainesville, Fla. – The third-ranked Gator Softball team (28-2) will play its first conference road series this weekend, when Florida will travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to face No. 5 Alabama. The three-game set at Rhoads Stadium will mark the teams’ first meetings since the Orange and Blue took two games from the Crimson Tide in Oklahoma City last June to capture UF’s first national championship.



Florida is in the midst of a challenging stretch of its schedule that spans from the last two weeks of nonconference action through the first two weekends of league play.

· Since Feb. 25, the Gators have six wins over ranked teams (UCF, Oregon - twice, Michigan, Arizona, LSU) in 14 games.

· The clash with the Tide marks the fourth straight week that UF will play a team ranked in the top five of the national polls.



GATOR BITES: Quick Hits About the Gators

· The Gators began the season with 28 consecutive wins, setting a school record for the longest winning streak to start a campaign.

· Kelsey Stewart leads Florida with four triples on the year; Gator opponents have posted three triples.

· Stewart (12) and Kirsti Merritt (nine) both have more stolen bases than the Gators have allowed as a team (seven).

· Lauren Haeger (nine) and Taylore Fuller (nine) both have more home runs than the eight the UF pitching staff has allowed.

· UF hitters have struck out 127 times on the year; each of the Gators’ three pitchers has 70+ strikeouts (Aleshia Ocasio - 95, Haeger - 91, Delanie Gourley - 71).

· Stewart has set the Gator records for career triples and stolen bases.

· Haeger has established a new UF mark for RBI.

· The Arizona native is closing in on the school record for career home runs.

· Merritt has tied the UF mark for hit-by-pitches in a season while setting a new standard for career HBPs.



SETTING THE STAGE: Alabama

· Alabama leads the all-time series, 32-28; this includes a 15-9 advantage in Tuscaloosa.

· Florida has won five of the last seven meetings with the Tide since the start of the 2013 season.

· Merritt and Stewart both have hit a home run against UA in each of their first two years at Florida.

· The Lake Panasoffkee, Fla., native leads all current Gators with 10 lifetime RBI against the Crimson Tide.

· The weekend series marks Florida’s first appearance at Rhoads Stadium since the Gators played four games there in 2012.



BROADCAST INFORMATION

ESPNU will carry the first two games of the Florida-Alabama series, while the SEC Network will air Monday night’s contest. Mark Neely (play-by-play) and former Texas A&M All-American Amanda Scarborough (analysis) will have the call.

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Update on when games played and televised due to inclement weather predicted for Sunday:



Saturday March 21, 2015

Gator Softball, Crimson Tide to Play Doubleheader Saturday

Florida and Alabama will now play two games on Saturday and one game on Monday.


Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Due to expected inclement weather on Sunday, the Florida-Alabama softball series now will feature a doubleheader on Saturday. Game 1 of the twinbill will be played as scheduled at 2 p.m. (all times Eastern) on ESPNU, while the second game will begin at 6:30 p.m. on the SEC Network.



The series will conclude as scheduled on Monday with a 7 p.m. first pitch on the SEC Network.

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UF took the first game against bama 1-0. The Gators record moved to 29-2 (2-2):

Score by Innings R H E
-----------------------------------------
Florida............. 000 001 0 - 1 6 0
Alabama............. 000 000 0 - 0 4 1
-----------------------------------------

Game two of the doubleheader is in rain delay. Looking at the radar, I'll be surprised if they get the game finished tonight. My guess is the game will be finished Monday afternoon before the start of the scheduled Monday night game on the SEC Network. Bama leads 1-0 in the top of the 5th inning, but UF has a runner on 3rd with no outs and Kelsey Stewart at the plate with a 1-0 count.

Both games today have been excellent pitching duals. Lauren Haeger (13-0) got the win in game 1.