Florida Softball - National Champion 14 15

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As expected, game 2 will be completed on Monday afternoon before the SEC Network televised game. This from Gator Country:


Andrew Spivey @andrewspiveygc

#Florida and Alabama will resume game 2 on Monday at 4:30 and game 3 will follow the conclusion of game 2 in softball.


UF and bama will be playing either a rubber game or the Gators will be breaking out the brooms for a sweep.

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Tuscaloosa, Ala. – The No. 3-ranked University of Florida softball team defeated No. 5 Alabama, 1-0, on Saturday in Game 1 of a scheduled doubleheader at Rhoads Stadium. Game 2 of the three-game series was halted amidst steady rainfall, and the teams will finish the contest on Monday afternoon before playing Game 3. A masterful pitching performance from senior Lauren Haeger keyed Florida’s win in the opener, complemented by timely hitting and smart baserunning.



Game 1 was scoreless for five innings as the Tide had four hits to the Gators’ three. Alabama threatened to score in the fifth with a leadoff single up the middle and a two-out double down the left-field line, but Briana Little combined with Kathlyn Medina and Aubree Munro on a relay to throw out the runner at the plate.



Kayli Kvistad singled to left with one out in the sixth, advancing to third on a wild pitch and a single up the middle by pinch-hitter Nicole DeWitt. A fielding error on the play allowed Kvistad to come home with the game’s only run, as Haeger allowed four hits and one walk with two strikeouts to finish her fifth shutout of the season.



Both teams left runners on base to start Game 2, with the Gators throwing out another Tide runner at home to keep Alabama off the scoreboard. The home team scored the game’s first run in the second inning when the leadoff batter singled and advanced to second on a groundout before stealing third and coming home on a Florida throwing error.



Justine McLean doubled down the left-field line to lead off the fifth inning and advanced to third on a wild pitch. With no outs and Kelsey Stewart at the plate, the game was suspended due to rain. The teams will resume Game 2 of the series at 4:30 p.m. EDT on Monday.

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UF completed the Saturday rain delayed game 2 with a 4-1 win over bama. The Gators are now 30-2 (3-2) having won the weekend series. UF is looking for the brooms to complete the sweep on the SEC Network televised at 7 PM EST. Winning in Tuscaloosa is tough let alone getting the sweep.

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The Gators aren't yet playing up to their potential. It involves fire and desire which was more evident in both the LSU team last week and the bama team yesterday in game 3 as evidenced by less performance in hitting. I'm also concerned about Delaney Gourley not pitching with confidence. She's been rattled three times out by Michigan, LSU, and bama. It's not like the Gators are playing badly. It's that they can be playing much better:



Tuscaloosa, Ala. – The No. 3-ranked University of Florida softball team secured a series victory at Alabama on Monday, splitting two games with the fifth-ranked Crimson Tide. In the continuation of Game 2, which was suspended on Saturday night, Florida overcame a one-run deficit to earn a 4-1 win, while Tide took Game 3 by a 5-1 score.



Alabama held a 1-0 lead when Game 2 resumed with no outs in the top of the fifth; the Gators had Justine McLean on third base and Kelsey Stewart at the plate. The junior hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring the freshman to tie the game at one run apiece. Florida (30-3, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) then loaded the bases on a Kirsti Merritt single, a Lauren Haeger double and a walk to Kayli Kvistad.



Taylore Fuller was hit by a pitch to force in Merritt before a passed ball scored Haeger and allowed Kvistad and Fuller to move up one base. Nicole DeWitt capitalized on the opportunity with a sac fly to center, bringing home Kvistad to give Florida a 4-1 lead. The three-run cushion was enough for Aleshia Ocasio (10-2), who limited the Tide to just the one unearned run in Friday’s portion of the game, allowing four hits and two walks while striking out four to reach double-digit wins on the season.



Merritt doubled to lead off the second inning in Game 3, then advanced to third on a passed ball before coming home on a wild pitch for the first run of the contest. Alabama (22-7, 6-3 SEC) then took a 2-1 lead in the fifth on a two-run home run to right-center.



In the following inning, an RBI single and a two-run triple extended the Tide’s advantage to four runs, producing the final margin in the home team’s 5-1 win.



STAR OF THE GAMES

· Aleshia Ocasio: In the first SEC road start of her career, the freshman tamed the 2014 league champions and logged her seventh complete game in 10 starts this season.



NOTABLES

· The Orange and Blue won a regular-season series (excluding single-game matchups) against the Tide for the first time since April 22-24, 2011, when Florida took two of three games in Gainesville.

· The Gators have won five of their last seven games against Alabama dating back to last season.

· Game 2 marked UF’s fourth comeback win of the season.

· Stewart had two hits in Game 2, extending her career-best hitting streak to 18 games before the string was snapped in Game 3.

· The junior has a team-best 13 multi-hit games this year.

· DeWitt’s RBI in Game 2 was her first since she tied her career high with three RBI vs. UC Davis on Feb. 28, a span of 10 games.

· Fuller’s bases-loaded hit-by-pitch in Game 2 marked her second game-winning RBI of the year (also: March 5 vs. San Jose State).

· Merritt’s double in Game 3 was her fourth in 16 games dating back to Feb. 25. She had two in the season’s first 16 games.

· The junior has six two-baggers this season, breaking a three-way tie for second on the team (Stewart, 12).



WALTON’S WORDS

On the series victory:

“I don’t think we played our best. We didn’t hit our best, that’s for sure. But overall, getting W’s on the road in the SEC is a hard thing to come by, so we’ll take it.”

—Florida Head Coach Tim Walton



UP NEXT

Florida will travel to Starkville, Miss., to face Mississippi State in a three-game series next weekend. The action begins Friday at 6:30 p.m. (all times Eastern).

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This will be an interesting weekend playing at Mississippi State. After being reminded in this coming weekend update of the Gators record against so many highly ranked teams over the last 4 weeks, the shear weight of getting up to play so many of those teams may be the reason UF hasn't been playing as well as they could. The Gators have earned the #1 RPI ranking, but at the expense of wearing down. When bama emotionally took it up a notch in the 3rd game last weekend, the Gators didn't have anything in the gas tank to match it. The interesting part for the coming weekend is UF gets to play a good team on the road without having to carry the baggage of facing another top 5 team. I hope they go out and just have fun this weekend regardless of wins and losses:



Wednesday March 25, 2015
Gators Hit the Road to Face Mississippi State
Gainesville, Fla.


Gainesville, Fla. – The third-ranked Gator Softball team (30-3) will play a road series for the second straight weekend when Florida will travel to Starkville, Miss., to face Mississippi State. Game times (all times Eastern) are 6:30 p.m. (Friday), 2 p.m. (Saturday) and noon (Sunday). The three-game set at the MSU Softball Field will mark the teams’ first meetings since the 2013 season.


Florida navigated a challenging stretch of its schedule that spanned from the last two weeks of nonconference action through the first two weekends of league play.

· From Feb. 25-March 23, the Gators earned eight wins over ranked teams (UCF, Oregon - twice, Michigan, Arizona, LSU, Alabama - twice) in 17 games, compiling a 14-3 record overall during that stretch.


SETTING THE STAGE: Mississippi State

· Florida leads the all-time series, 28-18; this includes a 12-7 advantage in Starkville.

· The Gators have won four of five games against the Bulldogs since 2012, when this year’s seniors were freshmen.

· Jessica Damico and Fuller each have a home run against MSU in their careers.

· The senior leads all current Gators with five lifetime RBI against the Bulldogs, while the junior has four.

· Both Damico and Fuller hit grand slams during the MSU series in 2013 in Gainesville.

· Haeger is the only Florida pitcher who has faced Mississippi State, compiling a 2.33 ERA in 9.0 innings over three appearances.



BROADCAST INFORMATION

Subscribers can view all three games of the Florida-Mississippi State series on SEC Network+ via WatchESPN.

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Gators take game 1 at Missy State:


#2 Florida 3 (RECORD 31-3)

Mississippi State 2 (RECORD 24-9)


TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E L
UF---1 0 2 0 0 0 0 3 5 1 9
MS---2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 0 4


Final - W: Lauren Haeger (14-0); L: Alexis Silkwood (17-7);


It's hard to believe the team is 31-3 (4-3) and yet is playing in a bit of a slump offensively. Tim Walton's post game comments are right on the money. If Delanie Gourley was pitching, I'm sure he'd voice concern about her confidence and performance as well:


WALTON’S WORDS

On Haeger’s work in the circle:

“I thought that overall, if you go back and look at the whole complexion of her performance, I thought she really did a good job changing speeds. [She] got ahead in the count. Even [when she was] behind in the count, she didn’t give in and still located her pitches. I counted probably three mistakes, maybe four at the most. When you can do that against a good hitting team like Mississippi State, it says a lot about her command today.”



On Florida’s offense that saw three different players drive in runs:

“Overall, we are all feeling the same way. We’re not swinging the bat as well. We’re taking good pitches, we’re swinging at bad pitches and kind of getting ourselves out a little bit. I don’t think we’re quite at our peak performance, confidence-wise. We’re still winning ballgames. That’s a tribute to our hitters and our team picking each other up. Everybody in our lineup, it seems like to me that when they have a bad day, somebody else will pick them up. It’s nice to see – Kirsti and Bailey had nice days today, Kayli got an RBI, and Lauren – we had some good at-bats.”



On what the Gators need to do to win the series on Saturday:

“We’ve got to continue to pitch well and play good defense. That keeps us in the game. I’d like to see our offense spray the ball around the whole field tomorrow. That’s the key – being able to try to manufacture runs early and give our pitchers a lead.”

— Florida Head Coach Tim Walton



UP NEXT

The UF-MSU series continues Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.

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Just what the doctor ordered for a Gator team that hasn't been hitting on all cylinders lately:


#2 Florida 16 (RECORD 32-3)

Mississippi State 2 (RECORD 24-10)


TEAM 1 2 3 4 5- R H E L
UF- 11 0 2 2 1 16 9 1 12
MS-- 0 0 1 1 0- 2 3 3 4


Final - W: Aleshia Ocasio (11-2); L: Holly Ward (6-2);


The weekend series wraps up tomorrow in Starkville at 12 PM EDT. A road sweep in Starkville over a good MSU team would be outstanding.

I got to watch the #1 LSU at #15 UK game this morning on the SEC Network. The wildcats had beaten #1 LSU 3-1 on Friday night. Today, the wildcats rallied from down 2-1 to win 5-2. What I found interesting is the tigers came upon the same troubles the Gators have had of late. After having gotten up for UF and OU over consecutive weekends, the tigers didn't have anything in the gas tank to get them up when the wildcats kicked their attitude and momentum up a notch. I'll wager the tigers bring everything they have against the wildcats tomorrow to keep from getting swept in Lexington.

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Sometimes you just have to say what the f-word and tip your hat to your opponent:



Florida 3
Mississippi St 5


Line score 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Florida--- 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 6 0
Miss St--- 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 5 7 2


UF led 3-0 going to the bottom of the 7th. The bulldogs hadn't been able to do anything the whole game. All they did was rally for 5 in the bottom of the 7th capped by a 3 run walk off homer to win the game. It's the perfect example of having to play until the final out in every game. MSU executed perfectly for their half of the final inning and UF didn't, players (particularly the pitcher) or coaches who made no adjustments to stem MSU's momentum.

UF left the bases loaded in the 3rd, 5th, and 6th innings. There were 11 Gators stranded in the game. In comparison, MSU left 4 runners stranded.

UF took the first 2 games so the Gators won the weekend series. The Gators took 2 of 3 at bama and MSU. UF's record is 32-4 (5-4).

Next up are 4 home games: 1 midweek with North Florida and a weekend series with South Carolina.



Tim Walton's post game comments:

WALTON’S WORDS

On Sunday’s game and Ocasio’s performance:

“Give Mississippi State credit – we had two outs and two strikes against four or five different batters [in the seventh], and we just couldn’t quite put it away. I thought [Ocasio] pitched well. Just give Mississippi State credit – I thought they did a good job of getting it done.”



On what Florida will focus on heading into a four-game homestand:

“We’re going to focus a lot on our offense and try to get it going in the next couple weeks. We will try to get back to watching film [and] get the reps. We’re going to really increase our reps – that’s one thing we haven’t been able to do here because of travel. We’ll increase our reps and try to improve that way.”

— Florida Head Coach Tim Walton



UP NEXT

The Gators will return home to face in-state opponent UNF on Wednesday at 6 p.m. ET. Live streaming will be available to subscribers on SEC Network+ via WatchESPN, while WGGG (1230-AM) will have the radio broadcast. In addition, a live stats link can be found on the schedule page on GatorZone.com.

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UF faces the University of North Florida Ospreys out of the Atlantic Sun on Wednesday night:


2015 Softball Current Record

Overall Pct Conf Pct Streak Home Away Neutral

21-18 .538 3-6 .333 L6 9-6 1-6 11-6


This looks like a mismatch, but that's why the games are played.

From Gatorzone:

SETTING THE STAGE: UNF

· Florida leads the all-time series, 5-0.

· All meetings between the Gators and Ospreys have taken place in Gainesville.

· UNF has never scored a run against the Gators.

· Of the 11 in-state opponents Florida has played in program history, the Gators are unbeaten against three (also: Florida A&M, Jacksonville).

· Florida went 10-1 last season against Sunshine State foes, and has won its first four such games this year.

· Wednesday’s game is the first of four midweek contests for Florida against in-state teams in the month of April.



BROADCAST INFORMATION

Subscribers can view the Florida-UNF game on SEC Network+ via WatchESPN. Adam Schick and former Gator All-American Megan Bush will be on the call.

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Tim Walton needs to get his team fixed PDQ or there will be no chance at a repeat national championship. The game against UNF should have been a 5 inning run rule blowout. Yes, UNF is that bad:



Score by Innings R H E
------------------------------------------
UNF................. 000 000 10 - 1 1 0
Florida............. 000 100 01 - 2 11 0
------------------------------------------


Note: 1 out, 1 runner LOB when the game ended.


LOB - UF 12. 2B - DeWitt; Castro; Wheaton. HR - DUNCAN. HBP - DeWitt. SH - Munro. SB - Stewart; DeWitt 2.



UNF ip h r er bb so wp bk hbp ibb ab bf fo go np
WALLACE, Kaylie L,7-8 7.1 11 2 2 4 4 0 0 1 0 30 36 6 10 149

Florida ip h r er bb so wp bk hbp ibb ab bf fo go np
Lauren Haeger W,15-0 6.2 0 0 0 0 11 0 0 0 0 20 20 4 5 86

Delanie Gourley 1.1 1 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 5 5 1 1 19


Win - Haeger (15-0). Loss - WALLACE (7-8). Save - None. HBP - by WALLACE (DeWitt). PB - ARCIOLA. Pitches/strikes: WALLACE 149/84; Haeger 86/61; Gourley 19/14.


The two big fixes:

1. UF left 12 runners stranded for the game. Aggressive and timely hitting MUST improve. The Gators had the Missy State bulldogs swept with a timely hit on any of the 3 innings in which the Gators left the bases loaded without scoring.

2. Delanie Gourley has lost her confidence and performance edge. She hasn't had a good outing since before the Michigan game in California when she was rocked for 4 runs in the first inning. I hope she can turn it around, but I'm not sure she can at this point. She was brought on to close the game out, but she gave up the lead allowing a homerun in her 1.1 innings worked. UF is going to have to rely on Haeger and Ocasio until Gourley can get her act together.

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Wednesday April 1, 2015

Lauren Haeger Selected by Dallas Charge in 2015 NPF Draft



Nashville, Tenn. – University of Florida senior Lauren Haeger was drafted Wednesday by the Dallas Charge during the 2015 National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) Senior Draft. The NPF and its five affiliate teams – the Charge, Akron (Ohio) Racers, Chicago Bandits (Elgin, Ill.), Pennsylvania Rebellion (Washington, Pa.) and USSSA Pride (Orlando, Fla.) held the annual draft at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.



“Since we recruited Lauren as a young athlete, she has always been a winner,” Florida Head Coach Tim Walton said. “She always performed at the highest level, with a state championship, an ASA championship, winning a gold medal with the junior national team and being the winning pitcher in that game. She’s a special athlete. If she were a baseball player, she would be a first-round draft pick. She’s a special athlete and a good player. We have worked hard to develop her. To see her perform on the collegiate level on a big stage, internationally with Team USA and now get the chance to play professionally says a lot about her and how hard she has worked.”



Haeger was chosen as the 21st overall pick with the sixth choice of the fourth round. The pitcher/first baseman will join former teammate Hannah Rogers as rookies in the NPF; Rogers signed with the USSSA Pride last November. Haeger and Rogers will become the second and third members of Florida’s 2014 national championship team to play in the NPF after Stephanie Tofft joined the Akron Racers in June.



The selection of Haeger marks Florida’s first NPF draft pick since 2011, when Kelsey Bruder, Megan Bush and Aja Paculba all were chosen. The two-way player will become the ninth Florida alumna to pursue a professional career.



Haeger ranks third in hitting for Florida this season (minimum 1.0 plate appearance per team game) with a .327 average, and is tied for the team lead with nine home runs. Her 34 RBI, 33 hits and .644 slugging percentage all are second on the squad, and her 30 runs scored are the third-highest total on the Gator roster. In the circle, the senior leads the team in ERA (1.23), wins (14), complete games (nine) and shutouts (five) while ranking second in strikeouts (104). The Orange and Blue raced to a program-record 28-0 start before sustaining their first loss, and Florida is 194-38 since No. 17 arrived on campus before the 2012 season.



Named a First Team All-American as a sophomore, Haeger’s name appears throughout the Florida record book. Entering Wednesday’s game, the three-time All-Southeast Region First Team selection ranks among the Gators’ all-time offensive leaders in RBI (first, 223), intentional walks (first, 13), home runs (tied for second, 61), walks (second, 151), slugging (fourth, .649), total bases (fifth, 428) runs scored (tied for seventh, 142), on-base percentage (eighth, .451) and hitting (10th, .320).



A prolific pitcher in addition to her hitting prowess, Haeger also has achieved success in the circle. Coming into the contest against UNF, the senior ranks among the Gators’ all-time leaders in saves (tied for fifth, five), wins (seventh, 55), strikeouts (seventh, 421), shutouts (tied for seventh, 16), appearances (eighth, 98), starts (ninth, 64), complete games (ninth, 36), and innings pitched (ninth, 430.2).



Per NCAA rules, active senior student-athletes cannot sign a professional contract until their college season is complete. The NPF schedule, which will be unveiled at a later date, runs from June through August.



About National Pro Fastpitch:

National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) is headquartered in Nashville, Tenn. The league, created to give elite female fastpitch players the opportunity to pursue a professional career in their chosen sport, has operated since 1997 under the names of Women’s Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women’s Pro Softball League (WPSL). NPF is the Official Development Partner of Major League Baseball in the category of women’s fastpitch softball and has been since 2002.

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WALTON’S WORDS

On the upcoming series against South Carolina:

“They’re all tough for us. We don’t overlook anybody, and nobody overlooks us. It’s about us coming in and doing a good job preparing for what we do. We want to come out and play good defense, pitch the ball well and keep the ball in the ballpark. I’d like to see us be fun to watch on the bases and get some good hits with runners in scoring position.”
— Florida Head Coach Tim Walton



Gainesville, Fla. – The third-ranked Gator Softball team (33-4) will host Southeastern Conference rival South Carolina for three games on Friday and Saturday at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. The Gators and Gamecocks have not met since the final weekend of the 2013 regular season, and have not played in Gainesville since March of 2012. Florida has won 28 of the teams’ last 29 meetings after South Carolina took 19 of the first 29.



QUICKLY: Florida Team Notes

· Florida took two of three games at Mississippi State last weekend, marking UF’s second consecutive road series victory.

· Wednesday’s win over UNF marked Florida’s first extra-inning game in nearly a year (last: 4/6/14 vs. Auburn - W, 1-0, 8 innings).

· Janell Wheaton doubled home Taylore Fuller with one out in the eighth, marking the freshman’s first game-winning RBI.

· The Orange and Blue have 12 home games in the month of April. The Gators played just three games at KSP Stadium in March.

· The pitching trio of Delanie Gourley, Lauren Haeger and Aleshia Ocasio holds the highest per-game strikeout rate in the Southeastern Conference.



GATOR BITES: Florida Player Notes

· Kelsey Stewart (16) and Kirsti Merritt (13) both have more stolen bases than the Gators have allowed as a team (10).

· Stewart holds the highest batting average in UF history (min. 200 AB) and 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.

· Haeger struck out 11 batters for the second consecutive outing against the Ospreys, marking her team-best fourth outing this season with double-digit Ks.

· The senior was drafted by the Dallas Charge of National Pro Fastpitch on Wednesday night.

· Merritt has set the UF marks for hit-by-pitches in a season and a career.



SETTING THE STAGE: South Carolina

· Florida leads the all-time series, 38-20; this includes an 18-6 advantage in Gainesville.

· Before South Carolina took Game 3 of the teams’ last series on May 4, 2013, in Columbia, S.C., the Gators had not lost to the Gamecocks since April 21, 2002.

· Since Tim Walton became Florida’s head coach before the 2006 season, the Orange and Blue are 21-1 vs. the Garnet and Black.



WEEKEND PROMOTIONS

Friday, April 3 – 6 p.m.

· Visors

The first 250 fans in attendance will receive a Florida visor



Saturday, April 4 – 1 p.m. (doubleheader)

Presented by Campus USA

· 2 Bits Signs & Hand Fans

· Postgame Autographs

Following Game 2 of the doubleheader, the Gators will sign autographs for fans along the third-base concourse



BROADCAST INFORMATION

The Florida-South Carolina series will on SEC Network+ via WatchESPN through participating television providers only. Adam Schick (play-by-play – Friday), Larry Vettel (play-by-play – Saturday) and former Gator All-American Megan Bush (analysis) will be on the call.



All 2015 Florida Softball games can be heard on Florida Sports Talk (1230-AM in Gainesville, 900-AM in Ocala). Corey Brooks (Friday) and Adam Schick (Saturday) will call play-by-play for the UF-USC series.



LIVE STATS

Live stats links for this weekend’s games can be found on the Gators’ schedule page.

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Gators take game 1. There will be a doubleheader tomorrow instead of a single game on Easter Sunday. The good news is power hitters Bailey Castro hit 2 homeruns and Lauren Haeger hit a homerun. Both have been having a hard time at the plate lately not getting timely hitting. UF's record is 34-4 (6-4):



South Carolina 2 (RECORD 26-13)
#3 Florida 10 (RECORD 34-4)


TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 R H E L

SC 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 4 1 2
UF 0 0 3 0 3 4 10 8 0 6

Final - W: Lauren Haeger (16-0); L: Nickie Blue (12-5);


WALTON’S WORDS
On the big night for the Gator offense, led by Castro and Haeger:
“I’m really happy with the way we swung the bat. I thought we did a good job in some counts to fight pitches off. Bailey really set the tone after we were down 2-0 to take the lead back quickly.”

On Haeger’s performance to give Florida a win in the series opener:
“It’s very needed when you can get a senior who’s been through it and who’s got good enough stuff to win games in this league. It’s vital to our success to have a pitching staff, and not just a good pitcher.”

On Saturday’s doubleheader:
“We’ll take the first game and try to put our best team on the field to get a ‘W.’ Overall, I really like the way some of our younger players are playing. Our older players are starting to play better. There are things we’ve got to improve on, but I really like the overall complement that each one of our hitters is giving to each other.”
— Florida Head Coach Tim Walton

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From a 2-1 win against a not so good North Florida team to this monster game today against what has been a fairly good USCe team:


South Carolina 0 (RECORD 26-14)

#3 Florida 19 (RECORD 35-4)


TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 R H E L

SC 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 5
UF 0 6 5 8 X 19 8 0 3

Final - W: Aleshia Ocasio (12-3); L: Nickie Blue (12-6);


USCe only has two good pitchers. The pitcher that took the loss last night tried to make a go of it in game two today. She was bombed and had to be taken out. The pitcher they brought in was inept and had to eventually be replaced by the game two starting pitcher to get UF out of their final at bats in the rout. It was probably a smart decision to withhold the second starting pitcher for game 3 of the doubleheader, but it can't be good for the outlook of the USCe players in the next game. Then again, they might come back relaxed and with vengeance after blowing off the game 19-0.

The Gators are looking for the sweep in the final game of the weekend. It should be starting at about 2:30 EDT. It will be interesting to see who Tim Walton sends to the mound. It normally would be Delanie Gourley, but she's been off in confidence and performance lately. I think Walton will go with Gourley to try to get her groove back which would be a big help to UF in getting the team back into top gear performance.

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Damnit! Delanie Gourley needs to get her shit together. In the first inning, she gave up a single, a hit batter, and a 3 run homer. In the second inning, she gave up another hit batter and a walk. Fortunately, she was able to work out of the inning.

Going to the bottom of the second, it USC 3 & UF 0. It'll be interesting to see how far Tim Walton goes with Gourley. I know he wants to get Gourley back to her normal self, but you just can't blow off an SEC game to do it. I'd have rather he blew off North Florida in midweek. I sincerely hope Delaney Gourley isn't reducing herself to being a workout project as a midweek pitcher, but how many performances in a row can she give up multiple run innings early in games before Walton has to start working around her spot in the rotation?