No. 2 Softball Opens Conference Schedule in Columbia
Thursday, March 5, 2009 | Softball
No. 2/2 University of Florida opens its Southeastern Conference portion of the schedule at South Carolina with a three-game series March 7 and 8. The Gators will play the Gamecocks in a doubleheader on Saturday, slated to being at 1 p.m., and conclude the road trip with a single game at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Florida heads into the weekend with a 19-2 record, while the Gamecocks are 12-2. The Gators have won the last 14 meetings between the two schools, including the last five in Columbia. Overall, UF leads the all-time series, 24-19, with 11-8 advantages both home and away. The three-game match is the first since 2005 as the two have battled in single-day doubleheaders the last three years.
In 2008, the Gators took the SEC regular-season, compiling a 27-1 conference record. The .964 winning percentage ranks in the SEC record books as the all-time highest. The Gators also won the tournament title for the first time in the history of the program, defeating Alabama in the final game in dramatic fashion as current student coach Mary Ratliff (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) hit a grand slam in the sixth inning to give UF the lead and ultimately, the win.
Senior righty Stacey Nelson (Los Alamitos, Calif.) comes into the weekend with a 0.39 ERA, striking out 88 over 71.0 innings. Sophomore right-hander Stephanie Brombacher (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) enters the weekend with a 10-0 record and a 30-0 start to her career. Junior Francesca Enea (Woodland Hills, Calif.) comes in riding an eight-game hitting streak while sophomore Kelsey Bruder (Corona, Calif.) has tallied at least one extra-base hit in six of the last seven contests.
