No. 1/2 Gator Softball Opens SEC Slate at No. 21 LSU Wednesday
Wednesday, March 9, 2011 | Softball
The Florida softball team, which jumped to No. 1 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Poll and No. 2 in the NFCA/Louisville Slugger Top 25 Poll Tuesday, will open the 2011 Southeastern Conference slate Wednesday at No. 21 LSU. The Gators are coming off their home tournament, the Lipton Invitational, where they went 5-0 to improve to 19-0 on the season. Florida's 19 consecutive wins to open the 2011 schedule tie a program record, last achieved in 2008, and the Orange and Blue will have the chance to surpass the record with a doubleheader Wednesday evening at Tiger Park in Baton Rouge, La. The first game is slated for 6 p.m. (ET).
Gator fans can follow the two games between LSU and Florida several different ways, including a live video feed through GatorVision.tv, live online stats, provided by LSU, and on the radio – Adam Schick with the call – by tuning into 105 The Game locally in the Gainesville area or listening live through Yahoo. For all links and more information, visit www.GatorZone.com.
UF will be facing just its second true road test of the season against the Tigers, having played 10 games on neutral ground, eight in front of a home crowd and one on the road against in-state opponent Jacksonville Feb. 16. Notably, Florida is 5-0 this season against ranked opponents, sweeping a three-game home series against then-No. 22 North Carolina Feb. 19-20, and tallying wins over then-No. 11/12 Texas and then-No. 2/2 UCLA at the Cathedral City Classic in Palm Springs, Calif., two weeks ago. Florida also topped Syracuse, unranked at the time, 2-0, March 4 at the Lipton Invitational in Gainesville – the Orange entered the NFCA/Louisville Slugger Top 25 Tuesday at No. 25.
Florida reached the top of the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Poll Tuesday for the first time since the May 12, 2009, poll, just prior to the 2009 Women's College World Series, where the Gators played in the Championship Series against Washington and earned runner-up status. UF spent a majority of the 2009 season at No. 1 in both collegiate softball polls, checking in at No. 2 just five times during the 2009 campaign, including the final post-season poll.
THE SERIES WITH LSU
Series Record: LSU leads, 28-16
In Gainesville: Tied, 9-9
In Baton Rouge: LSU leads, 14-5
Neutral: LSU leads, 5-2
Notable: The Gators are 9-1 against LSU the past three seasons… Florida has swept its last three regular-season series with LSU, taking three in Gainesville in 2008, three in Baton Rouge in 2009 and all three at home last season.
Last time out: The Tigers and Gators met last season May 14, 2010, in the 2010 SEC Tournament in Fayetteville, Ark. The Tigers eliminated the Gators from the league tournament with a 9-1 victory to advance to the championship game, where they were defeated, 5-4, by Alabama.
RECAPPING THE GATORS' LAST OUTING
The Gator softball team improved to an undefeated 19-0 following five wins at the Lipton Invitational… UF defeated Valparaiso, Syracuse, Pacific and North Dakota State twice for the tournament crown… Florida has now shut out 11 opponents in 2011… The Gators had a record weekend, drawing a program-high 18 walks against NDSU Saturday, while putting up the fourth-most runs (18) in Florida history… Individually, UF was led by senior Aja Paculba and sophomore Brittany Schutte… The duo combined for seven home runs on the weekend, while Schutte drew eight walks to contribute to her season total 19… Sunday in Florida's second game of the weekend against the NDSU Bison, UF dropped five home runs – two in one inning and three in another – one shy of the school record (6) for a single game, including two by Paculba… Paculba led the Gators Friday through Sunday, going 9-for-17 (.529) with six RBI, eight runs and 20 total bases to compliment her three homers… Schutte smacked four home runs in all, tallying 14 RBI and 10 runs, while going 5-for-12 (.417) at the plate… The Orange and Blue put up 52 runs over the weekend, including 14 home runs.
PREVIEWING LSU
The 15-5 Tigers are also coming off their home-hosted tournament, the Purple & Gold Challenge. No. 21 LSU swept all three of its games, highlighted by a 2-1 victory over No. 12 Texas. In the process, LSU head coach Yvette Girouard picked up her 500th victory with the Tigers after announcing her retirement following the 2011 season. Brittany Mack, Meghan Patterson, Tiffany Shaw and Anissa Young were named to the All-Tournament Team. Both Mack and Patterson carried no-hitters into the seventh inning against Hofstra and Pittsburgh, respectively. Young added a quartet of RBI, including a three-run homer during the sixth inning against Pittsburgh and the go-ahead RBI single in the third inning versus No. 12 Texas. Shaw added a pair of multi-hit efforts en route to a 6-for-8 weekend with a two runs and two stolen bases from the No. 2 spot in the lineup.
To view the March 8 ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Poll in its entirety, visit here. For the latest NFCA/Louisville Slugger Top 25, Gator fans can visit the NFCA website by clicking here.
Following its mid-week doubleheader tilt with LSU, Florida will head directly to the USF Under Armour Showcase for match-ups with five opponents at the three-day tourney in Clearwater, including UConn, Robert Morris, Ball State, Nebraska and a second 2011 game against host USF Sunday at 1 p.m., having already matched up with the Bulls Feb. 13 (UF 12, USF 0; 5 inn). All games will be played at the Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater.
For all scores, statistics and recaps, visit www.GatorZone.com following each competition.
