Fourth-Ranked Gators Host FSU in Final Non-Conference Clash Wednesday
Wednesday, May 4, 2011 | Softball
The No. 4 Gator softball team will kick off its final regular-season week of play Wednesday in a clash with Sunshine State rival FSU (26-23, 8-9 ACC) at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium, with first pitch set for 5 p.m. The Gators' five seniors will take to the field just three days before senior weekend against No. 3/5 Tennessee with the chance to tie as Florida's winningest class in school history.
Florida's senior bunch, composed of Stephanie Brombacher (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), Kelsey Bruder (Corona, Calif.), Megan Bush (Anaheim Hills, Calif.), Tiffany DeFelice (Coral Springs, Fla.) and Aja Paculba (Wildomar, Calif.), has laced the UF record books and is closing in on becoming the winningest class in school history, boasting a 225-28 (.889) overall record and 91-13 (.875) record in Southeastern Conference play during their careers donning the Orange and Blue. The Gator seniors were part of a NCAA-record 70 wins in 2008, their freshman season. The class boasts three All-Americans and two ESPN The Magazine Academic All-Americans. The quintet helped lead UF to 70 wins in 2008, 63 in 2009, 49 last season and have strung together 43 victories in 2011 thus far.
Junior Michelle Moultrie (Jacksonville, Fla.) is riding a career-long 19-game hit streak and will look to make it 20, attempting to tie Bush's strand, set earlier this season. Moultrie has additionally tallied at least one hit in 47 of UF's 51 games so far this season. The Gators will look towards continued elevated play from its underclassmen, including reigning SEC Freshman of the Week, shortstop Cheyenne Coyle (West Hills, Calif.), who led Florida last weekend in a sweep of South Carolina. The newcomer has six homers in UF's last three SEC series to combine for half of her homers this season.
Another freshman, righty hurler Hannah Rogers (Lake Wales, Fla.), has continued to be a threat for the Gators in the circle. Rogers' 27 wins this season rank fourth in the country, first among freshmen. Rogers has a league-leading 15 wins, 22 appearances and 17 starts to top all Southeastern Conference pitchers in league play.
The Gators will play their four remaining regular season games in front of a television audience, with Wednesday's game against the Seminoles on Fox Sports Florida in South Florida and live on Cox channel 21 in the Gainesville and Ocala markets. The game will re-air statewide on May 5 at 7 p.m. on Fox Sports Florida and May 8 at 9:30 a.m. on Sun Sports. Friday's 4:30 p.m. match-up with No. 3/5 Tennessee will air on Sun Sports, while Saturday's noon game will be broadcast live on ESPN, with Sunday's 3:00 match-up slated to air on ESPNU.
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE GATORS
The Gator softball team improved to 43-8, 18-7 in the Southeastern Conference after sweeping South Carolina on the road for their 23rd consecutive victory over the Gamecocks… Florida collected 17 runs on 25 hits, defeating USC 5-0 Friday and 6-1 both Saturday and Sunday at Beckham Field… Florida hit five homers on the weekend, improving its season total to 100, shy of the UF single-season record (109)… Junior Michelle Moultrie went 4-for-10 with at least one hit in each of Florida's three games to extend her hit streak to 19 games, the longest active streak on the team, marking a career-long, second-best to senior Megan Bush's 20-game school-record strand earlier this season… Bush tallied four RBI on the weekend, tying UF's single-season individual RBI record Friday (70) and moving into sole possession Saturday (72)… Florida played its 1,000th game in school history Saturday and boasts an all-time program record of 679-322 through the weekend… Senior Tiffany DeFelice and freshman Cheyenne Coyle led the squad in batting clip in Columbia (.429), both going 3-for-7, Coyle with two homers and five RBI… After Moultrie, who batted .400, sophomore Brittany Schutte and last week's USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week senior Kelsey Bruder each went 4-for-11, Schutte with five RBI, two homers and a double, and Bruder with five runs scored and two key doubles… Florida will wrap up its regular season slate next week, hosting FSU in a mid-week game Wednesday and playing host to SEC Eastern Division rival Tennessee May 6-8 in a key conference finale.
SCOUTING THE SEMINOLES
After nearly 10 days from its last game due to final exams, the Florida State University softball team returns to the field in an important matchup at No. 4 Florida on Wednesday. The Seminoles (26-23, 8-9) will look toward hurler Sarah Hamilton to help snap their seven-game losing streak. The Tallahassee native has already attained the most career strikeouts in school history, and is eyeing the 1,000th K mark as she shows 963 punchouts over her four-year career. With likely four starts remaining this season, including ACC Championship play, and possibly more in the postseason, Hamilton has a chance to place herself in a category of her own. According to the latest national rankings, Hamilton is 20th in the nation with 247 strikeouts, 21st with 9.2 strikeouts per seven innings and 25th with just 4.59 hits allowed per seven innings. FSU has played some of its best softball toward the end of the season, winning eight of their last 10 contests. At the plate, the Seminoles have averaged nearly six runs per game during that span, and have gotten a boost from both Hamilton (5-2, 0.83 ERA) and redshirt freshman Jessica Nori (3-0, 1.17 ERA). On the offensive end, junior Shayla Jackson and sophomore Morgan Bullock have provided good plate appearances in the batting order. Jackson is 18-for-37 in her last 10 games, and is batting .348 with one home run, 13 doubles, three triples, 26 RBIs and 78 total bases this season. She is also the 15th toughest player to strike out in the nation, fanning just once every 26.8 at-bats.
SERIES HISTORY
Florida.....................Category............ Florida State
43-8......................... Record........................ 26-23
18-7............... Conference Record.................. 8-9
.336.................. Batting Average................... .286
1346........................ At Bats..........................1316
404............................Runs..............................226
452.............................Hits...............................376
65........................... Doubles.............................53
8 ..............................Triples...............................12
100.......................Home Runs...........................29
385.................... Runs Batted In......................191
.619.............. Slugging Percentage............... .410
66-83...........Stolen Bases/Attempts............ 77-90
244...........................Walks.............................117
288........................Strikeouts..........................227
.439.............. On-Base Percentage............... .353
1.97.......................Team ERA.........................2.47
7.81...................Opponent ERA.....................4.20
3...............................Saves.................................3
94.............................Walks.............................139
281........................Strikeouts..........................315
.191............Batting Average Against............. .243
.972...............Fielding Percentage................ .960
40............................. Errors...............................57
FLORIDA VS. FSU SERIES
Series Record........................ Florida leads, 14-13
At Gainesville....................................................7-6
At Tallahassee..................................................7-7
Neutral..............................................................n/a
1-run.................................................................2-0
2-run.................................................................4-4
Shutouts...........................................................2-3
Most Runs, UF....................................14 (4/16/08)
Margin, UF..........................................10 (4/16/08)
Most Runs, FSU...................................8 (2/19/97)
Margin, FSU.........................................7 (2/19/97)
Longest Win Streak, UF...................7 (4/4/07-present)
Longest Win Streak, FSU......... 4 (4/17/02-4/7/04)
A complete recap and results will be available on www.GatorZone.com/softball following the action.
-UF-
