No. 1/3 Florida Hosts Jacksonville in Home-Opening Tilt Wednesday, 5 p.m.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 | Softball
Florida vs. Jacksonville Game Notes
Coming off a 5-0 start to the 2012 Gator softball season, No. 1/3 Florida will open its home portion of the schedule by hosting the Jacksonville University Dolphins in a mid-week single-game Wednesday, Feb. 15, at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
Florida is 23-2 all-time in home openers, including a 9-0 undefeated mark under head coach Tim Walton. The Gators will be looking for their 10th straight victory in the history of the series, last defeating the Dolphins, 7-0, at the JU Softball Complex Feb. 16, 2011.
Notably, Florida opened its season 5-0 for the sixth time in program history ('00, '01, '05, '08, '11, '12). The Gators entered the 2012 season with 692 program victories, and currently stand at 697 all-time wins. Florida looks to continue to work toward the goal Wednesday, hoping to eclipse the 700-win mark this weekend against Michigan State.
Wednesday's match-up with JU will be the first of a plethora of Florida softball games to be shown live on GatorVision. Head to the GatorZone.com softball schedule page for complete listings, as well as a link to GatorVision.tv for the pay-per-view service and subscription options.
Additionally, fans unable to attend the contest can tune in live online or turn their radio dials locally to 104.9 FM, 105 The Game, the home of Florida softball, to listen to all the action by play-by-play announcer Mike Gillespie, with color analysis by former Gator All-American and 2011 graduate Megan Bush.
Through the season-opening five-game stretch last weekend, the Gators racked up three five-inning run-rule victories, four shutouts, earned their first extra-innings win, scored 35 runs to opponents' two and smacked seven doubles, two triples and five homers - including sophomore Cheyenne Coyle's (West Hills, Calif.) first career grand slam - to assist with 33 RBI.
Sophomore ace Hannah Rogers (Lake Wales, Fla.) picked up four quick victories in the circle for the Gators, owning 25 strikeouts for UF thus far on the year, while freshman righty Lauren Haeger (Peoria, Ariz.) accounted for UF's other win, rallying for 11 Ks on the evening against Maine Feb. 11.
Florida freshman Sami Fagan (Dunnellon, Fla.) picked up the league's first SEC Freshman of the Week honor this season after her stellar debut as a Gator. Fagan recorded 10 hits in all over the weekend, including a double and a triple, to lead the Gators' squad with a .667 batting clip. The 2011 Gatorade Florida Softball Player of the Year was productive on the base paths as well, swiping two, one against Long Island and another against FGCU. She had two or more hits in four of UF's five games, and reached base in all five after drawing a walk against USF to lead the Gators in on-base percentage (.722) through five contests. Fagan hit a perfect 3-for-3 against both Maine and Illinois State and was 2-for-3 against Long Island and FGCU. Fagan also contributed a team-high seven assists on the weekend.
Six first-year Gators made their career debuts in the Orange and Blue last weekend, and look forward to playing for the first time in front of a home crowd at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium Wednesday. Follow the Gators on Twitter @GatorZoneSBall and be sure to head to www.GatorZone.com/softball following all the action for complete statistics, a recap and photos from the first home game of the 2012 campaign.
