No. 3 Softball Opens SEC Slate at Mississippi State March 7, No. 9 Tennessee March 9-11
Tuesday, March 6, 2012 | Softball
After kicking off the 2012 season with a 19-1 start, including two wins over Top-25 competition, perfect home and away records and an 8-1 record on neutral ground, the No. 3/4 Gator softball team will kick off the ultra-competitive Southeastern Conference slate Wednesday, March 7, at Mississippi State.
The Gators will tangle with the Bulldogs in the mid-week doubleheader in Starkville before completing the spring-break road swing with a visit to Top-10 SEC Eastern Division rival Tennessee March 9-11.
Florida enters 2012 conference play with a 272-148 (.647) all-time record in SEC competition after winning its fourth-straight and fifth overall SEC Eastern Division title in 2011. Florida also captured the East in 1998, 2008, 2009 and 2010. The Gators own three SEC titles, capturing the overall crown in 1998, 2008 and 2009.
Prior to the start of the season, Florida was picked by vote of the league's head coaches to win the 2012 conference title, as three Gators were selected to the Preseason All-SEC squad, including All-Americans in senior outfielder Michelle Moultrie (Jacksonville, Fla.) and junior catcher Brittany Schutte (Fountain Valley, Calif.), along with sophomore shortstop Cheyenne Coyle (West Hills, Calif.).
Last year, the Gators went 21-7 in league play as UF head coach Tim Walton was named the co-SEC Coach of the Year, while then senior Kelsey Bruder picked up SEC Player of the Year honors. In addition to Moultrie, Schutte and Coyle, returning sophomore ace Hannah Rogers (Lake Wales, Fla.) was a 2011 All-SEC pick, earning second team honors and All-Defensive Team accolades, along with being an All-Freshman pick.
Three Gators have picked up three SEC accolades and one national weekly honor so far this season as first years Sami Fagan (Dunnellon, Fla.) and Lauren Haeger (Peoria, Ariz.) have each been honored as the SEC Freshman of the Week, while Schutte was tabbed both the NFCA National Player of the Week, along with the SEC Player of the Week, just two weeks ago.
The Gators are 21-9 all-time on SEC opening day and 2012 will mark their first year opening league play with the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Since Walton's arrival on campus, UF is 8-4 on the first day of SEC play, having opened with Alabama ('06), Tennessee ('07), Ole Miss ('08, '10), South Carolina ('09) and LSU ('11) the past six years.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Florida at Mississippi State, March 7: 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. (ET)
Florida at Tennessee, March 9-11: 6 p.m., 2 p.m. and noon (ET) Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively
In addition to radio action live locally and online at 104.9-FM, 105 The Game, with play-by-play Mike Gillespie, Gator fans can follow in-game updates on Twitter by following the Gators @GatorZoneSBall.
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE GATORS
The Florida softball team improved to 19-1 this season with six wins the past week, including two over Eastern Michigan and Gardner-Webb and single-game victories against Tennessee State and Campbell, as UF hosted its home tournament, the Lipton Invitational March 2-4… Florida added five more shutouts and four more run-rule victories for a season total of 12 shutouts and 11 run-rule wins… The Gators also secured their second extra-innings victory this season in the first game against the EMU eagles, a 2-1 W in eight innings… The Orange and Blue outscored their opponents, 53-1, in the past week and rallied for six doubles, two triples and 11 bombs… As a team, UF drew 30 walks, swiped 12-of-13 bags and collaborated for a .386 batting clip… Senior Michelle Moultrie and junior Kelsey Horton led the Gators throughout the last week of play, Moultrie with 12 hits, a .600 batting clip, two triples, four homers, 10 RBI and 11 runs scored, while Horton finished Florida's last six games 8-for-14 (.571) with a double, four homers – including a grand slam – 14 total RBI, six runs scored and four walks… Florida head coach Tim Walton improved to 350-81 (.812) all-time at the helm of the Gator softball program with UF's win over Campbell Sunday.
SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI STATE
2012 record: 14-5
Series: Florida leads the series, 24-17 Home: 14-7 Away: 10-7 Neutral: 0-3
Last time out: March 16, 2011 (doubleheader)
Game one: UF 8, Mississippi Sate 0 (5 innings)
Game two: UF 18, Mississippi State 1 (5 innings)
Last time at Starkville: May 1, 2010 – UF sweeps doubleheader 8-0 and 9-1, both in five innings
Scouting the Bulldogs: The Mississippi State Bulldogs enter SEC play riding a six-game win streak after playing host to their home tournament, the Bulldog Classic. The Maroon and White cranked out a season-high 16 hits two-consecutive days to wrap up the Bulldog Classic with a perfect 5-0 record on the weekend. MSU is riding its longest winning streak since the 2009 squad won eight in a row. MSU defeated Jackson State prior to downing Columbia twice, Louisiana Tech, Eastern Illinois and Samford in the three-day tourney. Brittany Bell leads MSU at the plate with a .500 batting clip, a team-high 23 hits and a .647 on-base percentage to go with five doubles, a triple and six homers. Jessica Cooley owns eight homers to lead the Bulldogs' squad in round-trippers, while Kaili Smith has shown patience at the plate with 15 walks. Cooley, the reigning SEC Player of the Week, and Bell own a combined 45 RBI thus far in 2012 for Mississippi State. Six Bulldogs are batting between .300 and .400 on the season, while five are above .400, led by Bell's .500 clip. MSU has used five pitchers so far this season, with Stephanie Becker owning seven wins (1.72 ERA) and Kylie Vry checking in with a 1.37 ERA and a 4-2 overall record on the year. Both MSU and UF have faced off with USF as the two squads' one common opponent thus far in 2012. USF took the Gators to extra innings, but UF pulled out the 3-2 win, while South Florida downed Mississippi State, 1-0, Feb. 24.
SCOUTING TENNESSEE
2012 record: 14-3
Series: Florida leads the series, 38-18 Home: 22-5 Away: 13-10 Neutral: 3-3
Last time out: May 6-8, 2011 – Florida sweeps series to win fourth-straight SEC Eastern Division title
Game one: UF 4, Tennessee 3
Game two: UF 2, Tennessee 0
Game three: UF 7, Tennessee 2
Last time at Knoxville: April 23, 2010 – UF and UT split doubleheader; Gators win game one, 6-0 & Lady Vols win game two, 4-3
Scouting the Lady Vols: The Tennessee Lady Vols will open SEC play after a week free from competition following their home tournament, the Tennessee Classic, March 1-4 at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium in Knoxville. During the weekend, the Big Orange outscored its four opponents by a 29-3 total, out-hit them by a .340-.116 clip and its pitching staff recorded a miniscule 0.56 ERA with 35 strikeouts over 25.0 innings. Tennessee downed the Dutch National Team in an exhibition March 1, then proceeded to top Memphis, ETSU, Murray State and Middle Tennessee to cap off the weekend undefeated. Junior Raven Chavanne leads the Lady Vols at the plate with a .545 batting clip, 18 hits and a triple, while four other UT student-athletes are batting above .300 on the season thus far. Madison Shipman owns a team-high 21 hits, while Lauren Gibson leads UT with six long balls. Gibson and Shipman have collaborated for 37 RBI through Tennessee's 17 games so far in 2012. A dynamic duo of hurlers, the Renfroe sisters own all 17 decisions in the circle for UT, with Ellen an unscathed 10-0 (1.32 ERA), while Ivy stands at 4-3 (3.19 ERA) on the year. Tennessee and Florida own one common opponent this season so far in Texas from the Big 12. Texas squeaked by the Vols, 3-2, on Feb. 19, while the Gators topped the Longhorns, 5-1, in California Feb. 24.
