NCAA Softball Regional Central: Action Kicks Off Friday in Gainesville
Thursday, May 16, 2013 | Softball
2013 NCAA Softball Gainesville Regional Central
WATCH: Gator radio commentators Adam Schick and Megan Bush preview the Gainesville Regional
The No. 2 National Seed Florida Gators will kick off the 2013 NCAA Tournament Friday against Hampton at 6 p.m. at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium in Gainesville. The Gainesville Regional features MEAC Champion Hampton (33-24), SoCon Champion Georgia Southern (32-28) and Sunshine State rival and BIG EAST Champion USF (43-14), as the Bulls visit Gainesville for the second straight year in NCAA Regional action.
Florida owns an 18-6 (.750) record in NCAA Regional action under 2013 SEC Coach of the Year Tim Walton, and the Gators are 43-29 (.602) all-time in the NCAA Tournament, having made four trips to the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma 2008-11.
Every game of the Gainesville Regional will stream live and for free, courtesy of GatorVision.tv.
Visit Florida's 2013 NCAA Softball Gainesville Regional Central for ALL information about this weekend's events, including game times, scores, notes, regional and NCAA Tournament brackets, ticket information, parking, participating team information, quotes and box scores from all of the action in Gainesville.
Play will open with the first round of the tournament in Gainesville May 17 at 3:30 p.m. as Georgia Southern and USF take to the field first, while Florida and Hampton will square off at 6 p.m. in the nightcap. Action will continue Saturday and Sunday in the double-elimination format. Florida's selection marks the 14th year, and 11th straight, that the Gators will host a Regional in the friendly confines of Pressly Stadium, including each year under Walton.
The winner of the Gainesville Regional will play the winner of the Louisville Regional, featuring the No. 15 seed and host, Louisville (46-11), in addition to UCLA (37-18), UAB (37-16) and IPFW (32-14). The highest remaining seed will host the NCAA Super Regional round.
Florida enters regional play ranked second in the nation in win-loss percentage (.881), second in fielding percentage (.980), eighth in ERA (1.78), ninth in scoring (6.73 runs per game), 14th in homers per game (1.34) and 15th in slugging percentage (.524). Junior ace and righty Hannah Rogers (Lake Wales, Fla.) ranks sixth in the country in victories (29), 11th in shutouts (9) and 22nd in ERA (1.59). Freshman second baseman Kelsey Stewart (Wichita, Kan.) paces the NCAA with nine triples, including 0.15 per game, which ranks third in the nation.
FLORIDA QUICK HITS ENTERING NCAA TOURNAMENT (Florida Pregame Notes)
· Five Gators were named to the NFCA All-Southeast Region Team Thursday | FIRST TEAM: Hannah Rogers (P), Lauren Haeger (UT/P) | SECOND TEAM: Kelsey Stewart (2B), Stephanie Tofft (3B), Kelsey Horton (OF)
· UF's All-Region honors come a week after five Gator athletes were named All-SEC selections behind Walton's fourth Coach of the Year honor | FIRST TEAM: Hannah Rogers (P) Lauren Haeger (DP/UT) | SECOND TEAM: Kelsey Stewart (IF), Kelsey Horton (OF) | FRESHMAN: Kelsey Stewart (IF), Kirsti Merritt (OF)
· Merritt, the reining NFCA Division I National Player of the Week was named the SEC Tournament MVP, as she, Stewart, Tofft and freshman Taylor Schwarz were named to the SEC All-Tournament Team
· UF picked up a top-five National Seed for the sixth straight year and is a top-three seed for the third time (No. 1 National Seed in both 2008 & 2009)
· Florida is one of a staggering 11 Southeastern Conference institutions in the 64-team tournament field, a new NCAA record
· UF has made four WCWS appearances, including an unprecedented four straight from 2008-11, having played for the national championship in 2009 (Washington) and 2011 (Arizona State)
· The Gators are 23-18 (.560) in NCAA Regional play, including 18-6 (.750) under Walton
· The Orange and Blue own a 43-29 (.602) all-time record in the NCAA Tournament
· Florida is 2-0 this season against the Gainesville Regional field, having defeated USF twice, once in Tampa and once at home in Gainesville. The Gators are 1-0 against Georgia Southern (7-6 win in 11 inn. on 3/2/01) and have the longest series history with Sunshine State rival USF
· UF owns a 35-13 all-time advantage over USF, including a 16-8 record at home
· Last season, the Bulls advanced out of the 2012 NCAA Gainesville Regional and on to their first-ever WCWS
· Florida has never faced its opening-round opponent Hampton
· Florida leads the nation with 14 RPI top-25 wins, followed by LSU (13), Arizona State (13), Oregon (13) & Missouri (12)
· The Gators have played error-free softball since April 26 vs. Georgia
· UF clinched its fourth SEC Championship (1998, 2008, 2009, 2013) two weeks ago and went on to win the SEC Tournament for the third time in school history (2008, 2009, 2013)
GAINESVILLE REGIONAL STATISTICALLY
| GSU | USF | Category | HU | UF |
| 32-38 | 43-13 | Record | 34-24 | 52-7 |
| 14-9 | 18-3 | Conference Record | 16-2 | 18-6 |
| .225 | .255 | Batting Average | .290 | .286 |
| 1598 | 1453 | At Bats | 1588 | 1499 |
| 194 | 230 | Runs | 305 | 397 |
| 359 | 371 | Hits | 461 | 429 |
| 65 | 48 | Doubles | 85 | 80 |
| 4 | 8 | Triples | 22 | 20 |
| 36 | 44 | Home Runs | 21 | 79 |
| 175 | 209 | Runs Batted In | 255 | 350 |
| .338 | .390 | Slugging Percentage | .411 | .524 |
| 15-22 | 58-76 | Stolen Bases/Attempts | 63-78 | 100-115 |
| 157 | 157 | Walks | 165 | 293 |
| 362 | 250 | Strikeouts | 199 | 348 |
| .301 | .340 | On-Base Percentage | .370 | .422 |
| 2.46 | 1.23 | Team ERA | 3.69 | 1.78 |
| 2.22 | 3.42 | Opponent ERA | 4.00 | 6.36 |
| 5 | 12 | Saves | 7 | 6 |
| 124 | 155 | Walks | 144 | 136 |
| 380 | 494 | Strikeouts | 320 | 378 |
| .230 | .164 | Batting Average Against | .273 | .208 |
| 52 | 50 | Errors | 86 | 33 |
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