Gators Travel to Jacksonville for Midweek Clash with JU
Tuesday, February 10, 2015 | Softball
Gainesville, Fla. – The top-ranked Gator Softball team will travel north to Jacksonville on Wednesday to meet in-state rival Jacksonville University for the second time in three games.
GATOR BITES
· Florida earned five victories on the season's opening weekend at the USF Softball Classic in Tampa.
· The Gators outscored their first five opponents 46-6, including a 9-0 (5 innings) win on Sunday over the Dolphins.
· Every UF player saw action on the season's opening weekend, with 14 different players appearing in the starting lineup.
· Kirsti Merritt is off to a fast start in 2015, hitting three homers and driving in nine runs during Florida's five games in Tampa.
· Lauren Haeger showed why she is a three-time First Team All-Region selection with her performance in the circle; the senior won two games and allowed just one hit over eight shutout innings while striking out 13 batters.
· Florida's freshmen excelled in their first action, either scoring or driving in a total of 29 runs.
· A freshman has started UF's season opener each year dating back to 2010.
· Nicole DeWitt has started all five games, scoring six runs and driving in four with a .333 average.
o The Garden Grove, Calif., native also hit what appeared to be a walkoff home run Saturday against Michigan, but the blast was waived off when an illegal substitution was called against Florida.
· Aleshia Ocasio performed well in the circle and at the plate, going 2-0 with a complete game and scoring the winning run in the victory over the Wolverines, and hitting a triple in her only at-bat.
· Kayli Kvistad also made an impact at the plate, getting a pair of hits in four at-bats, including a three-run home run in Saturday's win over Illinois State.
· Janell Wheaton started four of the five games and pinch-hit in the fifth contest, rotating between first base, DP and catcher.
o The San Dimas, Calif., native is hitting .273 so far, and recorded four RBI on Opening Day to set the tone in Florida's win over Hampton.
· UF Head Coach Tim Walton has 497 wins in his nine-plus seasons at Florida.
· The Gators maintained their hold this week on the No. 1 rankings in the NFCA and USA Softball polls.
o UF widened its margins over the second-ranked teams to 13 points (USA Softball) and 16 points (NFCA).
· Kelsey Stewart has set the Gator record for career triples, and has a chance this week to break the school standard for stolen bases.
· Briana Little has “taken one for the team” 31 times in her three-plus seasons, and is closing in on the UF mark for hit-by-pitches.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
All 2015 Florida Softball games can be heard on Florida Sports Talk (1230-AM in Gainesville, 900-AM in Ocala). Corey Brooks will have the call from Jacksonville, with former Gator All-American Megan Bush providing analysis.
LIVE STATS
A live stats link for Wednesday can be found on the Gators' schedule page.
FOLLOW THE GATORS
In the Polls: NFCA | USA Softball
