No. 1 Florida Begins California Road Trip at San Diego Classic I
Thursday, February 26, 2015 | Softball
Gainesville, Fla. – The No. 1-ranked Gator Softball team (17-0) will begin a nine-day, 11-game road trip to California this weekend at the San Diego Classic I, hosted jointly by the University of San Diego and San Diego State University. Florida will play two games on Friday and Saturday and one game on Sunday. Highlights of the weekend include a matchup with No. 2 Oregon in Friday's opener and games against the tournament hosts on Saturday and Sunday.
Below is Florida's full tournament schedule (all times Eastern):
Friday (at SDSU):
2:30 p.m. vs. Oregon, 5 p.m. vs. Cal Poly
Saturday (at USD):
Noon vs. UC Davis, 5 p.m. at San Diego
Sunday (at SDSU):
2:30 p.m. at San Diego State
GATOR BITES: Quick Hits About the Gators
· The Gators have won their first 17 games by a combined margin of 141-19, including seven shutouts and eight mercy-rule victories.
· Kayli Kvistad is the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week.
· The Lake City native recorded her first multi-homer game in Sunday's tournament finale against Mercer, marking the first multi-homer game by a Florida freshman since Taylor Schwarz hit two home runs against Georgia on May 11, 2013, at the SEC Tournament.
· Despite ranking eighth on the team with 26 at-bats, Kvistad is second on the team in RBI and tied for second in home runs.
· Florida's top three hits producers (Kelsey Stewart - 19, Lauren Haeger - 18, Taylor Schwarz - 13) have combined for 50 hits on the season, which equals the number of hits the Gator pitching staff has allowed on the season.
· Haeger (24) and Kvistad (17) have as many or more RBI by themselves than UF's opponents (16).
· UF hitters have struck out 60 times on the year; each of the Gators' three pitchers has 40+ strikeouts (Haeger - 61, Aleshia Ocasio - 49. Delanie Gourley - 45).
· 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 tied the UF mark for hit-by-pitches.
· Little enjoyed a career game in the first game of Sunday's doubleheader against Mercer, posting school records with three home runs and nine RBI.
· The senior outfielder had a chance for a “home run cycle,” recording a two-run homer, a grand slam and a three-run shot in her first three at-bats; however, the Bears elected to walk her in her fourth and final plate appearance.
SETTING THE STAGE: San Diego Classic I
· Florida's road trip to the Golden State will represent a homecoming for nine members of the Gator Softball family.
o Six UF players hail from California.
o In addition, Head Coach Tim Walton and Assistant Coaches Jennifer Rocha and Kenny Gajewski all attended junior college in California.
· The Gators are a combined 11-2 all-time against their weekend opponents; no current Gator has faced any of the five teams besides Oregon.
· Friday's matchup with Oregon will mark the fourth game between the Gators and Ducks since the start of the 2013 season.
· UF has won six consecutive meetings with UO dating back to 2007.
· Kelsey Stewart leads the Orange and Blue with a .500 (4x8) career average against Oregon, while Bailey Castro and Lauren Haeger both have hit home runs against the Ducks. None of the Gators' three pitchers has appeared in the circle against UO.
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 call play-by-play during the trip to California, while former Gator All-American Megan Bush will serve as the analyst.
LIVE STATS
Live stats links for select games can be found on the Gators' schedule page.
FOLLOW THE GATORS
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