Gourley, Ocasio Earn SEC Weekly Honors
Monday, March 2, 2015 | Softball
Birmingham, Ala. – After the Gators went 5-0 and earned wins over two ranked opponents last week, southpaw Delanie Gourley was named Southeastern Conference (SEC) Pitcher of the Week, while Aleshia Ocasio garnered SEC Freshman of the Week recognition. The accolades mark the third and fourth SEC weekly awards for the Gators, following Lauren Haeger's selection as Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 16 and Kayli Kvistad's Freshman of the Week honor on Feb. 23.
Gourley went 2-0 last week with wins over No. 2 Oregon and UC Davis at the San Diego Classic I, just 20 miles from her hometown of Lakeside, Calif. The sophomore allowed just three hits over 11.0 scoreless innings with one walk and 13 strikeouts in the two games. On Friday, Gourley's two-hit shutout against the Ducks led Florida to its seventh consecutive win in the series dating back to 2007. The win was her sixth against a ranked opponent and her third against a top-five team.
Ocasio compiled a 2-0 record with a save last week, defeating No. 15 UCF on Wednesday and tournament co-host San Diego on Saturday. The right-hander also saved Haeger's win over Cal Poly on Friday with three scoreless innings. The victory over the Knights marked the St. Cloud, Fla., native's second win over a ranked opponent (also: Feb. 7 vs. Michigan).
The Gators are back in action on Wednesday, when they will visit Long Beach State for a midweek contest that begins at 5 p.m. EST. UF will begin play the following day at the Judi Garman Classic. The Orange and Blue are scheduled to face No. 3 Michigan and San Jose State on Thursday, No. 15/14 Arizona and No. 2 Oregon on Friday and Fresno State on Saturday.
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