Florida Hosts UNF in Midweek Clash
Tuesday, March 31, 2015 | Softball
Gainesville, Fla. – The third-ranked Gator Softball team (32-4) will face in-state opponent UNF in a midweek game on Wednesday at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. Florida has won all five of the teams' previous meetings, although the schools have not played since 2010. The contest will mark the 200th all-time game for the Orange and Blue against a team from the state of Florida.
QUICKLY: Florida Team Notes
· Florida took two of three games at Mississippi State last weekend, marking UF's second consecutive road series victory.
· Wednesday's game is the first of 12 home games for the Orange and Blue in the month of April. The Gators played just three games at KSP Stadium in March.
· The Gators will step out of conference play for first time since March 7. Florida is unbeaten in 27 nonconference games this year and has won 67 of 70 nonleague games dating back to the start of 2014.
· The pitching trio of Delanie Gourley, Lauren Haeger and Aleshia Ocasio holds the highest per-game strikeout rate in the Southeastern Conference.
GATOR BITES: Florida Player Notes
· Kelsey Stewart (15) and Kirsti Merritt (13) both have more stolen bases than the Gators have allowed (10).
· Stewart holds the highest batting average in UF history (min. 200 AB) and has set the Gator records for career triples and stolen bases.
· Haeger has established a new UF mark for RBI.
· The Arizona native is closing in on the school record for career home runs.
· Merritt has set the UF marks for hit-by-pitches in a season and a career.
SETTING THE STAGE: UNF
· Florida leads the all-time series, 5-0.
· All meetings between the Gators and Ospreys have taken place in Gainesville.
· UNF has never scored a run against the Gators.
· Of the 11 in-state opponents Florida has played in program history, the Gators are unbeaten against three (also: Florida A&M, Jacksonville).
· Florida went 10-1 last season against Sunshine State foes, and has won its first four such games this year.
· Wednesday's game is the first of four midweek contests for Florida against in-state teams in the month of April.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Subscribers can view the Florida-UNF game on SEC Network+ via WatchESPN. Adam Schick and former Gator All-American Megan Bush will be on the call.
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 for the UF-UNF contest.
LIVE STATS
A live stats link for Wednesday's game can be found on the Gators' schedule page.
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