No. 1 Florida Continues California Road Trip with Six Games in Four Days
Wednesday, March 4, 2015 | Softball
Brea, Calif. – The No. 1-ranked Gator Softball team (21-0) will conclude a nine-day, 11-game road trip to California with a midweek game at Long Beach State, followed by five games at the Judi Garman Classic. Hosted by Cal State Fullerton, the tournament will match Florida up with three top-15 foes, including the Nos. 2 and 3 teams in the country.
Below is Florida's full schedule for the week (all times Eastern):
Wednesday:
5 p.m. at Long Beach State
Judi Garman Classic (Fullerton, Calif.)
Thursday:
4:30 p.m. vs. No. 3/2 Michigan, 7 p.m. vs. San Jose State
Friday:
1 p.m. vs. No. 13/12 Arizona, 6 p.m. vs. No. 2/3 Oregon
Saturday:
3 p.m. vs. Fresno State
GATOR BITES: Quick Hits About the Gators
· The Gators have won their first 21 games by a combined margin of 167-20, including 11 shutouts and 10 mercy-rule victories.
· Delanie Gourley is the reigning NFCA National Pitcher of the Week and Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Week.
· 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.
· 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.
· Aleshia Ocasio is the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week.
· 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 victory over the Knights marked the St. Cloud, Fla., native's second over a ranked opponent (also: Feb. 7 vs. Michigan).
· The right-hander also saved Haeger's win over Cal Poly on Friday with three scoreless innings.
· Bailey Castro leads Florida with 20 runs scored on the year, which puts in her in a tie with the Gators' opponents.
· Kelsey Stewart has three triples this year, while UF opponents have one.
· Lauren Haeger (six), Castro (five) and Taylore Fuller (five) all have as many or more home runs than the UF pitching staff has allowed.
· UF hitters have struck out 78 times on the year; Each of the Gators' three pitchers has 50+ strikeouts (Haeger - 68, Ocasio - 62, Gourley - 58).
· 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 set the UF mark for hit-by-pitches.
SETTING THE STAGE: LONG BEACH STATE & JUDI GARMAN CLASSIC
· Florida's trip to the Golden State represents a homecoming for nine members of the Gator Softball family.
· The Gators are a combined 20-18 all-time against their weekend opponents.
· Friday's matchup with Oregon will mark the fifth game between the Gators and Ducks since the start of the 2013 season.
· UF has won seven consecutive meetings with UO dating back to 2007.
· The Orange and Blue have won three straight against Arizona and five of six vs. Michigan.
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
In the Polls: NFCA | USA Softball
