No. 1 Seed Florida Hosts NCAA Gainesville Regional
Friday, May 15, 2015 | Softball
NCAA Gainesville Regional Central
Photo Gallery: Thursday Practice
Gainesville, Fla. – The top-seeded and Southeastern Conference champion Florida Softball team (50-6) will host an NCAA Regional this weekend at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. 2015 marks the 13th consecutive season that UF has hosted on the NCAA Tournament's first weekend, and the third time that the Gators have been seeded No. 1 overall (also: 2008, 2009).
Game Schedule (all times Eastern):
Friday, May 15
· Hofstra vs. Florida Atlantic, 3:30 p.m.
· Florida vs. Florida A&M, 6 p.m.
Saturday, May 16
· Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 1 p.m.
· Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 3:30 p.m.
· Loser Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 6 p.m.
Sunday, May 17
· Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5, 1 p.m.
· Game 7 (if necessary), 3:30 p.m.
QUICKLY: UF TEAM NOTES
· The Gators are 18-2 in their last 20 games dating back to April 1; the stretch includes 12 victories over ranked teams and five nonconference wins.
· The Orange and Blue are one of two teams in the nation to win 50 games before the NCAA Tournament (also: Michigan, 51-6).
· Florida paces the country in fielding percentage (.981), while ranking among the national leaders in win percentage (2nd, .893), and ERA (8th, 1.84).
GATOR BITES: UF PLAYER NOTES
· SEC Pitcher of the Year Lauren Haeger won her first 24 decisions, marking the best start to a season in school history.
· The Arizona native is the first player in NCAA Division I history to hit 60 career home runs and record 60 career pitching wins.
· Haeger holds the Gator career records for home runs (also the SEC record), walks and RBI.
· SEC Player of the Year Kelsey Stewart holds the highest batting average in UF history (min. 200 AB) and has set the Gator records for career hits, triples and stolen bases.
· Haeger and Stewart are among10 finalists for the USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year.
SETTING THE STAGE: NCAA REGIONAL
· The Gators are 59-32 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including a 29-18 record in Regionals.
· During Tim Walton's tenure as head coach, UF is 54-20 in NCAA play and 24-6 in Regionals.
· The Orange and Blue have not faced any of their Regional opponents this season.
· Florida is 27-5 all-time against its three weekend foes (12-0 vs. Florida A&M, 7-5 vs. Florida Atlantic, 8-0 vs. Hofstra).
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Live video of every game of the Gainesville Regional will be streamed online via ESPN3. Jonathan Yardley (play-by-play) and 1996 National Player of the Year and four-time national champion Jenny Dalton-Hill (analysis) will call the games.
Florida Sports Talk will have the radio broadcasts for all Florida games, with Adam Schick (play-by-play) and former Gator All-American Megan Bush (analysis) as the announce team.
LIVE STATS
GameTracker links for all games of the NCAA Gainesville Regional can be found on the Gators' schedule page. In addition, video links, box scores and postgame quotes for every game of the tournament will be available on the Regional Central page.
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