WCWS Berth at Stake as No. 1 Seed Florida Hosts SEC Rival Kentucky
Friday, May 22, 2015 | Softball
Florida NCAA Super Regional Notes
NCAA Gainesville Super Regional Central
PHOTO GALLERY: Friday Practice
Gainesville, Fla. – The top-seeded and Southeastern Conference champion Florida Softball team (53-6, 18-5 SEC) will host Southeastern Conference opponent Kentucky (32-24, 5-19 SEC) in an NCAA Super Regional this weekend at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. Game times (all Eastern) are 1 p.m. on Saturday and noon and 3 p.m. (if necessary) on Sunday. The three-game series will mark the teams' first NCAA Tournament meeting, with the winner advancing to Oklahoma City for the Women's College World Series.
QUICKLY: UF TEAM NOTES
· The Gators are 21-2 since April 1; the stretch includes 12 victories over ranked teams and eight nonconference wins.
· Florida is poised to set a school record for on-base percentage, as their .445 mark is six points ahead of last year's standard.
GATOR BITES: UF PLAYER NOTES
· SEC Pitcher of the Year Lauren Haeger is the first player in NCAA Division I history to hit 60 career home runs and record 60 career pitching wins.
· The Arizona native won her first 24 decisions, marking the best start to a season in school history.
· Haeger holds the Gator career records for home runs (also the SEC record), walks and RBI.
· The senior is one of three finalists for the USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year.
· 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.
· Bailey Castro carries a .777 slugging percentage on the season, which ranks second in school annals (min. 100 AB; Brittany Schutte, .780 - 2011).
· The Pembroke Pines, Fla., native leads the Gators with a .546 on-base percentage, which would shatter the school record (Michelle Moultrie, .519, 2011).
· All-SEC and NFCA All-Southeast Region First Team selection Kirsti Merritt has set career bests this year in hitting, doubles, slugging and on-base percentage.
· All-Region First Team and SEC All-Freshman Team choice Aleshia Ocasio stands third in the UF freshman record book with 17 wins and third among first-year Gators with 152 strikeouts.
SETTING THE STAGE: NCAA SUPER REGIONAL
· The Gators are 62-32 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including a 13-3 record in Super Regionals.
· During Tim Walton's tenure as head coach, UF is 57-20 in NCAA play and 13-3 in Super Regionals.
· The Orange and Blue have won all six Super Regionals they have played at home.
· UF is 12-1 all-time in Super Regional games at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
· Florida swept a three-game series against Kentucky April 11-13 in Gainesville.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Saturday's game will air on ESPNU, and ESPN will carry Sunday's action. Mark Neely and four-time national champion Jenny Dalton-Hill will call the series.
Florida Sports Talk will have the radio broadcasts, with Adam Schick (play-by-play) and former Gator All-American Megan Bush (analysis) as the announce team.
LIVE STATS
Gametracker links can be found on the Gators' schedule page. In addition, video links, box scores and postgame quotes for every game of the series will be available on the Super Regional Central page.
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