Gators Face Tennessee Thursday to Open WCWS
Wednesday, May 27, 2015 | Softball
Florida vs. Tennessee Game Notes
Women's College World Series Central
OKLAHOMA CITY – The top-seeded, 2014 national champion and 2015 Southeastern Conference champion Florida Softball team (55-6, 18-5 SEC) will meet league rival Tennessee (47-15, 15-9 SEC) in the first game of the Women's College World Series at noon ET on Thursday at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium. The matchup marks the teams' second all-time meeting in Oklahoma City (also: 5/30/13 - UT, 9-2).
QUICKLY: UF TEAM NOTES
· Florida is 17-11 all-time at the WCWS.
· The Gators are 23-2 since April 1; the stretch includes 14 victories over ranked teams and 10 nonconference wins.
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 (68 - also the SEC record), walks (169) and RBI (253).
· 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 (.420 - min. 200 AB) and has set the Gator records for career hits (287), triples (26) and stolen bases (95).
· Bailey Castro carries a .752 slugging percentage on the season, which ranks third in school annals (min. 100 AB; Brittany Schutte, .780 - 2010; Kelsey Bruder, .764, 2011).
· The Pembroke Pines, Fla., native leads the Gators with a .539 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 (.331), doubles (12), slugging (.603) and on-base percentage (.509).
· 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: WOMEN'S COLLEGE WORLD SERIES
· The Gators are 64-32 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
· During Tim Walton's tenure as head coach, UF is 59-20 in NCAA play and 17-11 at the WCWS.
· The Orange and Blue have advanced to the WCWS Championship Series three times (2009, 2011, 2014), winning the program's first NCAA title and Florida's 33rd overall national championship in 2014.
· UF is 150-122 (.551) all-time against the 2015 WCWS field.
· Florida has faced five of the seven other WCWS teams this season, compiling a 7-4 record in those contests.
o The Gators played Tennessee in the SEC Tournament Semifinals on May 8, falling by a 2-1 score.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Thursday's game will air on ESPN with Adam Amin (play-by-play), former Texas A&M All-American Amanda Scarborough (analysis) and Laura Rutledge (reporting) on the call.
Florida Sports Talk will have the radio broadcast, with Adam Schick (play-by-play) and former Gator All-American Megan Bush (analysis) as the announce team.
LIVE STATS
A Gametracker link can be found on the Gators' schedule page. In addition, video links, box scores and postgame quotes for every Gators game in Oklahoma City will be available on the WCWS Central page.
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