Florida Gators

Game Notes
 
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. – The No. 1-ranked Gator softball team (11-0) will play five games in three days here this week at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. Florida will play two games on Thursday and Friday and one game on Saturday.
 
Florida will face UCLA, NC State, Washington, Nebraska and finishes its trip against Utah on Saturday morning. Highlights of the weekend include matchups with No. 10/11 UCLA and No. 8/9 Washington, who received one first-place vote in the most recent USA Softball/ESPN.com weekly poll.
 
Coaches' Corner
Head Coach Tim Walton:
On the seven student-athletes who are from California…
"This is one of the things we do in the recruiting process. When we're talking to individuals who are from out west, we tell them that we take this trip every year. This is not only so their families can see them play live, but it's also a chance for us to play against some great competition."
 
On Florida's opponents this week…
"This will be as challenging of a weekend as we've had in a long, long time. Just looking at the teams we play and how good they are will be a great test. The few runs that most of them give up and how many they are all capable of scoring presents a great overall test for us, not only for our offensive, but defensively as well."
 
Quick Hits

• The Gators have won their first 11 games by a combined margin of 90-4, including eight shutouts and eight mercy-rule victories. 
• Florida enters this week as one of nine teams in NCAA Division I softball who are undefeated. 
• Although UF's offense is averaging over eight runs per game, which ranks 11th in the country, it's Florida's pitching and defense that have carried the torch thus far in 2016. Florida has allowed just four runs and committed only one error through 11 games.
• The Gators currently sport the best fielding percentage (.996) and the second best earned run average in the nation (0.45). For comparison through 11 games last season, Florida had committed 10 errors in its first 11 contests and had a fielding percentage of .961. UF went on to record its best fielding percentage (.981) and committed just 33 errors which were both school records.
• Florida has not committed an error in 60 straight innings entering the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.
• Offensively, UF sits second in the country in on-base percentage (.517), 11th in scoring (8.18) and 13th in batting average (.368).
• Florida's top three run producers (Amanda Lorenz - 12, Janell Wheaton - 13, Taylore Fuller - 12) have combined for more RBI's (37) this season than the number of hits (31) the Gator pitching staff has allowed.
• Lorenz (20) and Wheaton (18) have as many total bases combined as UF's opponents (38).
• In addition to leading UF in all these categories, rookie Amanda Lorenz ranks 19th in batting average (.571),  11th in walks (11), seventh in runs (18) and eighth in on base percentage (.692) in the nation.
• Against Omaha this past weekend, Lorenz became the first Gator since Michelle Moultrie on Feb. 19, 2012 to steal 3 bases in a game.
• With a three-hit performance this past Sunday against Jacksonville State, Kelsey Stewart now has 300 hits in her career. The Wichita, Kan. native already holds the UF record and is currently the NCAA active leader by more than 50 hits.
• UF hitters have struck out 18 times on the year; each of the Gators' three pitchers has 20+ strikeouts (Aleshia Ocasio - 32, Delanie Gourley - 30, Kelly Barnhill - 20).
• Gourley is one of 11 pitchers in the country to carry a 0.00 earned run average and the junior currently ranks seventh in the nation strikeouts per game (11.1).

 
Setting the Stage: Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic

• Florida's road trip to the Golden State will represent a homecoming for nine members of the Gator Softball family, as seven UF players hail from California and Head Coach Tim Walton and assistant coach Jennifer Rocha each attended junior college in California.
• The Gators are a combined 18-18 all-time against their weekend opponents. Florida went 3-0 against NC State during the regular season last year and last saw Washington in its 2014 NCAA Super Regional matchup.
• Since Head Coach Tim Walton took the helm at Florida prior to the 2006 season, Florida has played at least five regular season games in California every year except his inaugural season as a Gator and in 2014. Overall, UF is 38-8 when playing regular season games in The Golden State. In addition, UF is 23-2 in such contests since 2011.

 
Broadcast Information
All 2016 Florida Softball games can be heard on Florida Sports Talk (WGGG-AM & WMOP-AM/FM). Joel Sebastianelli will have the call from Palm Springs, with former Gator All-American Megan Bush providing analysis. In addition, each game this week will be steamed on FloSoftball.com, but fans will need a subscription to watch Flo's web stream of each game.
 
Live Stats
Live stats links for the weekend can be found on the Gators' schedule page.
 
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