Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 2- ranked University of Florida softball team will square off with USF for the second time this season and 58th time in program history on Wednesday at 6 p.m. inside at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.

The contest will be aired for viewing on the SEC Network + via WatchESPN.com and will also be carried via radio on WGGG (92.1 FM/1230 AM) & WMOP (100.1 FM/900 AM) as Adam Schick and Kelsey Horton will have the call.

The Gators (26-1, 5-0 SEC) enter the contest after the team accomplished a series sweep over South Carolina March 17-19, in Columbia S.C. In the three-game series, the UF offense scored 29 runs and the pitching limited the Gamecocks to one unearned run. Florida has not allowed an earned run in 37-straight innings.

FLORIDA NOTABLES

• Senior Delanie Gourley earned her second SEC Pitcher of the Week award of the season Tuesday, March 21, for her pair of performances in Columbia, S.C. against the Gamecocks. It is her fourth SEC Pitcher of the Week honor of her career.
• Nicole DeWitt is coming off a stellar weekend at the plate for the Gators as she led the team with a .600 average (6-for-10) at the plate. The Garden Grove, Calif. native scored 10 runs and recorded eight RBIs for her efforts that included a pair of doubles and home runs. DeWitt also notched her fifth SAC fly of the season and now ranks second nationally in the category.
• In the storied history of Florida softball that dates back to 1997, the program has amassed a record of 995-376 (.726).
• The trio of Amanda Lorenz, Kayli Kvistad and Sophia Reynoso have each reached base in 25+ games this season. Lorenz and Kvistad have reached base in all 27 games while Reynoso has reached in 25 of the 27. Lorenz also has an 18-game reached base streak that carried over from the end of the 2016 season.
• The Gators have totaled 18 shutouts so far this season, which ranks as second most in the SEC. Alabama is the only team to have shut out more opponents this season as they have done so 19 times.
• Florida enters this week with the NCAA's best fielding defense (.991) and pitching ERA (0.56). Sophomore Kelly Barnhill paces the Gators pitching staff and sits second nationally with a 0.23 ERA.

 
ALL-TIME SERIES
Florida holds a commanding 44-13 edge over USF in the all-time series coming into tomorrow's contest at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. Along with that, the Gators are 21-9 at home against the Bulls and are currently riding an 11-game win streak that dates back to Feb. 27, 2013. The last time USF ousted UF was at home in Gainesville was May 20, 2012 in the final game of the Gainesville NCAA Regional.

The Bulls took the game 1-0 and ended the Gators season on a run scored in the top of the fourth inning by pinch runner Stephanie Juergens on Kenshyra Jackson's RBI single.

LAST MEETING – FEB. 12, 2017 – USF WILSON-DeMARINI TOURNAMENT – TAMPA, Fla.
The Gators have already faced the Bulls once this season as the two teams squared off in the final game of opening weekend at the 2017 USF Wilson-DeMarini Tournament. Sophomore hurler Kelly Barnhill was nearly perfect as she only allowed one hit and struck out 12 of the 19 batters faced without allowing a single walk on the day.

Offensively, Florida scored in bunches as sophomore outfielder Amanda Lorenz led the charge with a career-high five RBIs in the game thanks to a pair of extra base hits, a three-run home run in the third and a two RBI double in the fourth.

A total of three home runs were hit in the game as redshirt-freshman cranked her first career home run and junior Nicole DeWitt blasted a two-run long ball, both of which came in the sixth inning of play.

SCOUTING THE BULLS

• Sam Worell sits sixth in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) for slugging percentage with a .562 average. Worell is also sixth in the conference for home runs with a total of six on the season. Sam is this week's AAC player of the week because of her weekend filled with eight hits, four being homeruns and a 1.111 batting average.
• Bethaney Keen places sixth in the conference for RBIs with 18. Keen ranks first in the AAC for hit by pitches with six on the season. Keen ranks first in the conference for total plate appearances with 125, and the most at bats with 109.
• Kalen "JoJo" McGill is in sixth place in the AAC for earned run average with 2.46 runs. McGill is in 10th place for innings pitched this season with 57.0 innings. She is tied for seventh for batters struck out with 50 on the season. She went 4-0 last weekend and pitched over 20.1 innings. She did not allow a walk in during the weekend and only allowed seven runs, four were earned. McGill leads the Bulls, and is 4th in their conference, in number of wins for a pitcher with seven. 

 
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