GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida softball team welcomes Georgia to Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium for a three-game Southeastern Conference series slated to start Saturday, April 8, at 4 p.m., Sunday at 7 p.m. and Monday at 7 p.m.
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Fans can follow the action between the third-ranked Gators (34-2, 10-1 SEC) and 18
th-ranked Bulldogs (27-10, 2-7 SEC) as Saturday's game will be aired on SEC Network+ via WatchESPN.com while the final two games of the series can be viewed on the SEC Network. Live audio of the series can also be found by tuning the radio dial to WGGG (92.1 FM/1230 AM) or WMOP (100.1 FM/900 AM).
Gator Notables
- Florida has only allowed 35 runs, 25 earned, through 36 games played this season. It's the fewest total runs allowed in the nation, which currently has the Gators ranked No. 1 nationally in ERA this season. Last season, Florida had allowed 34 runs, 28 earned, through 36 games.
- No. 3 Florida | 35 Runs – 25 Earned – 0.75 ERA
- No. 4 Arizona | 37 Runs – 29 Earned – 0.84 ERA
- No. 1 Florida State | 44 Runs – 32 Earned – 0.96 ERA
- No. 2 Oregon | 44 Runs – 33 Earned – 1.04 ERA
- No. 6 Texas A&M | 48 Runs – 39 Earned – 1.21 ERA
- The Gators are 11-1 this season when facing ranked opponents with their lone loss against Auburn by 1-0 decision Monday, March 27. This stretch includes six shutouts and 10 games where Florida has held ranked opponents to one run or less.
- Amanda Lorenz is still riding her 36-game reached base safely streak. The 2016 NFCA Third-Team All-American extended her streak after she produced home runs in back-to-back at-bats against North Florida this past Wednesday. Combined with reaching in all 36 games this season Lorenz also ended the 2016 season with an 18-game streak to extend that to 54 in a row.
- Kayli Kvistad continues to present opposing pitchers with the conundrum of whether or not to pitch to her. The patient Kvistad leads the nation with 45 walks and a .632 on base percentage – her respectable .429 batting average factors into that equation as well. The Lake City, Fla. native just needs four more walks to break the UF single-season record. Aja Paculba set the record with 49 walks during the 2009 season and was tied by Lauren Haeger in 2015.
Florida vs. Georgia | All-Time Series
Florida holds a 35-25 edge over Georgia in the all-time series coming into this weekend's contest in Gainesville. The Gators are 15-15 at home against the Bulldogs. UF will look to even the score this weekend since the team dropped their last two games to the Dawgs in last year's Super Regional Series.
2016 Recap & Notes – NCAA Super Regional
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May 26, 2016 | The Gators kicked off their 2016 Super Regional series against the Georgia Bulldogs with a painful loss. No. 1-ranked and two-time defending national champion Florida was downed by Georgia, pitcher Chelsea Wilkinson dealt the Gators a 3-0 defeat in their NCAA Super Regional opener.                             Â
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It was the bottom of the deep-hitting Bulldogs order that did the Gators in, with Maeve McGuire going 3-for-3 with a pair of RBI and Katie Browne knocking home another on a ground out.
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No. 16 GEORGIA (44-18) -VS-
No. 1 FLORIDA (56-6)
| Team |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
R |
H |
E |
| Georgia |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
7 |
0 |
| Florida |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
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Win: Wilkinson (26-7);
Loss: Delanie Gourley (19-4)
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DATE | 5/26/2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
START | 7:01 pm           Â
TIME | 2:10 Â Â Â Â Â Â
ATTENDANCE | 2084 Â Â Â Â
SITE | Gainesville, Fla. (KSP
May 27, 2016 | In heartbreaking fashion, Georgia pinch hitter Kaylee Puailoa sent a two-run walk-off homer over the centerfield fence with two down in the bottom of the seventh to send the No. 16 seed Georgia Bulldogs (45-18) to their third WCWS. UGA defeated Florida 3-2 on Friday evening in front of a sellout crowd (2,041) at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.                                                                              Â
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A solo home run in the bottom of the second for Georgia senior catcher Katie Browne put the first run of the game on the board for UGA, but Florida countered in the fifth to go up 2-1.                                                           Â
Florida moved to 15-5 all-time in Super Regional play and 72-35 in NCAA Tournament Play.
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Notes (5/27/16):
- Florida's senior class of Taylore Fuller, Kirsti Merritt, Aubree Munro, Taylor Schwarz and Kelsey Stewart cap their careers as the second-winningest class in program history (229-35; .867)Florida clinched its first SEC Championship during a home series for the first time since 1998.
- Tim Walton became the 39th coach in collegiate history to win 700 games in his career. Walton will enter the 2017 season with 730 wins
- Florida's home crowd flourished in 2016, as 2,000+ fans took in a Gator softball game at KSP on seven different occasions
No. 1 FLORIDA (56-7) -VS-
No. 16 GEORGIA (45-18)
| Team |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
R |
H |
E |
| Florida |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
| Georgia |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
0 |
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Win: Wilkinson (26-7);Â
Loss: Aleshia Ocasio (22-1)
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DATE | 5/27/2016 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
START | 5:01 pm            Â
TIME | 1:56Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
ATTENDANCE | 2,041Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
SITE | Gainesville, Fla. (KSP Stadium)
Bulldog Notables
- Georgia currently sits ninth in the SEC standings with a 2-7 record. On the season overall, the team is 27-10 and have lost their last three games as Auburn swept the Bulldogs in Athens this past weekend. Game one Georgia lost 7-5, game two they lost 13-4 and game three they lost 4-3.
- Georgia leads the SEC in team batting, in 37 games and 960 at bats, the team has a .358 batting average, 240 runs, 344 hits and 20 home runs.
- Lacey Sumerlin leads the team with 33 runs and 60 hits. Sumerlin ranks fourth in conference play with a batting average of .435 with 23 at bats, 10 hits, five runs scored and one homerun. Two weeks ago, Sumerlin earned SEC player of the week. She earned the honor after playing Kentucky and having a .800 average, 1.800 slugging percentage and a .909 on base percentage during the series.
- Three weeks ago, Ciara Bryan was named SEC Freshman player of the week. She had a .450 batting average that weekend when the team went 5-0. On the season overall she has a .405 batting average with 79 at bats, 20 runs scored and 32 hits.
- Cortni Emanuel ranks second in the Bulldogs offense with an overall .421 batting average. She has accumulated 31 runs and 48 hits throughout the season. In conference play, Emanuel has a batting average of .387.
- Sydni Emanuel who has a .476 average at the plate on the season is the team's leading batter overall, but fourth in SEC play. The batter was helpful at the plate with an average of .475 in the first game and a .492 average in game three. Emanuel was perfect at bat in the third game, and she tied her career high with four hits.
- Brittany Gray is the team's leading pitcher. She has a 1.72 ERA and a 17-6 record. She has allowed 83 hits and 48 runs in 2017.
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