GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 5 Florida sets its sights on a premier Southeastern Conference series with No. 20 Georgia in Athens, Ga. this Saturday through Monday. UF and UGA starts the series Saturday at 8 p.m. on ESPN, then will finish the series Sunday at 3 p.m. and Monday at 7 p.m. on the SEC Network with Eric Frede and Amanda Scarborough on the call. Kyle Crooks and Ryan Urquhart will also have the radio call all weekend on ESPN 98.1 FM/850 AM WRUF.
The Gators (25-3, 8-1 SEC) enter the series after a 5-1 midweek victory on the road at Jacksonville. UF drew a season-high 10 walks in the victor, while senior
Hannah Adams turned in a 3-for-3 performance at the plate with a two-run home run. The Bulldogs (22-5, 3-3 SEC) come into the weekend series after having a midweek contest against the Furman Paladins postponed and a series loss (4-6, 3-1 & 2-3) to Ole Miss the prior weekend.
Historically, UF holds the advantage in the all-time series 40-27 and 18-9 when playing at Jack Turner Stadium and this will be the first time the two programs will meet since the 2018 NCAA Women's College World Series. Florida defeated Georgia 11-3 (5) in Oklahoma City, but UGA took the last series the two programs played earlier that year in Athens.
This season the two squads enter the weekend with similar statistics in that both pitching staffs rank inside the Top 10 nationally in ERA as Florida ranks eighth with a 1.38 ERA and Georgia ranks ninth with a 1.40 ERA.
Elizabeth Hightower (12-1) and
Natalie Lugo (7-1) have anchored the Gators staff with a 1.07 and 1.61 ERA respectively, while Mary Wilson Avant (11-2) has carried the load for the Bulldogs with a 1.34 ERA over 83.1 innings pitched.
Offensively,
Hannah Adams continues to set the tone for the Florida offense with a .472 (42-of-89) average at the plate and is accompanied by
Cheyenne Lindsey (.390),
Charla Echols (.373) and
Kendyl Lindaman (.333) as hitter with a .300-plus average.
Jaimie Hoover (.299) and
Julia Cottrill (.295) have come on as of late to provide additional support to the group and just this past week Cottrill was named SEC Co-Newcomer of the Week.
Cottrill earned the title after she notched multi-hit performances in three of the four games played for the Gators and crushed her first collegiate home run in the March 26, series opening win over LSU.
Lacey Fincher is the catalyst for Georgia at the plate as she holds a team-best batting average of .433 (29-of-67) and is accompanied by Jayda Kearney (.328), Sydney Chambley (.320), Sydney Kuma (.315) and Jaiden Fields (.358). Fincher also leads the Bulldogs in RBI (25), home runs (10) and doubles (5).
Notable Notes:
- Florida holds the all-time series lead 40-27 over Georgia and 19-8 when play at Jack Turner Stadium.
- Hannah Adams, Jaimie Hoover, Katie Chronister and Jordan Matthews are the only four Gators on the current roster have played against the Bulldogs.
- Adams enters this weekend's series with a 13-game hit-streak, which is tied for seventh all-time with Aja Paculba (Feb. 12 – March 4, 2011) and Jenny Gladding (April 18 – May 9, 2003).
- Adams has hit in all but four games played this season and has reached base safely in all but two games.
- Cottrill joins Adams with a seven-game hit-streak and Lindsey enters with a four-game hit streak.
- Florida has four shutouts in nine SEC games played this season, which is the most by any team in league play. Elizabeth Hightower leads the league in complete-game shutouts in SEC play with three so far this year.
- Florida and Georgia hold the two best team batting averages in SEC play with the Gators holding a .310 average and the Bulldogs check in with a .282 average at the plate.
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