GAINESVILLE, Fla.  –  No. 3 Florida travels to No. 15 Missouri for another premier Southeastern Conference series this Friday through Sunday. UF will take on the Tigers Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 11 a.m. on the SEC Network+, while Saturday's game at 4 p.m. will air on the SEC Network.
The Gators (35-7, 14-4 SEC) currently sit in second place in the current SEC standings, while the Tigers (34-11, 12-6 SEC) rank third. The two programs are right in the middle of an extremely tight race for the 2021 SEC Regular Season Title. Arkansas (38-7, 17-4) currently leads the race and holds a one game lead over the Gators, a 2.5 game lead over Missouri and a three-game lead over Alabama (36-7, 12-6 SEC).
Historically, Florida and Alabama have captured the regular season crown ever year since 2008, with the Gators claiming the title in 2008, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
This past weekend, the Gators claimed their sixth SEC series of the season after the program won two of the three games against South Carolina. The program has won all six series matchups this season.
Senior
Natalie Lugo was a big part of Gators success against the Gamecocks as she turned in back-to-back quality starts in games two and three of the series. The West Covina, Calif. native picked up wins in both appearances and held South Carolina to just one run in 12 2/3 innings pitched, which helped propel her to being named this week's SEC Co-Pitcher of the Week.
Lugo currently leads the SEC in ERA with a 1.02 mark in conference only action and also holds a 7-1 record.
Missouri comes into the weekend after it took the series at Arkansas this past weekend. Offensively, the Tigers lead the SEC in team batting average with a .337 mark, while the Gators come in ranked first in the league with an overall 1.49 ERA.
Leading the way for the Tigers at the plate is Abby George (.468) and Jenna Laird (.433), while five additional batters in the lineup are hitting over .300 on the season. In the circle, Missouri has spread out the innings evenly among four of its five available pitchers. Jordan Weber leads the staff in innings pitched (73.1 IP) and sports a 3.53 ERA, while Emma Nichols (2.56 ERA), Megan Schumacher (2.63 ERA) and Laurin Krings (4.03 ERA) each have at least 63 innings pitched.
Historically, the two programs have only met 16 total times with UF holding the edge in the all-time series 12-4 and have won the last five meetings. In addition, the two programs have not met each other on the diamond since 2018. Florida faced Missouri to conclude the regular season in Columbia, Mo. and swept the series prior to the making a title run in the SEC Tournament that following week.
FOLLOW THE GATORS
FloridaGators.com
Florida Softball on Twitter
Head Coach Tim Walton on Twitter
Florida Softball on Facebook
