Florida Gators softball weekend preview for Orlando tournament

The No. 1 ranked Florida Gators softball team will take its 6-0 record on the road to Orlando, Florida this weekend, where they will play at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports.

The Gators will participate in the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic, where they play five games in three days against five different opponents.

Joining Florida in Orlando will be UAB, Stephen F. Austin, Omaha, Elon and Jacksonville State.

Here’s the schedule for this weekend’s game.
#1 Florida vs. UAB on Friday at 3:30 P.M
#1 Florida vs. Stephen F. Austin on Friday at 5:45 P.M
#1 Florida vs. Omaha on Saturday at 1:15 P.M
#1 Florida vs. Elon on Saturday at 3:30 P.M
#1 Florida vs. Jacksonville on Sunday at 12:15 P.M

That’s a look at this weekend’s games, but let’s dig a little deeper into this weekend’s opponents in our scouting report. Here’s a quick scouting report on the Florida Gators softball team as well.

Scouting the Florida Gators

The Gators have outscored their opponents 54-1 during the current six game-winning streak to start the season. Third basemen Taylore Fuller is the Gators leading hitter with a .538 average and five RBI’s, but has an on-base percentage of .714. Freshman Amanda Lorenz is also on a tear at the plate as she’s hitting .533 this year. Lorenz has nine RBI’s and has scored 12 runs this year.

In the circle all three Gators pitchers are 2-0 as Delanie Gourley has a 0.00 ERA, Aleshia Ocasio fresh off of a no-hitter has 0.00 ERA and freshman Kelly Barnhill has a 0.58 ERA this year. Look for all three girls to pitch this weekend during the five game tournament.

Scouting the UAB Blazers

UAB heads to Orlando with a 1-5 record on the year that includes three losses to top 25 opponents this year. UAB fell to Alabama on Tuesday night by a score of 7-0 on the road.

At the plate JoJo Fallen is leading the Blazers with a .438 batting average and has one RBI and has score twice this year. Fallen has a team best .526 on-base percentage this year. UAB as a team is only .229 this year with just one home run on the season.

In the circle Madison Hir has a team best 2.47 ERA but has a record of 1-2 in three games started this year. She has a .256 batting average against her while Megan Smith has been in five games and has a 7.18 ERA against her.

Florida last played UAB in 2012 in the Gainesville Super Regional tournament where the Gators swept UAB.

Scouting the Stephen F. Austin Lady Jacks

The Lady Jacks enter the tournament with a record of 3-2 but are coming off an 11-0 defeat at the hands of Florida State. Stephen F. Austin went 3-1 in a tournament at Louisiana-Monroe over the weekend.

At the plate Lindsay Campbell who is hitting .400 on the year with a .400 on-base percentage leads Stephen F. Austin. Brittany Lewis has the lone home run for the Lady Jacks this year and she also leads the team with eight RBI’s. As a team Stephen F. Austin is hitting .244 on the year.

In the circle Callee Guffey is the best pitcher for the Lady Jacks and she already has a complete game shutout under her belt this year. Brittany Lewis is 2-0 on the year and has a 3.38 ERA in three appearances this year.

This is the first meeting between the Lady Jacks and the Gators.

Scouting Elon Phoenix

Elon enters the tournament with a 3-2 record with boss of its losses coming at the hands of #12 Georgia. Elon was in the Athens, Georgia tournament last weekend where they went 2-2.

At the plate Kara Shutt leads Elon with a .647 batting average through five games. Shutt has eight RBI’s and has an on-base percentage of .667. Alaina Hall has two home runs already and that resulted in 10 RBI’s.

Kayla Caruso has strated three games for the Phoenix this year and is 2-1 with a 6.22 ERA while giving up just one home run. Opponents are hitting .282 off of her this year. As a pitching staff Elon has a 6.13 ERA and opponents are hitting .280 this year against them.

This is the first ever meeting between Florida and Elon in softball.

Scouting Omaha Mavericks

The Mavericks enter the weekend with a 3-2 record including a win over Purdue in Tucson, Arizona last weekend.

Sydney Hames is leading Omaha in hitting this year with a .500 average through five games. Hames has hit three home runs and drive in nine runs already. As a team Omaha has 11 home runs including Nicole Warren who also has three home runs. The Mavericks are hitting .281 as a team with an on-base percentage of .344.

In the circle Omaha is led by Laura Roecker who is 1-0 in three games started with a 9.98 ERA and she has given up four home runs. As a team Omaha has a 10.97 ERA and has given up eight home runs and 10 doubles.

This is the first ever meeting between Florida and Omaha in softball.

Scouting Jacksonville State Gamecocks

The Gamecocks enter the tournament with a 2-2 record on the year as they split a tournament in Savannah, Georgia last weekend.

Jacksonville State comes into the weekend hitting .310 on the year with three home runs and an on-base percentage of .422. Taylor Sloan is the leading hitter for JSU as she’s hitting .638 through four games and four RBI’s already.

In the circle Kirsten Titus has the best ERA on the team with a 1.50 ERA in two games pitched but is just 0-1 on the year. Taylor West is 1-0 through three appearances and has a 3.41 ERA on the year.

Florida hasn’t played Jacksonville State since 2001 when they defeated the Gamecocks.

Stay tuned to GatorCountry.com all weekend for updates on the Gators softball team.

Andrew Spivey
Andrew always knew he wanted to be involved with sports in some capacity. He began by coaching high school football for six years before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. While coaching, he was a part of two state semifinal teams in the state of Alabama. Given his past coaching experience, he figured covering recruiting would be a perfect fit. He began his career as an intern for Rivals.com, covering University of Florida football recruiting. After interning with Rivals for six months, he joined the Gator Country family as a recruiting analyst. Andrew enjoys spending his free time on the golf course and watching his beloved Atlanta Braves. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewSpiveyGC.