GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The No. 3-ranked University of Florida softball team returns to tournament action on the road this weekend at the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic which is held at Disney's ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex Feb. 24-26. All games for this weekend's tournament can be listened to live on WGGG (92.1 FM/1230 AM) & WMOP (100.1 FM/900 AM).
Florida (10-1) is a perfect 7-0 all-time against this year's field of opponents having outscored the group by a total of 44-7. None of the opponents in this year's field has a long standing rivalry as each has only play the Gators once or twice throughout the years.
Tickets can be purchased at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
$18 (Adults Ages 10+) $13 (Children Ages 3 to 9)
Notables:
- Sophomore Kelly Barnhill earned the Gators first SEC weekly honor of the season after her trio of performances at the Aquafina Invitational. Barnhill did not allow a run in three appearances and extended her scoreless inning streak out to 24.0 on the season. The only run allowed by Barnhill occurred against then-ranked No. 6 Michigan (Feb. 11) at the USF Wilson-DeMarini Tournament.
- Freshman Jaimie Hoover hit her second-career grand slam in seven days with a first inning shot that cleared the bases against FIU on the final day of the Aquafina Invitational. Hoover's other grand slam occurred Feb. 12 against Delaware.
- Redshirt freshman Sophia Reynoso was a home run away from hitting for the cycle this past weekend against Northwestern State. The talented shortstop hit a double in the second, a triple in the fourth and a base hit in the fifth to go perfect from the plate with three RBIs.
- Junior Aleshia Ocasio tied a KSP Stadium record with four hits against Northwestern State (Feb. 17) at the Aquafina Invitational. Ocasio finished a perfect 4-for-4 from the plate with an RBI and two runs scored in the 9-3 win over the Lady Demons.
Florida vs. Diamond 9 Citrus Classic Opponents
Fordham
| FORDHAM |
2-0 |
|
|
| Home: 1-0 |
Away: N/A |
Neutral: 1-0 |
| Date |
Location |
W/L |
Score |
| 2/16/07 |
Gainesville, Fla. |
W |
5-3 |
| 3/1/14 |
Kissimmee, Fla. |
W |
9-2 |
Overall: This will be the third meeting between the Gators and the Rams. Overall, Florida has outscored Fordham 14-5. The two of the three seniors on the roster saw action against the Rams during their last meeting in 2014. This will also be the second meeting between the two programs at the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
Last Meeting: In the opener of the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic against the Rams, freshman
Delanie Gourley (Lakeside, Calif.) pitched a complete game to improve to 6-0 on the season. The lefty allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits over seven innings with one walk and eight strikeouts. Sophomore outfielder
Kirsti Merritt (Lake Panasoffkee, Fla.) provided an offensive spark for the Gators with a pair of two-run home runs, and junior Lauren Haeger (Peoria, Ariz.) slugged a solo shot. The Orange and Blue tallied four extra-base hits in the game, as sophomore second baseman
Kelsey Stewart (Wichita, Kan.) added a triple.
Mar 1, 2014 at Orlando, Fla.
------------------------------------------------------------
Florida............. 120 300 30 - 9 9 2 (18-0)
Fordham............. 000 200 0X - 2 6 1 (5-11)
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Pitchers
WP -
Delanie Gourley (6-0); LP-Gillen (1-3)
Time - 2:01; Attendance - 150
HR UF -
Kirsti Merritt 2 (3), Lauren Haeger (6), Tofft (3)
Elon
| ELON |
1-0 |
|
|
| Home: N/A |
Away: N/A |
Neutral: 1-0 |
| Date |
Location |
W/L |
Score |
| 2/20/16 |
Orlando, Fla. |
W |
3-1 |
Last Meeting: After a scoreless first inning opened the game, Florida took the lead in the second.
Sophomore
Kayli Kvistad led off the inning with walk, moved to second on a ground out, third on a wild pitch and then scored on a
Taylor Schwarz single up the middle.
UF scored its final two runs of day in the third inning when senior
Kirsti Merritt and freshman
Amanda Lorenz recorded two-out singles, which placed them each scoring position after Merritt beat the throw from the Elon center fielder on her way to third.
Taylore Fuller continued her excellent day at the plate with a two-run single, which proved to be the game-winning hit.
Elon got one run back in the sixth off
Aleshia Ocasio, the first run she had allowed all season, when Elon's Alaina Hall, who went 3 for 3 in the game, singled with one out and later scored with two outs on an Emily Roper hit to left field.
Florida allowed a season-high seven hits in the game.
Feb 20, 2016 at Kissimmee, Fla.
------------------------------------------------------------
Elon................ 000 001 0 - 1 7 1 (4-5)
Florida............. 012 000 X - 3 9 0 (10-0)
------------------------------------------------------------
Pitchers
WP-
Kelly Barnhill (3-0) Save-
Aleshia Ocasio(1) LP-Mitchum, K. (0-1)
Time - 1:52; Attendance - 608
Lehigh
| LEHIGH |
1-0 |
|
|
| Home: 1-0 |
Away: N/A |
Neutral: N/A |
| Date |
Location |
W/L |
Score |
| 5/17/09 |
Gainesville, Fla. |
W |
9-0 |
Last Meeting: No. 1/1 University of Florida defeated Lehigh, 9-0, to move on to the Super Regionals in NCAA Tournament play on Sunday afternoon at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. In the process, the Gators (58-3) broke the Southeastern Conference's single-season home run record, as junior Corrie Brooks (Christmas, Fla.) nailed UF's 80th of the season.
Senior Stacey Nelson (Los Alamitos, Calif.) earned her 19th shutout of the season while only allowing three hits in the contest. The righty (37-3) did not allow a walk for the 11th game. Lisa Sweeney (23-10) took the loss for the Mountain Hawks (38-18-1).
May 17, 2009 at Gainesville, Fla.
------------------------------------------------------------
Florida............. 000 204 3 - 9 11 1 (58-3)
Lehigh.............. 000 000 0 - 0 3 0 (38-18-1)
------------------------------------------------------------
Pitchers
WP-Stacey Nelson (37-3) LP-Sweeney, L. (23-10)
Time - 1:55; Attendance - 1526
HR UF - Corrie Brooks
Liberty
| LIBERTY |
1-0 |
|
|
| Home: 1-0 |
Away: N/A |
Neutral: N/A |
| Date |
Location |
W/L |
Score |
| 2/20/15 |
Gainesville, Fla. |
W |
11-0 (5) |
Last Meeting: The University of Florida softball team defeated Liberty University, 11-0 (5 innings), on a cold Friday night at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium in Florida's first game of the Aquafina Invitational. Florida scored seven of its 11 runs via the home run, and senior Lauren Haeger pitched a one-hit shutout to give the Gators their 12th consecutive win to open the season.
Feb 20, 2015 at Gainesville, Fla.
------------------------------------------------------------
Liberty............. 000 00 - 0 1 2 (4-7)
Florida............. 107 3X - 11 8 0 (12-0)
------------------------------------------------------------
WP-Lauren Haeger (6-0) LP-TINCHER, A. (1-2)
Time - 1:32; Attendance - 591
HR UF - Lauren Haeger (3),
Taylore Fuller (3),
Kayli Kvistad (2)
Syracuse
| SYRACUSE |
2-0 |
|
|
| Home: 1-0 |
Away: N/A |
Neutral: 1-0 |
| Date |
Location |
W/L |
Score |
| 3/4/11 |
Gainesville, Fla. |
W |
2-0 |
| 2/22/13 |
Palm Springs, Calif. |
W |
5-1 |
Overall: In the previous pair of match-ups between the Gators and the Orange, runs have been hard to come by as the Gators have only scored seven total but on the flip-side Florida has only given up one run to Syracuse through 14.0 innings.
Last Meeting: Sophomore hurler Alyssa Bache (Clearwater, Fla.) got the day started off right for the Gators against Syracuse to improve to 4-0 in the circle, while fanning a career-tying nine batters, allowing just four hits and one run – a sac fly in the seventh – in the winning effort for the Orange and Blue.
Freshman leadoff
Kelsey Stewart (Wichita, Kan.) went 3-for-5 against Syracuse to lead the Gators at the plate, adding two RBI, while freshman
Taylore Fuller (Trenton, Fla.) and sophomore Katie Medina (Downey, Calif.) accounted for UF's other two hits.
Feb 22, 2013 at Palm Springs, Calif.
------------------------------------------------------------
Florida............. 010 220 0 - 5 5 0 (15-0)
Syracuse............ 000 000 1 - 1 4 5 (3-2)
------------------------------------------------------------
WP-Alyssa Bache (4-0) LP-S Kuwik (2-1)
Time - 2:04; Attendance - 108
