Florida Gators
Tennessee
No. 5/8 Softball Hosts No. 1 Tennessee For Weekend Series
Thursday, March 19, 2026 | Softball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - No. 5/8 Florida welcomes No. 1 Tennessee to Gainesville for the first time since 2022 this weekend for a three-game series at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
Friday and Saturday's games will stream on SEC Network+ with Kristina Wyatt and Ryan Urquhart calling the action. Sunday's series finale will be a linear broadcast on the ESPN2 with Clay Matvick (play-by-play) and Michele Smith (analyst) on the call.
Fans can also listen to all three games FloridaGators.com with Sky Lebron, Nevada Cullen and Ethan Eibe on the radio call.
The Gators are coming off a 3-0 series sweep at Kentucky with back-to-back-to-back run-rule victories.
Saturday is Florida's annual Yellow Game, a day to honor children who are battling cancer and remember those who lost their fights. Yellow represents the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation's efforts to fund research and eliminate childhood cancer. The Gators wear sunflowers in their hair every Saturday in remembrance of Heather Braswell, an honorary member of the club from 2009-14 and a fixture in the team's dugout.
Brawell's mom, Terri, will throw out the first pitch on Saturday.
The Gators (29-1, 6-0 SEC) are looking for their second series victory over the No. 1 team in the last two seasons. Florida took 2-of-3 from No. 1 Oklahoma in the regular-season home finale in 2025.
| No. 1 Tennessee | 27-1 (5-1 SEC) |
| Head Coach | Karen Weekly |
| Career Record | 1,382-455-2 (.752) |
| Florida All-Time Record vs. | 54-36 |
| Streak | Tennessee has won eight of the last 10 |
| Last Meeting | May 30, 2025 | UT 11, UF 3 - Oklahoma City, Ok. |
| Florida Record vs In Gainesville | 31-11 |
| History vs. Tennessee | Last 10 Results | ||||
| Tennessee | 54-36 | |||
| Date | Location | W/L | Score | |
| May 30, 2025 | Oklahoma City, Ok. | L | 11-3 (5) | |
| May 12, 2023 | Fayetteville, Ark. | L | 4-0 | |
| April 24, 2023 | Knoxville, Tenn. | L | 10-6 | |
| April 23, 2023 | Knoxville, Tenn. | L | 11-10 | |
| April 22, 2023 | Knoxville, Tenn. | L | 9-1 (5) | |
| March 27, 2022 | Gainesville, Fla. | W | 4-1 | |
| March 26, 2022 | Gainesville, Fla. | L | 7-2 | |
| March 25, 2022 | Gainesville, Fla. | L | 6-0 | |
| May 26, 2019 | Gainesville, Fla. | W | 2-1 (8) | |
| May 25, 2019 | Gainesville, Fla. | L | 3-2 (9) | |
Weekend Schedule
| Friday | Tennessee | 6 p.m. | SEC Network + |
| Saturday | Tennessee | 1 p.m. | SEC Network+ |
| Sunday | Tennessee | 12 p.m. | ESPN2 |
Promotional Schedule
| Blue Out Friday, March 20 |
#WearBlue - all fans are encouraged to wear blue to support the Gators |
| Yellow Game Saturday, March 21 |
The first 500 fans in attendance will receive a sunflower sun hat |
| Salute to Service Sunday, March 22 |
The first 500 fans will receive red, white & blue swirl wristbands |
Notables:
- Townsen Thomas was named the SEC Freshman of the Week on Tuesday, her first weekly honor. Thomas batted a team-best .667 (6-for-9) with four doubles, four RBI, four runs, a stolen base and a walk in Florida's sweep at Kentucky
- Taylor Shumaker ranks first in the NCAA in runs (49) and third in hits (50). Shumaker has plated a run in all but 3 games this season (27 games with a run)
- Jocelyn Erickson ranks third in RBIs (49) and fifth in home runs (16). Erickson leads the SEC in home runs in conference play (5)
Keagan Rothrock leads the country in victories (16). She is 5-0 through six SEC games and 16-1 on the season, already matching her 2025 win total - As a team, the Gators lead the NCAA in doubles (70) and walks (155) and rank in the top-5 in hits (338), home runs (67), on-base percentage (.501), RBIs (286), scoring (9.83), pitching shutouts (12), slugging percentage (.728), and total runs (295)
- Kenleigh Cahalan extended her on-base streak to 30 games at Kentucky and has now reached in every game this season (30)
- Three Gators are on double-digit hitting streaks: Jocelyn Erickson (14 games), Townsen Thomas (14 games) and Taylor Shumaker (12 games)
- Over the last seven games, Jocelyn Erickson has slugged six home runs, including one in each game against Kentucky. She now has 16 home runs this season, a new single-season career best
- Her 46 home runs as a Gator ranks sixth all-time in program history
- Erickson is five RBIs from 200 as a Gator and would be just the sixth Florida player to have 200 or more in their career
- The last time the Gators opened conference play with back-to-back sweeps was 2011 – Florida won both games of its series vs. Mississippi State on March 16 and went 3-0 at Ole Miss on March 18-20 that season
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