GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 12 Florida softball team will host No. 16 Florida State at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium for a solo midweek contest Wednesday, April 24, at 6 p.m. ET.
Tomorrow's game is set to be the first meeting of the 2024 season between the Gators (36-10) and the Seminoles (36-10). The Orange & Blue hold the all-time series record with a mark of 28-22 and a 15-10 record when playing at home.
This season Florida has posted a strong record at Pressly Stadium as the team holds a 19-4 record at home and a 25-4 record against non-conference opponents. FSU will also be the first ACC opponent the program has faced this year.
Entering the in-state rivalry game, the Gators picked up their fifth Southeaster Conference series victory of the season as they took the series 2-1 over South Carolina this past weekend. The team picked up a solid relief performance in the circle from
Mackenzie Wooten (2-0), who went five innings in relief to earn her first two wins as a Gator, and
Korbe Otis posted a .667 (6-for-9) with a double, three runs scored and four RBI.
The Seminoles enter this week after a series sweep at Boston College. Florida State is currently on a 10-game win streak and have won 17 of its last 18 games played.
Over the weekend, UF's offense scored 20 runs over the three-game series against SC, which is an average of 6.67 runs per game. The mark keeps the Gators as one of the top four scoring offenses in the country as the team still averages a staggering 8.02 runs per game this season.
Contributing to the high scoring production of the team is their .347 batting average, which currently ranks seventh nationally, and the team's ability to rack up extra base hits this year as the program ranks second nationally in doubles (86) and 11
th in home runs (65).
Individually leading the way are .400-plus hitters Otis (.451) and Falby (.401), who are then followed by a string of .300-plus hitters in
Jocelyn Erickson (.396),
Reagan Walsh (.395),
Skylar Wallace (.383) and
Katie Kistler (.333). Erickson leads the team in RBI and fifth nationally in RBI with 59.
Florida State is also having a solid year offensively as a program as they have the nation's fifth best scoring offense (7.74 runs per game), which is supplemented by the nation's ninth best batting average (.343). Individually at the plate for FSU, they are led by Jaysoni Beachum's .447 average with seven additional hitters batting over .300. Beachum also leads the team in RBI (50) and home runs (12).
Following the midweek action against the Seminoles, the Gators will step back into SEC play with a three-game series at No. 11 Georgia this Friday through Sunday.
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