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The Florida Gators were awarded the number three overall seed by the NCAA Tournament selection committee on Monday. As a result of their national seed (top-8) the Gators will host the Regionals this weekend and (if they win) the Super Regionals from June 9-12.
Florida will host South Florida (41-17), Bethune Cookman (33-23), and Marist (33-21) from June 2-5 at McKethan Stadium.
Florida will face the Red Foxes of Marist on Friday. The Gators have earned their tenth straight post-season appearance, a program record. The Regionals are a four team, double elimination tournament. The winner will then advance to Super Regionals.
GAINESVILLE, FL- The Florida Gators are going back to Oklahoma City and the College World Series. The Gators advanced past the Super Regionals with a 2-1 victory over SEC rival Alabama in game three.
The story of the game has to be the bounce back effort of Florida pitcher Kelly Barnhill. Though Barnhill allowed only one hit while striking out 11 on Friday, her back-to-back errors allowed Alabama to score all three of their runs. Barnhill would finish Sunday with 12 strikeouts in her complete game.
Florida head coach Tim Walton switched his lineup a bit in an effort to wake up the bats. It paid off in the first inning as Aleshia Ocasio, batting in the fourth position, singled to center field to score Amanda Lorenz. Later in the inning, Jordan Roberts was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded forcing Kayli Kvistad to score. Florida led 2-0 after just one inning of play.
Barnhill took care of the rest. Alabama would score in the second inning after Elissa Brown singled scoring Rachel Bobo.
Barnhill’s 117th pitch of the game struck out Bobo, and clinched the Gators trip to Oklahoma City.
Florida will begin play in Oklahoma by facing the winner of Tennessee and Texas A&M at noon on Thursday.
WP: Barnhill (24-3)
LP: Alexis Osorio (23-8)
LEADERS:
Barnhill (UF) 7 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 12 K, BB
Lorenz (UF) 1-2, R, BB
Kvistad (UF) 1-2, R, BB
Ocasio (UF) 1-3, RBI
(Photo from official Twitter of Gators Softball Equipment @GatorsSB_EQ)
GAINESVILLE, FL- The Florida Gators had their back against the wall. The Gators needed to win on Friday to force game three in the Super Regional series against Alabama or their season was over.
Senior pitcher Delanie Gourley and sophomore outfielder Amanda Lorenz made sure Florida would play that third game. Gourley pitched a complete game shut out while Lorenz provided the offense with a two run blast over the right center field fence.
Gourley finished the game with eight strikeouts while allowing only four hits. Alabama only had one base runner reach second base, and that was Elissa Brown in the first inning.
The two teams will meet in the third game on Saturday at 5:00 PM. Alexis Osorio is expected to get the start for Alabama while Florida coach Tim Walton will decide between Kelly Barnhill and Delanie Gourley.
GAINESVILLE, FL- The Florida Gators softball team has been one of the top fielding teams in the country in each of the last four years. On Thursday night, fielding cost the Gators. Florida fell to Alabama 3-0 in game one of the Super Regional.
The game was moving incredibly quickly without a single run scoring. The top of the fifth would prove much different, however. Florida sophomore pitcher Kelly Barnhill began the inning by walking Alabama’s Bailey Hemphill. A poor decision by Barnhill to make the play at second on a sacrifice bunt put two runners on (to be fair, Reagan Dykes was likely going to be safe at first). Tide RF Chandler Dare laid another sacrifice bunt that was fielded by Barnhill. Barnhill chose to throw to first, but overthrew Nicole Dewitt. Both Auburn runners scored on the error. With Dare on second base, Sydney Booker chose to sacrifice. Barnhill again fielded the bunt, but again overthrew Dewitt, scoring Dare. Despite not hitting the ball past the pitcher, the Crimson Tide took a 3-0 lead over Florida.
Florida had a chance in the bottom of the fifth. The Gators loaded the bases on Alabama’s star pitcher Alexis Osorio. Catcher Janelle Wheaton flied out to left field ended the threat.
Barnhill pitched five innings and only allowed one hit. She struck out 11 Alabama hitters before giving way to Aleshia Ocasio for the final two innings. All three Tide runs were unearned.
Florida must find offense on Friday and Saturday. The Gators must win two in a row in order to get to Oklahoma City for the Women’s College World Series.
Florida sophomore pitcher Michael Byrne has accomplished something that no Gator before him did. When Byrne struck out Auburn’s Dylan Ingram to close out Florida’s 5-4 SEC Tournament victory it represented his 14th save of the year, a new program record.
Florida has kept track of saves since 1977 and prior to this season 13 had been the high water mark. In 1994, Danny Wheeler set the record. Just four years later Josh Fogg tied the stat.
Byrne enters the record book, with the potential to push the record even higher. Byrne has a 2-4 record but leads the team with a 1.89 ERA. In 52.1 innings pitches he has struck out 58 batters while only allowing 10 walks.
On Monday Byrne was named to the All-SEC Second Team for his efforts this season.
Florida Coach Roland Thornqvist holding the NCAA championship trophy after winning the 2012 title.
Athens, GA- The Florida Gators are National Champions yet again. The #1 ranked Gators (29-3) defeated the Stanford Cardinal 4-1 to claim the program’s seventh title.
The Gator jumped to a 1-0 lead by earning the doubles point after the doubles team of Anna Danilina and Ingrid Neel quickly won their first match. That victory was soon followed by Josie Kuhlman and Belinda Woolcock defeating their Cardinal opponents.
Florida jumped to a 2-0 advantage when senior Kourtney Keega shutout her opponent 6-0 and 6-0 on court 6.
Senior Belinda Woolcock also won her match in straight sets. The Australia native won by 6-1 and 6-3 scores on court 1.
Stanford got on the board with the next result. Melissa Lord scored a victory over junior Josie Kuhlman 6-4 and 7-5 on court 2.
Freshman Ingrid Neel clinched the victory for Florida. The Minnesota native rallied after losing the first set 5-7. Neel claimed the final two sets 6-3 and 6-2.
Florida head coach Roland Thornqvist has now won four national titles with the Gators. Monday’s final for victory over Vanderbilt was Thronqvist’s 400th win since taking over the Gators.
Florida defeated UMass, Miami, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Vanderbilt, and Stanford in their journey through the NCAA Tournament.
The Southeastern Conference announced it’s baseball honors on Monday. The Florida Gators were well represented on the All-SEC Second Team as well as the SEC All-Defensive Team.
Four Gators (Michael Byrne, Alex Faedo, JJ Schwarz, and Brady Singer) were named to the Second Team while Florida’s middle infield (Deacon Liput, and Dalton Guthrie) was named to the All-Defensive Team. All-SEC Second Team:
Sophomore RHP Michael Byrne tied a team record with 13 saves this season. Byrne finished the year 2-4 with a team-leading 1.93 ERA in 27 appearances.
Junior RHP Alex Faedo finished the year 7-2 with a 2.89 ERA in 14 starts. Faedo struck out 106 batters in 90.1 innings of work. Faedo is expected to be among the top picks in June’s MLB Draft.
Junior C/1B JJ Schwarz finished the season with a .286 average and led the Gators with 9 home runs and 46 RBI. Schwarz also walked thirty times and hit 10 doubles.
Sophomore RHP Brady Singer had a 7-3 record and carried a 2.67 ERA. Singer struck out 89 batters in 89 innings. Singer was drafted in the second round by the Toronto Blue Jays after high school, but chose to come to Florida after failing to sign.
SEC All-Defensive Team:
Junior SS Dalton Guthrie makes the All-Defensive Team for the second year in a row. Guthrie made eight errors, but regularly made plays that others at his position couldn’t have. Guthrie was regularly featured in ESPN’s Top Ten.
Junior 2B Deacon Liput made the All-Defensive Team as he made only one error all season. Liput finished the 2017 season with a .996 fielding percentage.
GAINESVILLE, FL- The Florida Gators softball team is headed to the championship game(s) of the Gainesville Regional. Florida defeated the Oklahoma State Cowgirls 2-0 on Saturday behind sophomore pitcher Kelly Barnhill’s one-hit, fifteen strikeout performance. Barnhill’s pitching brilliance was necessary as Florida only managed three hits against OSU’s Brandi Needham.
Florida scored both runs in the fourth inning. Nicole Dewitt drew a one out walk, and Kayli Kvistad followed with a single to left field. Jordan Roberts was later hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs. Aleshia Ocasio drove in two runs with a single to put the Gators ahead for good.
Barnhill started the game in stride striking out six of the first eight Cowgirls she faced. Oklahoma State did not have a base runner until the fifth inning when Rylee Bayless forced a two-out walk. The only trouble that Barnhill found herself in was in the sixth inning when OSU had runners on first and third after a walk and a single. However, Barnhill stayed composed and retired Madi Sue Montgomery with a strikeout to end the threat.
The Gators will meet Oklahoma State again on Sunday in the Gainesville Regional Championship. The Cowgirls defeated Florida International 5-0 in the late game to clinch a berth to the championship. Oklahoma State must find a way to score and win back-to-back games against Florida on Sunday to win the regional. The Gators have not allowed a run in their last twelve games in the NCAA regionals.
The Florida Gators softball team began the quest for a third national championship with a 9-0 run-rule victory over Florida A&M in the opening game of the NCAA tournament on Friday. Florida was led by the pitching of senior Delanie Gourley, who pitched her fourth career no hitter. The Gators offense was propelled by a big third inning that saw Florida plate seven runs.
Gourley, who improved to 19-4 on the season, stuck out eight Rattlers while only allowing one to reach base via a walk in her five innings of work.
After Gourley retired the side in the top of the first, sophomore outfielder Amanda Lorenz crushed an opposite field home run to lead off the Gators half of the inning. The Gators did most of their damage in a long third inning, and mostly with no outs.
In the bottom of the third the Gators scored seven runs. Florida batted around in the inning before the Rattlers could record an out. The Gators walked three times in the inning and forced FAMU to change their pitcher twice. Janelle Wheaton had the big blow with a two run triple on a ball that was misjudged by Rattlers RF Alexis Day. Justine McLean also had a two RBI single that was followed by a Lorenz RBI single.
Florida would add one run in the fourth when freshman Jordan Roberts (pinch hitting for Chelsea Herndon) hit a ball to the wall in left field that scored Jacqui Switzer.
Florida has not allowed a run in their last eleven games in NCAA regional play. The Gators will face Oklahoma State on Saturday at 12:00 PM in the winner’s bracket.
Florida Gators center John Egbunu will return to Florida for his senior year according to a release put out by the university on Friday. Egbunu tested the NBA waters prior to the draft combine.
Egbunu has averaged 10 points and 6.5 rebounds since transferring from South Florida in 2014.
Egbunu has had an injury plagued career since becoming a Gator and is currently expected to be sidelined until SEC play with a torn ACL suffered in February.
Egbunu’s return will make front court depth a strength for Florida as head coach Mike White looks to capitalize on an elite eight run in 2017.
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