Florida Gators softball series preview against Louisiana Lafayette

The No. 1 ranked Florida Gators (6-0) softball team opened the season with a perfect 5-0 record in the USF tournament in Tampa last weekend and followed that up with a home win on Wednesday.

This weekend the Gators travel for a rare out of conference series as they will take on #16 Louisiana Lafayette in Lafayette for a three-game series.

How the teams have fared this season:

Florida enters with a perfect 6-0 record and out scoring their opponents by a score of 51-3. The Gators played just one home game on Wednesday after the Tampa tournament last weekend.

Louisiana comes with a perfect 6-0 record as well after they won four games at home and two in a tournament down the street from campus.

In the batter’s box:

Florida enters the series with a .329 batting average and have drawn 29 walks and struck out just 19 times through six games. The Gators hit four home runs and added 14 doubles and two triples in the six games so far this year.

Louisiana comes into the game with a .372 batting average and have walked 20 times but struck out 21 times in six games this year.

The Rajin Cajuns only hit three home runs and three doubles so far this year so extra base hits were limited in the six games this year.

In the circle:

Florida has used all four pitchers this year with Kelly Barnhill and Aleshia Ocasio getting the majority of the work. The Gators enter this weekend with a 0.58 ERA and have allowed just three runs in 36 innings pitched. Florida’s staff has only given up five walks while striking out 45 hitters.

Louisiana also has a deep pitching staff and they’ve used five pitchers this year with all but one of them appearing in multiple games. The Ragin Cajuns enter the weekend with a 2.50 ERA in 42 innings pitched. Louisiana pitchers’ have walked 19 hitters while striking out 57 batters.

Players to watch:

For Florida:

Coming off of her no-hit performance against UNF, Gator fans should already know about Kelly Barnhill and what she does in the circle. Barnhill carries a 0.00 ERA and is a perfect 2-0 while appearing in all six games this year. Barnhill has thrown 14 innings on the year and struck out 21 batters.

At the plate, Amanda Lorenz continues to lead the Gators again this year as she’s hitting .529 and driven in six runners already. Lorenz has four doubles on the year but is still looking for her first long ball.

For Louisiana Lafayette:

In the circle for Louisiana you have to watch for Kylee Jo Trahan who is 3-0 on the year with two complete games already. Trahan has walked six hitters while striking out 20 and carrying a 0.40 ERA into the weekend.

At the plate Alisaa Dalton is the Ragin Cajuns top hitter with a .500 average and she has hit one home run and driven in eight already on the year. Dalton has also scored seven times in six games.

This weekend should be a fun weekend as Florida faces a very good Louisiana team on the road in a tough environment.

Saturday at 4:00 P.M.

Saturday at 7:00 P.M.

Saturday at 2:00 P.M.

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.