No. 3 FSU Softball travels to No. 17 Florida: preview, game thread, how to watch

On Saturday, Florida State softball finished yet another dominating performance, this time over Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Now, they are set to face the 17th ranked Florida Gators, for the second time this season. Last week the Seminoles took game on from the Gators in Tallahassee.

Since the two teams last meeting, Florida continued their conference season with a series against Ole Miss, where they took 2 of 3 from the Rebels. In the three games, UF outscored the opposition 20-14.

Overall, the Gators are 34-16 and 10-11 in the SEC, coming off their first three game loss after being swept by No. 4 Tennessee. Earlier in the season, they went 1-4 in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic where their only win was against UC Riverside, and losses to UCLA, Oregon, and Cal State Fullerton. They have also dropped 2 of 3 to South Carolina and Arkansas. This past weekend, UF was outscored 30-17 to the Lady Vols, and led against Tennessee through the 6th and 5th inning in the last games before giving up the big innings.

Florida Offense

The Gators are being led largely by Skylar Wallace, who leads the SEC in 9 offensive categories. The redshirt junior is the only player batting above .400, with a .456 batting average. The leadoff hitter has 61 R, 57 H, 65 2B, 8 3B, 16 HR, 50 RBI and 39 BB. Wallace is the only player with double digit homeruns this season.

Graduate student Charla Echols is the team leader in RBI, with 58. In 50 games, Echols has a .377 batting average with 36 R, 55 H, 13 2B, 10 HR and 28 BB.

In total, UF has four other players batting above .300 (Kendra Falby, Pal Egan, Reagan Walsh, and Sam Roe). They also have two players who have over 21 stolen bases in Wallace and Falby, who are the top two hitters in the batting order.

Gator Pitching

Returning for her final season, Elizabeth Hightower leads UF in innings pitched, with 119.2. In her outings, she holds a 3.22 ERA with a 14-10 W-L record and 98 H, 65 R, 59 BB, 76 SO and .225 B/AVG.

The team leader in ERA is Lexie Delbrey, who has a 2.90. In 72.1 innings, Delbrey also has 7-2 W-L, 50 H, 42 R, 29 BB, 47 SO, and a .192 B/AVG. UF also has Rylee Trilicek (3.09), Olivia Gigante (6.30), and Samantha Bender (12.35) on staff.

Seminole Headlines

• After her performance in South Bend, Hallie Wacaser was named ACC Player of the Week. This honor is the first of her career.
• FSU is looking to take back to back games in Gainesville for the first time since 2003.

Stat Comparison

Batting average: UF (.330), FSU (.313)

ERA: UF (3.59), FSU (1.68)

On base percentage: UF (.432), FSU (.415)

Scoring: UF (6.92), FSU (6.43)

Where to watch

6 pm ESPNU