OGT-Florida vs Missouri 3/17/2023 3:00 pm Game 1 SEC+

Mar 17 (Fri) 3 PM
Florida vs Missouri
Gainesville, Fla. Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium

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FLORIDA (20-4, 0-0 SEC)
RANKING (NFCA/USA SOFTBALL): 8/11
HEAD COACH: TIM WALTON
CAREER RECORD: 1,031-269 (.793) RECORD at UF: 908-205 (.816)

MISSOURI (18-9, 0-3 SEC)
RANKING (NFCA/USA SOFTBALL): RV/RV
HEAD COACH: Larissa Anderson
CAREER RECORD: 282-153 (.648) RECORD at UM: 152-80 (.655)
UM vs. UF RECORD: UF Leads 15-5 (.750)
LAST MEETING: May 14, 2021 | UF Won 7-6 (SEC Tournament)

 

THE FIRST PITCH​

• The eighth-ranked Florida softball team finally opens Southeastern
Conference play this weekend against Missouri with a doubleheader set for Friday, March 17, at 3 p.m. (ET), while the series finale is still scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. (ET) at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. All three games of the series with the Tigers will be streamed via SEC Network+.

• Florida holds an all-time 15-5 record against Missouri (18-9, 0-3 SEC)
entering this weekend. The Tigers opened up SEC play last weekend
and was swept in Columbia by Kentucky, but rebounded with a pair
of midweek wins over Illinois.

• This season, Florida’s offense has produced 206 runs so far, which
is more than any other program in the country, and ranks third
nationally with 8.58 runs per game behind Oklahoma’s 8.87 runs
per game and Tennessee’s 8.59 runs per game. UF also ranks
inside the top 10 nationally in batting average (.370 – 3rd), on base
percentage (.481 – 2nd), slugging percentage (.630 – 2nd) and
walks (113 – 3rd).

• The Gators (20-4) earned their 20th win of the season with an 8-0
(6 inning) run-rule victory over Bucknell, Wednesday, March 15.
The Orange & Blue picked up a superb outing from starting pitcher
Rylee Trlicek, who hurled three perfect innings, and scored her first
career run as a Gator when she pinch-ran out of the flex position for
the designated player Olivia Gigante. The Gators finished with their
fourth one-hitter of the year.

• Florida’s run-rule shutout over Bucknell was the 15th run-rule and
10th shutout of the season. The 15 run-rule victories are tied for
10th most all-time in program history. UF produced a single-season
record 21 run-rule wins on three separate occasions with marks set
in 2009, 2011 and 2016.

• There were several standout performances over the previous week-
end at the Bubly Invitational that deserve additional recognition.
First, graduate senior Charla Echols hit .562 (9-for-16) over the six-
game stretch and drove in a career-high seven RBI in the Gators win
over Mercer to kick-off the Bubly Invitational last Friday. The career
mark for Echols also stands tied for the third most RBI produced in
a game all-time. The Newnan, Ga. native ranks third nationally with
35 RBI on the season.

• In addition to Echols’ standout performances over the previous week, freshman Olivia Gigante drove in eight RBI with four being against Mercer the opening night of the Bubly Invitational thanks to a 3-for-4 performance at the plate which included a pair of home runs. The San Diego, Calif. native closed out the weekend with her second career grand slam in the Gators win, 11-2 (5 innings), over RV/No. 24 Louisiana. Gigante is the first freshman in program history to hit two grand slams in a single season since Jaimie Hoover did so during her freshman season in 2017

In the circle, senior Rylee Trlicek and sophomore Lexie Delbrey
notched no-hitters in back-to-back days against Mercer and
Rutgers. Trlicek dispatched the Bears Saturday afternoon for the
second no-no of her career and first since her freshman season
in her first career start, while Delbrey hurled the first ever of her
young career. Delbrey has increased her workload over the last two
weeks and was able to produce a career-long 17 1/3 scoreless inning
streak before it was snapped in the 5th inning of the Gators 1-0 loss
to the Ragin’ Cajuns.

• The +21 run differential against the Illinois State during opening
weekend is tied for the second-largest margin of victory against an
opponent in program history as the Gators defeated Ball State 21-0
on March 12, 2011. The largest margin of victory in program history
was a 22-0 win over North Florida May 5, 2010.

• Sophomore Reagan Walsh and freshman Olivia Gigante both hit
grand slams in the Gators win over Illinois State, which is the first
time since Briana Little and Janell Wheaton hit grand slams in the
same game against Mercer in 2015. It was the second career grand
slam of Walsh’s career and the sophomore followed up with a
second home run later in the game for her first multi-home run
game of her career