Ongoing UF Softball Commentary

I do remember when that school was called Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

 

Yep.

 

UF gets the #14 seed in the NCAA tournament. First game is against Canisius. Wisconsin and Georgia Tech are, also, in our regional. If we win our Regional, we'll go to #3 Virginia Tech, assuming they win theirs.

 

UCF got the #16 seed. Good for them. However, they'll have to go to Oklahoma for the Super Regional.

 

KY can hit. They just need a pitcher to step up and they can beat anybody.

 

I'm just glad we're not matched up against another SEC team and was afraid they were going to seed us #12 and send us to UCLA. Virginia Tech is legit and we're not as good as we have been in many years. However, we can beat anybody when playing to our full potential. Playing the underdog is new for Gator softball and it will be interesting to see how they do.

 

We lost to Florida Gulf Coast and Southern Miss. Virginia Tech's RPI is #2, SOS #6. Our RPI is #13, SOS #13. They swept Clemson during the regular season and took 2 of 3 from FSU. They are beatable, sure, but there's a reason why they're the #3 seed and we're #14. They've simply been a good bit better than us all year. Still, I would rather face them than another SEC team or UCLA or Oklahoma State. We're fully capable of not even winning our Regional because of anemic hitting and sometimes inconsistent pitching. Should be interesting, for sure.

 

Just to give some comparisons for the Gainesville Regional:
UF 43-16, RPI #13, SOS #13
Canisius 32-16, RPI #121, SOS #236
Georgia Tech 37-16, RPI #23, SOS #27
Wisconsin 28-19, RPI #39, SOS #42

The Canisius Golden Griffins are located in Buffalo, NY. They are part of the Metro Athletic Conference. They won their conference and their conference tournament and are on a 12-game winning streak entering the NCAA tournament. They are a team like Florida, with little power and a lot of speed. Team batting average is ,292, slugging percentage of .395, with only 16 home runs on the year, but 107-128 in stolen bases. They have a .965 fielding percentage and a team ERA of 2.68. Their #1 pitcher is a redshirt sophomore who is 14-8 with a 1.58 ERA. She's thrown 150 innings with 177 K's and a batting average against of .186.
Georgia Tech finished 6th in the ACC. They have a team batting average of .284, a slugging percentage of .421, with only 35 home runs. They have 1 starter hitting .401, another at .364 and a third at .337. All their other primary players hit .280 or less. They have 244 walks and 257 strikeouts, are 63-75 in stolen bases and field at .974. Team ERA is 2.74. Their 2 primary pitchers are both juniors. Blake Neleman is 14-8 with a 2.24 ERA, 171.2 innings, 83 walks, 204 K's and a .198 batting average against. Chandler Dennis is 16-6 with a 2.84 ERA, 128 innings pitched, 61 walks, 106 K's and a .228 batting average against.
Wisconsin finished 8th in the Big 10. They have a team batting average of .259 with their top 3 hitters batting .377, .342 and .318, a slugging percentage of .398 and only 29 home runs. They have 168 walks and 320 strikeouts, 42-60 in stolen bases and a fielding percentage of .960. Their team ERA is 2.91 and they rely primarily on ace Maddie Schwartz in the circle. She is 23-11 with a 2.41 ERA, 200 innings pitched, 47 walks, 122 K's and a ,253 batting average against.
Florida finished in a 3 way tie for 4th place in the SEC. They have a team batting average of .308, a slugging percentage of .442 with 33 home runs. We have 6 starters hitting over .300, 193 walks and 239 K's, 123-137 in stolen bases, with a fielding percentage of .980. Team ERA is 2.39. The staff has given up 185 walks with 336 K's in 397.2 innings, with a team batting average against of .206. Elizabeth Hightower is the primary pitcher. She's 16-7 with a 2.32 ERA (Trlicek is at 1.84, Lugo at 2.22 and Delbrey 2.30), 156.2 innings pitched with 64 walks, 128 K's and a .213 batting average against. Delbrey BA against is only .159, Lugo's .206 and Trlicek's .248.