pretty sure still is 'officially' Whatever theyre called, they are top 5 in both diamond sports..crazy
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.
Regional ticket purchase for season ticket holders has started. You have until 5PM Tuesday. I have no idea what this means: "General Public can order All-Session Regional Passes - no guarantee reserved seats will be available Wednesday, May 18 at 9 a.m." So this is Southwest Airlines for the general public -- get through gate and sit anywhere you can find? "
I think the Gators got a break. Their regional is relatively easy and I would rather play VT than any of the other top 8 seeds with the exception of ASU.
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.
I'd rather face UCLA I think. Rochard and Lemley are legit. Either way we knew it wasnt going to be an easy road with being seeded lower. Kinda hate to see VT just because I wanted to root for them lol. OU against UCF is a bit of an eye roll for me. Also wished they hadn't paired Bama and Tenn. And assuming we make it to OKC our first game would be against the winner who we've both played. Sometimes I really think they hate the sec. Not as bad as in years past this year, but still gets annoying.
It is annoying re the SEC, but to some extent there are just so many SEC teams in the mix it is inevitable I might have preferred ucla too...but watch out for UK. Va Tech has only played 2 games since early May.....cats might be a little sharper and battle tested. Va Tech us the better team, but they better be ready
I agree they definitely have to watch Kentucky, but if the seeds do hold we are going to have some of the best pitching to face.
VT is a good team but I think they are beatable. Check out their schedule. They have lost to Charlotte and Virginia plus had some close wins against some average competition.
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.
