Following a midweek win against Central Connecticut State, No. 1 Florida (29-2, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) returns to SEC action when it starts a three-game home series against No. 9 Alabama (25-4, 6-0 SEC) tonight at 6 p.m.
The series against the Crimson Tide will be the Gators’ first matchup against a top-10 team since defeating then-No. 4 Oregon 2-1 in extra innings on Feb. 28, and the series marks Alabama’s first trip to Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium since dropping a three-game series in 2011.
“When you play someone like Alabama, it’s fun to watch,” coach Tim Walton said. “I don’t need to get anyone fired up to play Alabama. I don’t need to get our team fired up. It’s a great series, two great teams playing against each other.”
After all of Florida’s starters recorded at least one hit against the Blue Devils on Tuesday, Walton wants to see that success at the plate continue against a conference rival that owns the overall series 30-25 and holds a 12-9 record against the Gators in Gainesville.
“To me, that’s huge when you can hit up and down the lineup like that,” he said. “It’s really important.”
Alabama — one of two teams to remain undefeated in SEC play — is second in the conference with a .343 clip at the plate. Much of that success is due to the performance of leadoff hitter Haylie McCleney.
The sophomore center fielder leads the conference in batting average (.563), slugging percentage (.925) and on base percentage (.667), while also placing in the top five of the conference for runs scored (third, 42) and hits (second, 45).
But just as Alabama has seen its sophomore standout carry the team, leadoff hitter Kelsey Stewart plans to continue making strides at the plate in her second campaign for Florida.
The sophomore shortstop leads Florida in batting average (.430), runs scored (39) and stolen bases (20) while also being second on the team with a .664 slugging percentage.
Against CCSU on Tuesday, the Wichita, Kan., native recorded her team-leading 13th multi-hit game to remain the lone player on Florida’s roster this season who has made it on base in every game. Stewart also plated her fourth triple of the season — tying LSU’s Allison Falcon for the most in the SEC.
Despite her improvement throughout her second year, Stewart does not want to focus on the past.
“It’s really nice because I work hard every single day, seven days a week,” Stewart said. “Being able to get hits and do my job is nice, but I’m just focusing on one game at a time.”
Florida will try to rival Alabama’s success at the plate with successful outings from its pitching staff. UF is second in the SEC with a 1.45 ERA and is holding opponents to a .180 batting average.
While senior Hannah Rogers and freshman Delanie Gourley have pitched 31.1 of Florida’s 40 innings in SEC games, Walton emphasized the importance of keeping juniors Lauren Haeger and Alyssa Bache sharp for the later games in the season.
“We’re going to need them all,” Walton said. “Sometimes you need four [pitchers] in a game, sometimes you need two in a weekend; sometimes you need four in a weekend. We’ve got to keep everybody ready to go.”
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Kelsey Stewart runs toward third base during Florida’s 6-0 win against Jacksonville on Feb. 19, 2014, at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
