The Florida softball team is in an unusual situation.
Coming off a 5-4 loss to Auburn on Monday night — the team’s first defeat of the season — the No. 1 Gators (26-1) will look to respond tonight against Winthrop (10-16) at 6 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
"We did a lot of good things this past weekend, but we obviously have a lot to improve upon," coach Tim Walton said in a release.
"Winthrop is a very talented team and I’m excited to see how our team responds after a hard-fought SEC series."
Monday’s defeat concluded the second-longest winning streak to open a season in program history, as Florida fell just two games shy of the 28-0 mark set by last year’s team.
The Tigers’ victory over the Gators in the closing game of the series was dealt in heartbreaking fashion.
After entering in relief of Delanie Gourley in the bottom of the seventh, sophomore Aleshia Ocasio was tasked with protecting a 4-3 lead.
However, she gave up two runs on two hits — the first blown save of her career.
But despite this lone blemish, Florida’s solid run production throughout its lineup earned UF the series’ win.
Junior Justine McLean and sophomore Kayli Kvistad are both in the midst of the longest hitting streaks of their careers, at six and seven games, respectively.
Seniors Taylore Fuller and Kirsti Merritt are also looking to continue this weekend’s success going forward. The veteran duo went a combined 8-for-19 against Auburn with three home runs, eight RBIs and six runs scored.
With the series victory over the No. 3 Tigers (23-3, 1-2 SEC), Florida has already shown that it is worthy of the nation’s top ranking, assembling a 3-1 record against top-five adversaries.
Collectively, the Gators have outscored these opponents 26-13, including an impressive 8-0 run-rule victory against No. 2 Michigan in the second game of the season.
If this small sample size is any indication, Winthrop must be at its best on Wednesday if it wants to upset Florida.
The Eagles are 1-8 at neutral sites and a meager 1-4 in road contests this season, while the Gators haven’t lost a regular season home game since March 15, 2015.
In two games against ranked competition — both at No. 12 Georgia in mid-February — Winthrop was outclassed, dropping the contests 18-3 and 11-0.
On paper, the Gators exceed the Eagles in every major statistical category while having a far more arduous schedule.
But with the prestige of back-to-back championships comes the realization that every team will be giving Florida its best punch in an attempt to knock down the defending champs.
No opponent should be taken lightly.
Contact Brian Lee at blee@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @brianlee_17.
Aleshia Ocasio (middle) high fives a teammate during Florida's doubleheader sweep of Jacksonville on Feb. 17, 2016, at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
