The No. 3 Gators have been waiting nearly nine months for this.
Wednesday’s midweek showdown with No. 2 UCLA (14-0) in Fullerton, California, is not only the UF softball team’s biggest test of the season, but it’s also an opportunity for redemption.
The Bruins defeated Florida in last year’s Women’s College World Series 6-5.
Florida led 4-0 after three innings in that game, but a collapse in the top of the fourth inning gave the Bruins a 5-4 lead, and UCLA held on to win.
“I’m extremely excited,” outfielder Jaimie Hoover said. “Words don’t even explain how I feel, it’s going to be a good one.”
This battle of unbeatens is a prime opportunity for the Gators (18-0) to obtain a statement win far from home early in the season. They haven’t faced a team currently in the top 10 and have played only one team ranked in the latest USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll (No. 12 Arizona).
UCLA, on the other hand, beat No. 4 Oklahoma 7-1 and run-ruled No. 17 Kentucky 12-4.
The Bruins are led by dual-threat redshirt junior Rachel Garcia, the reigning Honda Award winner. Garcia has a 0.71 ERA in the circle this season with 68 strikeouts, the seventh-most in the country. She’s batting just .297 this season but has crushed two home runs.
Garcia, along with freshman Megan Faraimo and sophomore Holly Azevedo, have combined for the country’s eighth-lowest ERA (1.11), six spots behind Florida’s 0.97.
UCLA’s offense boasts a .370 batting average that is tied for seventh in the country and the 10th-best slugging percentage. Redshirt sophomore Aaliyah Jordan and junior Bubba Nickles have combined for nine of UCLA’s 15 home runs.
Florida, comparatively, has a lower team batting average and slugging percentage, but it has a higher on-base percentage thanks to its 82 walks and 31 hit by pitches. The Gators are going to need to continue that level of bat control against a UCLA pitching staff that is stingy with walks. Its strikeout-to-walk ratio (8.56) ranks third in the country.
Florida has to rely on their power in the lineup, which has belted 21 home runs and scored just over seven runs per game this season.
UF will also counter whoever UCLA starts in the circle with either senior ace Kelly Barnhill, who won SEC Pitcher of the Week for the third week in a row, or sophomore Natalie Lugo, who has had a solid start to the season.
If the Gators do not win Wednesday’s bout with the Bruins, they’ll get another shot at it on Friday in the third game of the Judi Garman Classic, also being held in Fullerton.
“We’re gonna have to take it to another level now,” said coach Tim Walton. “That’s why our players play the game, they wanna play against the best.”
Follow Brendan Farrell on Twitter @Bfarrell727 and contact him at bfarrell@alligator.org.
Florida pitcher Kelly Barnhill is fourth in the SEC in ERA at 0.59 with the second-highest innings pitched (47.2). She has earned SEC Pitcher of the Week three weeks in a row.
