The UF softball team has an important series with Ole Miss this weekend after its first two SEC series against Tennessee and LSU ended in defeat.
The No. 6 Gators have an opportunity to get back on track in conference play. They’ll use a new batting order, which features North Carolina State transfer Jade Caraway in the leadoff spot, to try to take down a strong Mississippi pitching staff.
Scouting Ole Miss
The No. 22 Rebels provide a difficult challenge for UF. They’re 12-1 at home this season. Their only loss came against No. 13 Arkansas on March 9.
Mississippi (22-8, 3-2 SEC) has also played well against top-25 opponents of late. It won its series with the Razorbacks, swept two games with No. 21 Oklahoma State and split two at No. 16 South Carolina.
The Rebels’ biggest strength is their pitching staff, led by left-hander Molly Jacobsen, a transfer from Des Moines Area Community College.
Jacobsen has the lowest earned-run average (1.04) of any SEC pitcher, and UM has a team ERA of 1.79 (third in the SEC). She threw 9.1 scoreless innings in her team’s two wins over the Razorbacks and hurled a complete-game shutout in an eight-inning thriller against the Gamecocks.
Ole Miss’ offense is at the bottom of the conference. Its .290 batting average is last in the SEC, but it found success lately behind leadoff batter Kylan Becker.
The senior from Miami, Florida, is hitting .473 and has an on-base percentage of .533. She also enters this weekend’s series on an eight-game hit streak and poses a threat to steal every time she’s on base.
Becker has stolen 18 bases on 21 attempts, and the Rebels are second in the SEC in stolen bases with 71.
The Importance of UF’s leadoff spot
Florida (28-6, 2-4 SEC) has a hidden gem in its batting order, and her name is Jade.
Jade Caraway has a five-game hitting streak for Florida, and she has done the bulk of her damage from the leadoff position, where she hit during her first two collegiate seasons at NC State.
“It’s what she’s done her whole life,” UF coach Tim Walton said about Caraway batting leadoff. “I think just being able to see the success she has had now in this uniform is building confidence.”
Caraway came around to score in the first inning in each of the Gators’ last two games and provided speed around the bases for the power hitters in Amanda Lorenz and Kendyl Lindaman who follow her.
Friday’s matchup with Ole Miss will be her first in the leadoff spot against an SEC opponent this season.
“The vibe I think is the biggest difference,” Caraway said about playing in the SEC. “Every weekend is just a big weekend.”
Follow Mark Stine on Twitter @mstinejr and contact him at mstine@alligator.org.
Kendyl Lindaman leads the team with 34 RBIs this season.
