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Following Thursday’s 8-0 victory against UNF, the No. 3 Gators softball team turns its attention to the USF-Rawlings Invitational starting today in Tampa.
The invitational is hosted by the University of South Florida and runs from Thursday to Sunday.
The teams Florida will face this weekend are: Illinois State, Delaware, No. 22 Michigan, Georgia Southern and USF.
Florida’s schedule this weekend
Friday
The action starts at 7 p.m. when Florida (1-0) takes on Illinois State. The Redbirds have already begun playing in Tampa, as they started Thursday going 1-1 on the day with a 2-1 extra-innings victory over Delaware. But dropped the second game to USF, 5-3.
For Florida will need to limit the production of a senior-heavy lineup the Redbirds will send to the plate. Senior infielder Addison Masching had a huge day against USF, going 3-for-3 with a double. Senior first basemen Abby Knight did well also with a hit in both games.
Saturday
Saturday’s doubleheader starts at 12:30 p.m., when Florida takes on Delaware and wraps up Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. against No. 22 Michigan.
Delaware was defeated in both games Thursday. Their extra-innings loss to Illinois State was a tough blow to start the day and just like the Blue Hens were defeated by USF 9-1. Delaware struggled getting any production going, generating only two runs and eight hits through two games. Hard to imagine if it can’t get anything going it will be able to compete with the Gators.
The toughest team Florida will face is Michigan. It’s the only ranked matchup the Gators will see all weekend and the first real challenge. Michigan had a solid year last year, going 43-18 and falling short in the NCAA regionals.
The Wolverines return most of their lineup from last season, including three All-Big Ten selections, headlined by junior Maddie Erickson, who batted .352 last season with 12 home runs.
Sunday
Florida will finish its weekend with two more games. The action begins at noon against Georgia Southern and finishes up against USF (coverage on ESPN 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF).
Georgia Southern starts their invitational this morning at 9 a.m. against Delaware. The Eagles went 30-21 last season and are led by junior outfielder Emma Davis, who led the team in batting average (.384), OPS (.901), runs (40) and hits (63).
USF is off to a strong start, going 2-0 on Thursday. The Bulls are looking to bounce back after an up-and-down season last year in going 34-22. Behind Michigan, USF will probably be the next biggest challenge for the Gators.
Junior Alexa Galligani had herself a day to open up the season. She went 4-for-7 on the day with two doubles and two RBIs. Sophomore Alex Wilkes is another name to watch after she had a multiple hit day. If Florida wants to beat USF, it’s going to be about slowing down the top of the order where most of the damage comes from.
