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No. 3 Florida (31-1, 7-2 SEC) softball will host the Florida State Seminoles (26-10, 5-1 ACC) Wednesday night at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. It will be the first of two meetings between the in-state rivals this season.
The Gators have won five consecutive games and are a coming off a series sweep of Arkansas. Meanwhile, the Noles took two of three from North Carolina last weekend.
Tonight’s meeting will be the first installment of the Florida/FSU rivalry since March 2012, when the Gators grabbed a 9-1 six inning win over the Seminoles in Tallahassee. While the rivalry is still relatively new to some players, like Florida sophomore pitcher/first baseman Lauren Haeger who is from Arizona, they understand the animosity between the schools and try to have fun with it.
Look for Haeger to continue her hot performance at the plate tonight. The sophomore hit 14 home runs all of last year, but she already has 12 bombs and 44 RBI this season.
Florida will send its ace, and reigning SEC Pitcher of the Week, Hannah Rogers to the mound against the Noles. Last week, she improved her record to 17-2, recording 26 strikeouts and giving up eight hits and no runs in 19 innings of work. The junior also picked up her first save of the season Friday night against Arkansas. Rogers has faced the Seminoles before and she expects a tough game from them Wednesday night.
Florida holds the series edge over FSU, 16-13, and is 8-6 against the Seminoles at home. First pitch from Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium tonight is set for 6 p.m.
