Preview: Gators Softball Host Ole Miss

The No. 1 ranked Florida Gators softball team are hosting SEC play tonight against the No. 18 Ole Miss Rebels in a three-game series at the Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. Game one of the series is scheduled to start Friday night at 6 p.m. Game two will be on Saturday at 4 p.m. and game three will be Sunday at 12 p.m.

GAME DAY‼️ #Gators 🐊 🆚 #Rebels
📍 KSP Stadium
🕕 6 PM
📊 https://t.co/uaIailJG80
📻 https://t.co/FetQqCHlHc
🖥️ https://t.co/bYFKn92Spl pic.twitter.com/wIMUuaxLQG

— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) April 21, 2017

The Gators

Florida’s current overall record is 41-3. They are coming off a 9-1 win against the UCF Knights last Wednesday night. The Rebels need to watch out for Kelly Barnhill, Florida’s sophomore pitcher, who is currently on fire. Barnhill is currently the only pitcher is the nation who is undefeated with a minimum of 15 wins on the season. Barnhill also won SEC Pitcher of the week, becoming the first pitcher to earn SEC Pitcher of the week three times in the same season since Stacy Nelson in 2009. The Florida Gators currently leads the nation in shutouts with a total of 26 and 10 in SEC play. Florida Gators softball head coach Tim Walton believes the Gators are playing with high level confidence.

The Rebels

Ole Miss has an overall record of 31-13 and a 6-9 record in SEC play. The Rebels are currently in a three-way tie for seventh in the SEC rankings with Mississippi State and Kentucky. They are coming off a 7-2 win against the University of Tennessee at Martin. In the SEC, the Ole Miss’s pitching staff ranks sixth in the league with a 2.94 ERA. Tim Walton says the SEC has a lot of good players. The athletic directors have made a huge commitment to softball.

The last time the Gators and the Rebels met was during the 2016 season at the SEC Tournament. Florida defeated Ole Miss 1-0 in a quarterfinal matchup. The Gators have won the last six meetings against the Rebels.

To catch coverage of Friday and Saturday night’s games, tune into SEC Network +. You can also listen to the game on WGGG (92.1 FM/1230 AM) and WMOP (100.1 FM/900 AM). The final game of the series will be broadcast on SEC Network.