Florida Softball Takes on No. 5 Alabama

The No. 7 Florida Gators play the No. 5 Alabama Crimson Tide Saturday at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium to open a three-game series. The Gators are coming off a 4-2 loss against Florida State and are now 30-7. The Crimson tide are 31-5 and are 8-4 in the SEC.

History Between The Teams

Alabama has a slight lead over the Gators in games played with 42 wins and 40 losses dating back to 1997. Florida is on a two-game losing streak after a 4-0 loss in their last game against the Crimson Tide on May 15, 2021, and a 4-2 loss April 18, 2021. 

Florida On The Offense And The Diamond

Fifth-year Hannah Adams continues to be a star player for the Gators. With 119 at-bat appearances this season, she had 27 runs and 45 hits. However, with five AB against the Seminoles, she had no hits. On the defense, the second basemen has 46 put outs and 67 assists. 

Senior Charla Echols has 103 at-bat appearances with 21 runs and 30 hits. She put up her sixth multi-hit game of the season against Florida State Wednesday. The third basemen has 32 put outs with 64 assists. 

Freshman Kendra Falby is on the rise with 115 at-bat appearances, 40 RB’s and 48 hits. She leads the team with 17 multi-hit games after collecting a double in the first inning and a single in the ninth inning against Florida State. She has 50 put outs on the outfield. 

Head coach Tim Walton realizes there is work to do for the team’s performance.

Alabama 

Junior Pitcher Lexi Kilfoyl will bring the heat to the game as she has 62.2 innings pitched in 13 games pitched. She had 10 strikeouts in the three-game series against Georgia with 18 batters faced. She has four hits and two runs on the offense for the season. 

“Pitching back-to-back games was kind of unexpected, but I knew that I could do it,” she said on the Georgia series. “I just stayed focused, used everything I learned from yesterday to my advantage and focused on attacking each batter.”

Senior catcher Ally Shipman poses a threat to the Gators after dominating the final game against Georgia April 4. With two runs, two hits and five RBI’s, she led the team with a .412 average. She collected her season high in home runs, runs scored, runs batted in and bases stolen Monday. 

The game will be aired on ESPN. 

Coming Up

Following the three-game series, the Gators will play Ole Miss in a three-game series. The Crimson Tide will take on Mississippi State in a three-game series.