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The 2023 collegiate softball season is heading for the finish line, but not before an SEC series matchup featuring two ranked squads. The 14th ranked Florida Gators head to Knoxville, Tennessee, to take on the fourth ranked Lady Volunteers. The three-game series begins Saturday and runs through Monday. Tennessee heads in on a five-game winning streak.
That's a midweek win! #GoLadyVols pic.twitter.com/zqzGG6vUKD
— Tennessee Softball (@Vol_Softball) April 18, 2023
Gators riding momentum
Florida heads into this matchup off a good week. Despite losing on Sunday, the Gators took the series over the Georgia Bulldogs in their first ever sold-out series in program history. On Wednesday, they tallied a 7-3 win against the University of South Florida off of a walk-off grand slam from Emily Wilkie.
https://twitter.com/GatorsSB/status/1648859474948677633?s=20
Florida is ranked 14th on the season with a 32-11 record. However, the team is not nearly as dominant in the SEC. The Gators sit in sixth place in the conference with an 8-7 record. Skylar Wallace leads the Gators at the plate with a .471 batting average. She has 13 home runs on the year, the most on the team. Kendra Falby, batting .398, leads the team in hits with 53. Charla Echols, batting .355, leads the team in RBIs with 49.
Florida is 7-4 when playing on the road.
Lady Volunteers Dominant In-Conference
So far, Tennessee has proved to be the best team in the SEC this season. With a 35-5 record, the Lady Vols find themselves ranked fourth in the country. They sit in first place in the SEC with a 13-2 conference record. Kiki Milloy and McKenna Gibson lead the way for Tennessee, with 18 and 14 home runs respectively. They lead the squad in RBIs by a wide margin with 44 and 50. Third place is far behind with 33. This duo is a huge reason for the Lady Vols success this season, and can be expected to give the Gators a challenge.
Tennessee is 14-3 at home, a big advantage over the Gators who aren’t very strong away.
Anything can happen in an SEC battle and this one should be exciting as the season heads for the finish line. Game one of the series begins Saturday at 4 p.m.
