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Coming off a dominant weekend at its home invitational, the No. 3 Florida softball team hits the road to play Houston on Wednesday. The Gators head to Texas on a 10-game win streak and with just one loss so far this season.
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On Road Again
The Gators (23-1) spent all of last week at home, going on a 5-0 run in front of the Florida faithful. Although they are leaving the Sunshine State this week, the Gators have nothing to worry about. The team is undefeated on the road this season.
Houston, however, is 9-2 at home to start the season. The Cougars are also on a two-game win streak. With both teams carrying momentum into the game, this will be a fun clash to watch.
The teams have a short three-game history between them. The Gators lead the series, 2-1, but have not played the Cougars since 2006.
Cougar Country
The Cougars are 14-5 overall and recently earned the No. 21 spot on NCAA softball’s RPI rankings. They have a couple of impressive players in their lineup, most notably freshman Brooke Wells. Wells pitches and plays the infield. She leads the team with a .787 slugging percentage, 24 hits and 26 RBIs. The Texas native is batting .393 on the year, the second highest batting average on the team.
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Fellow freshman Ariel Redmond is on a seven game hit streak, which she extended in the team’s win against Boise State on Sunday. She’s batting .324 this season and is solid in the outfield with a .955 fielding percentage.
The ace for Houston in the circle is sophomore Gigi Solis. The right-handed pitcher leads the team in innings pitched at 30.2, holding opponents to a .254 batting average. She also has the lowest ERA for all the Cougars pitchers at 3.20.
How to Corral the Cougars
The Gators need to do one thing to win in this one: keep doing what they’ve been doing. If their bats get going, Houston has virtually no chance of stopping the Gators lineup. But, if the offense does stall, Florida needs to allow its pitchers to get to work in the circle and back them up defensively. Against Florida A&M on Saturday, the Gators struggled early at the plate, which spiraled into sloppy defensive play. Houston is a more formidable opponent and will take advantage if Florida repeats this effort.
Keeping the energy up even if that bats are struggling is down to the team’s senior leadership. Seniors Kendra Falby, Korbe Otis and Reagan Walsh all play major roles for the team, both on and off the field. Walsh was named last week’s SEC Co-Player of the week, Falby has gotten on base in every game this season and Otis is batting .421 this year. If they can bring good vibes, and continue their impressive play, the Gators should have no problem with the Cougars.
*24 games now https://t.co/HOOa2Uam0K
— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) March 3, 2025
Gametime and What’s Next
First pitch against Houston is set for 6 p.m. on Wednesday. The game is available to watch on ESPN+. Looking ahead, Florida will stay in the Lone Star State for a three-game weekend series against Texas A&M, which begins Friday.
