It’s been nearly two years since the last time UF played a ranked SEC opponent.
That streak, which began June 1, 2019, ends Friday when No. 9 Kentucky treks to Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium for a weekend series against No. 6 Florida.
Kentucky (19-0) has handled a smooth schedule. It hasn’t faced a ranked opponent and only battled one power-five school, a 8-1 win over Pittsburgh on March 1.
Pitching has been UK’s strength this season as every opponent scored fewer than five runs a game. Autumn Humes and Grace Baalman lead the staff. Humes rocks a 1.45 ERA, while Baalman sports a 1.84.
Florida (15-1) needs its offense to excel and defy this Wildcat staff. It appears it came out of hibernation in Wednesday’s 10-2 win over Kennesaw State.
Before facing the Owls, coach Tim Walton made multiple changes to the order of his lineup. He moved center fielder Cheyenne Lindsey to leadoff and pushed left fielder Jaimie Hoover to the nine spot.
The move paid dividends as Lindsey finished 2-4 with a triple and an RBI, while Hoover nagged the walk-off hit. UF scored its most runs since Feb. 21. Walton did not commit to keeping the same lineup, however, for the weekend series.
“Kentucky’s a different matchup than Kennesaw State,” Walton said. “Putting Jaimie in the nine hole to put more speed in front of Cheyenne was a good call.”
Florida’s biggest threat at the plate remains third baseman Charla Echols. The junior found herself in a slump a few weeks ago, but reemerged with three home runs in as many games, including two Wednesday night. Her 21 RBIs rank eighth in the SEC.
However, Kentucky batters – juniors Kayla Kowalik and Renee Abernathy, seniors Lauren Johnson and Mallory Peyton and freshman Erin Coffel – hold the next five spots. The Wildcats top the conference in nearly every offensive category, from batting average to hits.
Fortunately for Gator fans, UF carries some top-notch hurlers on its staff. Junior Elizabeth Hightower is expected to receive a start this weekend. The right-hander pitched a one-hit shutout in her last outing Friday against No. 16 FSU. She maintains a 0.68 ERA, sixth in the conference.
In Wednesday’s duel, lefty Katie Chronister atoned for her feeble performance in Saturday’s loss to FSU. She entered in relief of senior Natalie Lugo and allowed no Owl hits through two innings.
“We wanted to get her (Chronister) back out there, so we can figure out this weekend,” Walton said. “You would like to keep them fresh before the weekend.”
Walton said the team feels prepared to go headfirst into SEC play after playing 16 non-conference games.
“The one thing we are really working on is letting confidence breed confidence,” Walton said. “We have a lot of young players who probably feel like they are walking on eggshells.”
First pitch Friday will occur at 6 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m. All three games will stream on SEC Network +.
Contact Noah Ram at nram@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @Noah_ram1
Noah is a third year journalism-sports and media student from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. He has been with The Alligator since Spring 2019 and has covered men’s and women’s tennis, gymnastics and volleyball. When he isn’t on his beat, Noah is usually sadden over his beloved South Florida sports teams, such as the Heat and Dolphins.
