After shutting out Mercer in a midweek doubleheader on Wednesday and capping off a six-game home stand, Florida is preparing for its first Southeastern Conference road series.
No. 1 UF (26-1, 2-1 SEC) starts its three-game series against LSU (17-8, 1-2 SEC) tonight at 7 in Baton Rouge, La.
The Gators have not played the Tigers since the 2012 SEC Tournament — Florida won 1-0.
The last time Florida played LSU in Tiger Park was a two-game series in 2011. Senior Hannah Rogers is the only player still on UF’s roster who played during that series.
Even though the majority of the Gators’ roster has not played LSU, coach Tim Walton does not believe it will make an impact on the team’s production.
“I don’t know that we really care about who we’ve seen,” Walton said. “We’re going to LSU. It’s a tough place to play. It’s a great team. It’s going to be a crazy environment. We’ve played some great ballgames there.”
LSU owns the series against Florida 29-20, including winning 14 of the 21 contests in Baton Rouge.
The Tigers are led on offense by sophomore shortstop Bianka Bell and junior outfielder A.J. Andrews. Bell paces LSU with a .742 slugging percentage and six home runs, while Andrews boasts a .407 batting average and 33 hits.
But Florida has powerhouses of its own. Six of the Gators’ starters in the doubleheader against the Bears on Wednesday have at least a .306 batting average and all of them have a on-base percentage of at least .369.
UF will also rely on its pitching staff to keep the momentum in its favor. Florida’s pitchers have a combined 1.15 ERA and have struck out 175 batters while giving up only 101 hits.
But the Tigers, who are averaging 8.4 hits and 5.7 runs per game, have the ability to play against tougher competition. LSU has won two games against ranked opponents this season — a 6-3 win against then-No. 3 Washington and a 5-3 victory against then-No. 13 Stanford — in addition to going 11-5 at home in 2014.
“They’ve got a softball-rich tradition program, so it’s going to be tough whether our team’s seen them or not seen them,” Walton said. “They’re a good team. They’ve beaten some really good teams this year and it’s going to be tough for us on the road. They’re going to be ready to go.”
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Tim Walton looks on during Florida’s 8-0 win against Indiana on Feb. 22 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. Walton and UF begins the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
