Gainesville Regional Breakdown
One thing is certain about this regional – the teams in it don’t have too far to travel, as all four teams in the Gainesville bracket come from Florida. With teams coming from Tampa, Orlando and Fort Myers, the drive to Gainesville won’t be too exhausting. What might be exhausting? A tiring experience might be facing the Florida Gators, the fifth seed in the 64-team tournament. Florida brings a 46-11 overall record, including a 24-4 mark at home, into this event. The 1-2 punch of sophomore Hannah Rogers (26-6, 1.26 ERA, 23 complete games, 180 strikeouts through May 9) and freshman Lauren Haeger (13-4, 1.44, 117 K’s) has stabilized a team that came into the season with plenty of question marks. Haeger and junior Kelsey Horton wield hot bats (11 homers apiece) and senior Michelle Moultrie (10 home runs) is pretty decent herself. Florida is ranked seventh in the nation in Division I and will be hard to stop.
The team with the best chance of unseating the Gators is South Florida, which is 19th in the nation and carries a 45-11 record into the tournament. South Florida has already beaten Florida once this year, a 4-1 victory back in March, so the Bulls know it is possible to knock out a top team. With junior Lindsey Richardson (9-2, 1.64, 93 strikeouts), sophomore Sara Nevins (26-4, 1.06, 268 K) and freshman Sam Greiner (10-4, 1.58), USF should be hard to stop. UCF (39-17), from Conference USA, scored a 2-0 shutout over Florida earlier this season and it sports the lowest era (1.45) among CUSA squads. It is also the seventh-best ERA in the country, and freshman Mackenzie Audas (21-9, 1.04, 254 strikeouts) is a large reason why UCF should be a big threat. Florida Gulf Coast (37-22), from the Atlantic Sun, is the fourth team, and sophomore Chelsea Zgrabik is the team’s best hitter with 12 home runs. FGCU has not made a recent postseason appearance, so the team could be a bit green when it approaches postseason play. One thing is certain, and it can be said with a little humor: A team from Florida WILL advance to the super-regional round.
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