Florida hits the road for an NCAA Regional for the first time since 2004 and is set to take on LMU (Ca.) in the first game scheduled for Friday, May 19, at 3 p.m. (PT)/6 p.m. (ET) on ESPN+.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida softball team was selected to compete in the Palo Alto Regional of the 2023 NCAA Softball Tournament. The Orange & Blue will join host No. 9-seed Stanford, Loyola Marymount (Calif.) and Long Beach State in the in regional held at Boyd & Jill Smith Family Stadium in Palo Alto, Calif.
The Gators (36-20) have a history of success in the NCAA Softball Tournament enter this year’s tournament with an overall record of 100-50 and a NCAA regional record of 50-19. However, this year will be the first time that the Orange & Blue will have to go on the road for the regional round since 2004.
Florida welcomes a road challenge as the program earned a No. 14-seed last season and traveled Blacksburg, Va. to take on No. 3-seed Virginia Tech in the NCAA Super Regional Round. It was only the second time in program history that UF had to go on the road for a super regional, but nevertheless won the series, 2-1, and went on to the Women’s College World Series as the only representative from the Southeastern Conference.
UF has won two NCAA National Championships in 2014 & 2015, earned 11 Women’s College World Series berths, appeared in 14 NCAA Super Regionals and 23 NCAA Tournament appearances.
Palo Alto Regional Opponents
No. 9 Stanford (40-13) | PAC 12 (14-10) | Finished 4th in the PAC 12 Regular Season
The Gators and the Cardinal have only met twice in the history between the two programs. The first meeting occurred in 2008 in Fullerton, Calif. where the Orange & Blue claimed the game 4-3, but Stanford defeated Florida in the second meeting in 2010 in Fullerton, Calif. 2-0.
Stanford is led by a pitching staff that boasts a 1.61 ERA which ranks 10th nationally and is headlined by NiJaree Canady (0.49 ERA | 14-1 W/L), Alana Vawter (1.85 ERA | 17-8 W/L) and Reagan Krause (2.21 ERA | 9-4 W/L).
Offensively, the Cardinal have a trio of hitters that hold a batting average above .300 as River Mahier (.389), Taylor Gindlesperger (.331) and Emily Schultz (.319) are all hitting above that mark. As a team, Stanford is hitting .285 on the season with 67 doubles, 15 triples and 21 home runs.
Loyola Marymount (27-20) | West Coast Conference (12-3) | West Coast Conference Champions
Florida’s first opponent of the Palo Alto Regional is LMU. The Lions won their second West Coast Conference Championship this season after going 12-3 in WCC play. The Gators hold an overall 4-0 record against the Lions and the last meeting occurred in Fullerton, Calif. during the 2018 season where the Orange & Blue emerged victorious via an 13-0 (5 inning) run-rule victory.
LMU’s pitching staff holds a 2.87 ERA, which is anchored by Jenna Perez (2.09 ERA | 13-11 W/L) who has pitched 157 2/3 of the total 309 2/3 innings. It is also 114 1/3 more innings than the next closest pitcher in Lindsay O’Dell (2.75 ERA | 4-2 W/L).
At the plate, the Lions hold a .260 batting average with 52 doubles, nine triples and 35 home runs. Sydney Poole (.333 avg.) and Morgan DeBord (.322 avg.) both bat over .300 with DeBord leading the team with nine home runs, eight doubles and four triples.
Long Beach State (31-21) | Big West (21-6) | Big West Conference Champions
Rounding out the Palo Alto Regional field is Long Beach State, who has won the Big West two out of the last three conference titles. The Beach swept Cal State Fullerton twice via back-to-back shutouts to win their conference championship and enter with an overall record of 31-21 and 15-7 conference record.
The Beach relies on its pitching staff that holds a 2.60 ERA with a trio of pitchers garnering a majority of work in the circle. Eryka Gonzales (6-3) leads the staff in ERA with a mark of 1.95 over 68 1/3 innings pitched, while Shannon Haddad (2.16 ERA) leads the team in innings pitched with 139 1/3 and holds a record of 13-9. Sophia Fernandez (8-4) holds the second most innings pitched with 69 1/3 and a 2.62 ERA.
Offensively, Long Beach State has a trio of hitters above the .300 mark with Sara Olson (.336), Jacquelyn Bickar (.313) and Carly Robbins (.302) leading the way for a team that hits .258 with 46 doubles, 19 triples and 19 home runs.
Palo Alto Regional Bracket
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