The Gators and the Wildcats finished the regular season in Lexington, Ky. where UK took the series 2-1.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The 18th-ranked Florida softball team enters the postseason as the No. 8-seed in the 2023 SEC Softball Tournament and is set to take on No. 9-seed Kentucky in its first game Wednesday, May 10, approximately 35 minutes following the conclusion of the game between No. 5 Alabama and No. 13-seed Missouri on SEC Network.
The Gators (35-19) and the Wildcats (30-19-1) ended the regular season with a three-game series against each other in Lexington, Ky. just last weekend. UK took the series, 2-1, over UF as the Orange & Blue took game one 3-2, before Kentucky responded to take games two and three, 7-6 and 1-0.
Florida in the postseason has a record of tremendous success, especially at the SEC Softball Tournament. UF holds a record of 36-29 in the SEC Softball tournament and ranks third in tournament wins. The program also boasts the second-most tournament titles with five and tournament championship game appearances with nine.
Leading the way into the postseason is USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 10 Finalist Skylar Wallace. Wallace, a three-time SEC Player of the Week performer, is currently the only player in Division I with at least 65 runs scored, 60 hits, 50 RBI, 30 stolen bases and 45 walks. The Woodstock, Ga. native currently holds a .455 batting average with 66 runs scored, 60 hits, 54 RBI, 46 walks and 30 stolen bases.
Wallace is currently on pace to rewrite the Florida single-season record book as she currently ranks first in batting average ahead of Michelle Moultrie’s .443 record-setting batting average in 2011. She also ranks first in slugging percentage (1.030), which is outpacing Brittany Schutte’s .780 slugging mark that she set in 2010 and holds a .604 on base percentage, which is currently ahead of Amanda Lorenz’s .582 on base percentage she set in 2018.
Additionally, Kendra Falby (.392), Charla Echols (.358), Reagan Walsh (.333), Sam Roe (.314) all hold batting averages above .300 on the year. Echols currently ranks fifth nationally with 61 RBI on the year and leads the SEC in the category. The Newnan, Ga. native is only the third player in Florida history to post three seasons with 50 or more RBI as she joins Lauren Haeger and Francesca Enea.
As a team, Florida’s offense is hitting at a .322 clip and slugging .538, which currently both rank fourth all-time in the UF history books. Additionally, UF has hit a total of 63 home runs this year, which ranks eighth all-time in a single season and it’s the most home runs hit since the 2015 season when the Gators belted 80.
Should the Gators prevail against the Wildcats, they’ll advance to take on No. 1-seed Tennessee Thursday, May 11, 35 minutes after No. 4-seed Arkansas plays their opponent at 5 p.m. (ET).
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