The Florida Gator softball team is on the road for a weekend series against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Florida is currently ranked third in the nation going into this series and is 30-3 on the season but just 3-3 in the SEC.
This series marks the second straight weekend the Gators are on the road and it is the first meeting of the two teams since the 2013 season.
Mississippi State is 4-5 in the SEC but it is a program seemingly on the upswing. The team strength is its hitting as the Bulldogs hit .341 as a team with just about every regular in the lineup hitting above the .300 mark. Amanda Ivy leads the team with a .386 average.
Pitching has not been as good. The Bulldogs have a team earned run average of 3.34 with Alexis Silkwood being their top arm, with a 17-6 record and a 2.77 earned run average.
Florida hits .304 as a team but the Gators have much more home run power than does Mississippi State. Lauren Haeger and Taylore Fuller lead the Gators with nine homers each.
On paper, Florida’s pitching is better than Mississippi State’s numbers. Florida has a team earned run average of 1.42 with three pitchers that have been very effective for most of this season.
The Gators lead the all time series against the Bulldogs 28-18.