Gators Softball Set to Play UCF In Midweek Contest

No. 4/6 Florida softball is looking to make it five wins in a row Wednesday as they face the UCF Knights in Orlando.

The game will be the first time the two teams face each other in 2018. The Gators will be looking to fine tune themselves against UCF before they face No. 15 Alabama this weekend.

Florida has dominated UCF through out the years as they own a 20-3 record against the Knights. The Gators have won the last eight meetings.

Don’t Sleep On The Knights

On paper, UF should be able to handle UCF easily but that does not mean they should take the foot off the gas pedal.

Playing nationally ranked teams is nothing new for the Knights. Earlier in the season, UCF upset No. 22 Long Beach State. They fell one run short to No. 23 James Madison and lost 9-1 to No. 3 UCLA.

When the Gators travel to Orlando, they will be trying to defeat a team that has been successful in front of their home crowd. UCF sports a 9-4 home record, as they are in the midst of a four game home winning streak. UCF’s last win against Florida actually came at home when they shutout then No. 3 UF 2-0 in 2012.

Gators Pitching Expected to Set The Tone

One of the main reasons Florida has been so successful this season is because of their dominant pitching.

So far this season, the Gators have only allowed opponents to score 41 runs. The Knights may have a hard time facing Florida’s pitchers as the team currently has a .246 overall batting average. UCF will have to strike fast as the Gators don’t let opponents collect hits and have big innings. 19 of the 41 runs scored on UF have been via the long ball.

Florida will look to improve on their impressive 1.12 team ERA.

How to Watch

The game between the Gators and Knights is expected to be a sell out. The first pitch from the UCF Softball Complex is at 6 p.m.. A live broadcast of the game can be heard on 92.1 FM & 1230 AM.

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