#2 Florida vs. #15 Texas A&M
Gainesville, FL
Broadcast information:
Tiffany Greene and Amanda Scarborough
Thursday @ 7 pm ET, ESPN
Friday @ 7 pm ET, ESPN2
Saturday @ 5 pm ET, ESPN (if necessary)
How they got here:
Florida finished the regular season 47-8 and as regular-season SEC champions. The Gators were 20-4 in conference play and lost just one conference series, to Georgia. As the #1 seed in the SEC tournament, the bested Alabama, Tennessee, and South Carolina in the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals, respectively, en route to the SEC tournament championship. Then selected as the #2 overall seed in the NCAA tournament, the Gators bested Bethune-Cookman and Ohio State, the Buckeyes in a pair of games, to advance to the Super Regionals.
The Aggies were 40-15 in the regular season, finishing sixth in the conference standings. The Aggies were upset in the first round of the conference tournament, losing 2-0 to Mississippi State. Still selected to host a regional as the #15 overall seed in the NCAA tournament, the Aggies run-ruled Prairie View A&M and McNeese State before breaking out late against Baylor and advancing to the Supers.
Who to watch
Florida: Amanda Lorenz, OF — There isn’t much that can be said about Lorenz that hasn’t already been touched on at some point in her three years as a Gator, but there is no doubt that she is a catalyst to the Gators’ success. The SEC Player of the Year, Lorenz boasts a .418 batting average this season and thirty-two extra base hits, ten of them home runs. She has gained an incredible 61 walks and boasts 59 RBI, now in the heart of the batting order and with some young speedsters in front of her in the lineup. Tim Walton should lean heavily on both her incredible offensive abilities, as well as her veteran knowledge and experience.
Texas A&M: Sarah Hudek, OF — A former community college baseball pitcher, Hudek’s story is an impressive one, but you don’t have to know her story to note the impact that she has on A&M’s offensive attack. Hudek had just one hit in her team’s three-game series against the Gators earlier this year, and that a solo home run off of Kelly Barnhill. Hudek hit .545 during the regional in College Station, with a pair of doubles, a home run, and five RBI. Jo Evans needs her to hit her stride this weekend and help lead the Aggie offense.
