LEXINGTON, Ky. ? The Kentucky softball team will wrap up the 2007 season this weekend, May 5-6, when it hosts No. 20 Florida for a three-game series. UK seniors Jenny Sibert, Gina Florence, Ashley Fertic, Katie Campbell and Brooke Marnitz will be honored prior to Saturday?s doubleheader. The Southeastern Conference foes will play a single game on Sunday with the first pitch set for 1 p.m. each day.
This weekend marks the 36th all-time meeting between the Cats and Gators who hold a 29-6 edge in the all-time series. The Wildcats won the second game of the series last year in Gainesville, but UF came back to win the finale and take the series two games to one.
The Gators are currently 41-19 on the year and 14-11 in SEC play after taking two games from Mississippi State over the weekend. UF is 8-2 in its last ten games and ranks second in the SEC Eastern Division behind No. 2 Tennessee.
Kim Waleszonia leads the Gators with a .365 average, 12 doubles, 40 runs scored and 19 stolen bases. Melissa Zick and Kentucky native Mary Ratliff are hitting .306 and .300, respectively. Zick has a team-high nine home runs, while Ratliff has 28 RBI, eight doubles and five triples this season. The Gators have 102 stolen bases this season and are second behind the Wildcats with 23 fielding double plays.
Florida?s pitching staff has a combined ERA of 1.46, led by Stacey Nelson who is 26-12 with a 0.99 ERA this year. Nelson has recorded a team-high 224 strikeouts in 247.0 innings and has tossed 10 shutouts. Stacey Stevens is 15-7 with a 2.15 ERA and 116 strikeouts in 165.2 innings pitched.
?Florida is a very solid team in all aspects of the game,? said UK third-year head coach Eileen Schmidt. ?They are having a great year and are currently running number two in the Eastern division. This will be a tough weekend for us. It is Senior Weekend and we will say goodbye to five young ladies that have stuck out the hard times to help us continue to grow this program to where it needs to be. We thank them for all their hard work and sweat.?
The Wildcats have lost three straight since being swept at No. 1 Alabama over the weekend in Tuscaloosa. UK is now 20-28 overall with a 4-21 mark in league play. Marnitz continues to make her mark on the offensive records. She has set UK single-season records for home runs (21), RBI (60), slugging percentage (.910) and total bases (132). The Lexington native leads the SEC and the nation in home runs per game with 0.44 and is ranked among the nation?s best in RBI (5th ? 1.25 pg) and slugging percentage (6th – .910).
Campbell has also made her mark on the Kentucky record books during her career in the Blue and White. The Seattle, Wash., native ranks second behind Marnitz with 30 home runs and is tied for third with 111 career RBI. Fertic ranks fifth all-time with 12 career homers and is tied for ninth with 18 doubles during her four seasons in Lexington. The Valrico, Fla., native is 11th all-time with 215 games played for the Wildcats.
Fertic may be a native of Florida, but she has a close connection to the most exciting two minutes in sports. Fertic?s grandfather (her father?s step-father), Jack Richard, was a jockey who competed in the 1949 Kentucky Derby. Richard rode atop Lextown and finished 11th out of 14 horses. The horse was owned by Lexbrook Stable and trained by Dave Hurn. Calumet Farm?s Ponder won the 1949 Kentucky Derby, while Capot was second and Palestinian finished third.
