No. 21 Kentucky Takes Momentum Into Series With No. 3 Florida

LEXINGTON, Ky. – After snapping a four-game losing streak with a thumping of Louisville in run-rule style at the Battle of the Bluegrass on Wednesday night, the No. 21 Kentucky softball team will turn its attention back to Southeastern Conference action as it hosts league-leading No. 3 Florida for a three-game set at John Cropp Stadium set begin on Friday night at 6 p.m. ET. 

All three games of the series will be shown live on the SEC Network+, ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app. Friday night’s opener will be at 6 p.m. ET with Saturday’s game at 3 p.m. ET and Easter Sunday’s first pitch coming at 1 p.m. ET. 

Tickets are very limited for the weekend, with extremely large crowds expected at John Cropp Stadium. Tickets can be purchased online at UKathletics.com via accessing the tickets tab – or by calling the UK Ticket Office at 859.257.1818.

Parking around John Cropp Stadium will be first-come, first-served in the two paved lots on Wildcat Ct. Overflow parking will be available in the Blue Lot of Commonwealth Stadium with free shuttles taking fans from their cars to the front gates of John Cropp Stadium. Shuttles will run before and after the game. 

Kentucky picked up its third run-rule win of the season Wednesday night, downing the Cards 10-1 at Ulmer Stadium on the heels of nine hits, including three players with multi-hit games. Breanne Ray was the offensive star for the Wildcats, notching two doubles, including a three-RBI double in the sixth inning with the bases loaded. Katie Reed also went 2-for-4 at the plate, while Jenny Schaper went 1-for-1 with a double, and was walked in her other three times up. 

Sitting at 25-11 overall on the season and 14 games over the .500 mark, the Wildcats need just one more win to clinch postseason eligibility for the 10th-straight year under head coach Rachel Lawson. The Wildcats currently sit at 5-7 in the SEC standings and would be the No. 7 seed in the SEC Tournament if the season ended today.

Fresh off a midweek non-conference win over No. 1/2 Florida State – the No. 3 Florida Gators enter this SEC weekend series with a 38-2 overall record, including a 13-1 mark in SEC action. The Gators enter the weekend with a one-game lead over Texas A&M in the SEC standings – and are currently riding a 10-game winning streak. 

Florida’s defense is one of the best in the nation with pitchers Kelly Barnhill (0.22 ERA), Delanie Gourley (0.79) and Aleshia Ocasio (0.84) leading the way in the circle. The Gators offense is also lethal, averaging .321 as a team with Kayli Kvistad leading the charge with a .400 average and five home runs with 34 runs batted in. UF has an RPI of No. 3 in the nation and an 11-1 record against teams in the top 25 of the RPI.

Florida leads the all-time series with Kentucky, 47-13 – with the teams’ last meeting coming in the 2015 NCAA Tournament’s Gainesville Super Regional in which Florida won 2-0 to advance to the Women’s College World Series. Rachel Lawson is 7-15 all-time against Florida, including leading UK to its first-ever series win over UF in 2011. The Gators have won the last six games in a row with UK, as the last Wildcat win came on April 13, 2013 in the opening game of John Cropp Stadium.

Friday, April 14 – 6 p.m. ET – SEC Network+, ESPN3, WatchESPN app

Saturday, April 15 – 3 p.m. ET – SEC Network+, ESPN3, WatchESPN app

Sunday, April 16 – 1 p.m. ET – SEC Network+, ESPN3, WatchESPN app

For the latest on the Kentucky softball team, follow @UKSoftball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com.