2017 Gator Softball: April Recap

The No. 1 Florida Gators (50-5, 20-3 SEC) hit their stride in the month of April as they secured the seventh (and third consecutive) SEC regular season title in program history. They posted a record of 15-2 (12-2 SEC) in the month with their only losses coming on the road to No. 22 Kentucky (36-17, 12-12 SEC) and No. 8 Tennessee (44-10, 16-7 SEC). Both these losses were by scores of 5-1.

The Gators played two games that ended in five innings, had 11 shutouts, and allowed just 15 total runs throughout the month. They won all five of their series in April (sweeping No. 24 Arkansas, No. 18 Georgia, and No. 20 Ole Miss and taking two out of three from No. 22 Kentucky and No. 8 Tennessee) while defeating six ranked opponents (No. 24 Arkansas, No. 18 Georgia, No. 20 Ole Miss, No. 22 Kentucky, and No. 8 Tennessee).

Here are some notable Gator performances and accolades from this past month:

• On April 4th, freshman catcher Jordan Roberts earned her first SEC Player of the Week award after hitting .545 with two home runs and 10 RBI's in the Arkansas series.
• 4/12 vs No. 1 Florida State - In front of a record crowd of 2,574 people, the No. 3 Florida Gators won their sixth straight over the Seminoles by a score of 1-0. Junior Kayli Kvistad was the hero as she hit a walk off single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh.
• 4/16 vs No. 22 Kentucky - Sophomore right-hander Kelly Barnhill tossed her second career no-hitter and struck out 15 Wildcats as the Gators won the series by a score of 2-0.
• On April 18th, Kelly Barnhill had to make some serious room in her trophy case. She was honored as the USA Softball Co-Player of the Week, the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Pitcher of the Week, and SEC Pitcher of the Week. The trio of awards was well deserved as she went 4-0 with a no-hitter and 47 strikeouts in 23 innings of work.
• On April 25th, senior left-hander Delanie Gourley was selected by the Scrap Yard Dawgs as the 12th overall pick in the third round. She became the 13th Gator ever selected in the NPF College Draft.
• Also on April 25th, Kelly Barnhill and Kayli Kvistad were honored with SEC Pitcher of the Week and SEC Player of the Week, respectively. Barnhill struck out 16 in a two-hit shutout over Ole Miss and finished that weekend 2-0 with 25 strikeouts in 12 shutout innings. Kvistad finished the week with a .636 average (7-11), three doubles, eight RBI's, and a run scored.

And now, here are the Gator stat leaders after a month of play:

Offense

Hits: Amanda Lorenz (59) (Sophomore)

RBI's: Kayli Kvistad (47)

Doubles: Nicole DeWitt (14) (Junior)

Triples: Amanda Lorenz/Alesia Ocasio/Jamie Hoover (3) (Junior/Freshman)

Home Runs: Amanda Lorenz (9)

Batting Average: Kayli Kvistad (.390)

Slugging Percentage: Amanda Lorenz (.652)

On Base Percentage: Kayli Kvistad (.583)

Stolen Bases: Jacqui Switzer (18) (Freshman)

Runs Scored: Amanda Lorenz (52)

Total Bases: Amanda Lorenz (101)

Strikeouts: Jordan Roberts (32)

Walks: Kayli Kvistad (60)

Hit By Pitch: Nicole DeWitt (16)

Sacrifice Bunts: Sophia Reynoso (8) (Redshirt Freshman)

Sacrifice Flies: Nicole DeWitt (5)

Defense

Assists: Sophia Reynoso (77)

Putouts: Janell Wheaton (452) (Junior)

Errors: Sophia Reynoso (6)

Fielding Percentage: Janell Wheaton/Jordan Roberts/Amanda Lorenz/Aleshia Ocasio (1.000)

Pitching

Wins: Kelly Barnhill (22)

Losses: Delanie Gourley (4)

Strikeouts: Kelly Barnhill (278)

Walks: Kelly Barnhill (27)

Earned Run Average: Kelly Barnhill (0.33)

Shutouts: Kelly Barnhill (9)

Saves: Kelly Barnhill (3)

Appearances: Kelly Barnhill (29)

Innings Pitched: Kelly Barnhill (146.2)

Looking Ahead

With the regular season done and their SEC Tournament run over after an early exit in the quarterfinals, the No. 1 Florida Gators will await their seeding for the National Tournament. Here is how they fared in the month of May thus far:

May

3rd: @No. 2 Florida State (L 3-1)

5th: North Texas (W 8-0)

6th: North Texas (W 9-0)

7th: North Texas (W 8-1)
7th: Florida A&M (W 7-1)
SEC Tournament

11th: No. 19 Ole Miss (L 2-0)

Florida became the first No. 1 seed ever to not make the SEC semifinals after losing 2-0 to Ole Miss (38-18, 10-14 SEC) this past Thursday. They have no need to fret, however, as two of their national championship runs have come after early exits from the SEC Tournament. The Gators should be back in action at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium next weekend as they host the Gainesville Regional.

*All stats accredited to FloridaGators.com

**Rankings of some teams may have changed since playing Florida

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