Florida Softball looks to keep the train rolling against Kentucky

Last weekend was an important step for the legitimacy of Florida Softball in 2024. The Gators had shown they could pick apart mid-major pitching but had yet to showcase an ability to score runs against Power Five opposition with consistency.

After scoring some runs against Alabama two weeks ago, the Gators plated ten runs in both games against Indiana, a squad that was 22-4 before Florida beat them twice.

Florida is back at it with SEC play this week with the hopes of keeping this promising season rolling against Kentucky.

Florida Softball: Who Are We? The Wildcats!

Kentucky travels to town with a record of 20-8 but are ranked 23rd in the current ESPN/USA Today poll. They opened their SEC play two weeks ago by getting swept by LSU.

On paper this should be a matchup Florida feels comfortable with. Kentucky does not have an elite pitching staff, with an ERA of 2.92 to come in at 82nd in the country. By comparison, Indiana has the 27th best ERA even after Florida pummeled them.

Skylar Wallace continues to lead the Gators and is second in the nation in on base percentage at a clip of .630. Korbe Otis isn't far behind though and is fourth in the country at a clip of .598.

If Florida can scratch across anything run wise the bats of Kentucky shouldn't pose too massive of a threat. The Wildcats can hit a little bit and are 33rd in the country with a team batting average of .319, which is tied with the Indiana squad that Keagan Rothrock and Ava Brown kept off the scoreboard for 11 of the 12 innings they pitched against the Hooisers last week.

First pitch is today at 6PM on the SEC Network and the series will conclude on Sunday on ESPN 2.