Florida Softball opens SEC play against Alabama this weekend

Florida Softball is off to another successful start to the season, compiling a 19-3 record while having the second most runs per game in the country.

But all the opportunities to "tune up" are over as the Gators are about to enter the deep waters of SEC play, with one of the powers of the conference awaiting them today.

Florida Softball: No Days Off

Despite Florida's record and being ranked 13th in the national polls, the RPI computer rankings don't have as much faith in Florida. The Gators are 47th in the eyes of the computers because their strength of schedule hasn't been the strongest.

And as we have chronicled, Florida has been smacking non-Power Five teams while struggling to string another together against the Power Five. In the five games the Gators have played, Florida is 2-3 and have scored just five runs total.

But a big reason why Florida should remain competitive during SEC play are their trio of freshmen pitchers who have hit the ground running in 2024. Keagan Rothrock has led the way with a 0.67 ERA and had a complete game shutout in her last outing against UCLA.

Ava Brown has a 1.03 ERA and Olivia Miller has a 1.88 ERA along with two perfect games on the season.

The Gators are in Tuscaloosa to being a three game set with Alabama, ranked 11th in the polls and 8th in RPI.

Given Florida's challenges to hit Power Five pitching, Alabama will provide the ultimate test to see if the bats for the Gators can hit better pitching. The Crimson Tide enter today with the nation's best ERA, sporting a 0.59 ERA.

Alea Johnson has made 10 appearances and has given up just one run in 25 innings of work. Jaala Torrence has given up just three runs in 36 innings of work and the workhorse for Alabama, Kayla Beaver, has given up just four runs in 48 innings of work.

These all have the potential to be 1-0 type of games and should give the Gators a genuine idea of where they stand as SEC play gets underway.