Gainesville Regional: Preview

Seashole Pressly Stadium

Teams: Florida, UCLA, Jacksonville, Bethune-Cookman
Location: Seashole Pressly Stadium (Gainesville, FL)

Players to watch:
Hannah Rogers, Florida
Kelsey Bruder, Florida
Andrea Harrison, UCLA
Sarah Sigrest, Jacksonville
Allison Garcia, Bethune-Cookman

Interesting storyline: The defending National Champion UCLA Bruins are not playing at home in a regional for the first time since 2002. UCLA has not had the same magic that they did last year and they may be in some trouble in Gainesville. UCLA has been decimated by injuries and they are just a shell of last year's squad. UCLA does not have the pitching of last year's squad, but if their bats get going they could go a long ways in this NCAA tournament. This team will either have a very short stay on the road or they could be traveling for a while.

Bethune-Cookman comes into to the Gainesville Regional for the 2nd straight season after winning the MEAC Title. Gainesville was once a magical place for the Wildcats, as they won the Gainesville Regional in 2005. However this is a much different Bethune-Cookman team and Coach Laura Watten and pitcher Lauren McCoy have moved on. This year Bethune-Cookman softball has been all about Allison Garcia. Garcia has done it all for the Wildcats, leading the squad in hitting and in the circle. Garcia is hitting .374 at the plate with 9 HR and 56 RBI and they will need her to produce some runs for herself in the circle. Garcia is 26-11 with a 3.54 ERA and 133 SO in 257 innings. Garcia is the key to the success of this team, but they do have more than Garcia, including 5 other players hitting over .300. That being said, Bethune-Cookman is probably overmatched in this regional.

Sarah Sigrest

Jacksonville enters its first ever regional and they are looking to make some noise. The Dolphins are a solid all around team, but their strength definitely lies in the circle. Sarah Sigrest was named Atlantic Sun Pitcher of the Year for 2011 and she is having a great year. Sigrest is 26-5 with a 1.01 ERA and 200 SO in 215.1 innings. Sigrest has the potential to shut down the big bats of UCLA and Florida, but she also has some help in Olivia Kline. Kline is 15-6 with a 1.50 ERA and 84 SO in 140 innings. Jacksonville can give different looks to these powerful lineups, which may pay off. The Dolphins offense will have to get going in order to keep pace with the prolific offenses of Florida and UCLA. Sarah Simon and Amanda Schmidt are the most powerful bats in Jacksonville's lineup with 9 HR each and 40 and 48 RBI respectively. Kayla Ouellet will look to get on base in front of the big bats and she will try to use her speed to get around the bases. For the Dolphins to beat either UCLA or Florida, the pitchers must keep the ball in the ballpark and the entire team must hit the ball well.

UCLA makes the long trek east, which has been a rite of passage for Pac 10 teams as of late to play at the Gainesville Regional. UCLA may have the most talent of any team in the country, but due to a combination of injuries and underachieving they just haven't gotten it done on the field. The biggest issues for UCLA have been in the circle, where the Bruins have struggled to keep opponents off the scoreboard. Jessica Hall and Donna Kerr have seen most of the work for the Bruins in the circle, but with the way Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez manages it would not be surprising to see Aleah Macon or Destiny Rodino get some innings as well. At the plate, Andrea Harrison, Kellie Fox, GiOnna DiSalvatore, and BB Bates lead the way for the Bruins, as each is hitting over .325. These four players along with Katie Schroeder and Alyssa Tiumalu do most of the offensive work for UCLA and they will need to hit the ball well this weekend. UCLA needs to show up this weekend and start overachieving for once this season.

Hannah Rogers

Florida was shocked at the SEC Tournament, losing to Auburn in the first round, but they come into this tournament as a very dangerous team. Coach Tim Walton loves the long ball and the Gators know how to hit them. Florida leads the nation in HR with 104, but they are not just a one dimensional squad as they hit .328 along with 69 steals. The Gators have five hitters with at least 13 HR, led by Kelsey Bruder and Megan Bush. Bruder has hit .384 with 17 HR and 63 RBI, while Megan Bush has hit .348 with 20 HR and 72 RBI. Opposing pitchers will need to be very careful about how they pitch to this lineup. Michelle Moultrie leads things off for the Gators and she is also a special player to keep an eye on. Moultrie does it all hitting .427 with 79 hits, 2 HR, 28 RBI, and 21 steals. The Gators also have good pitching in the circle with freshman Hannah Rogers and senior Stephanie Brombacher. Brombacher has the experience, but she is coming back from an injury and Rogers has the hot arm right now. Rogers should get the start in big games for Florida because she is a steady consistent performer for the Gators, while Brombacher hasn't quite found her endurance or consistency yet.

Winner: Florida...but don't be surprised if UCLA wins this