Following an 11-0 mid-week run-rule over non-conference opponent USC Upstate, the No. 3 Florida softball team will swing back into conference action with a three-game home series versus the Arkansas Razorbacks this weekend at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. First pitch Friday is slated for 6 p.m. ET, while game two will be at approximately 8:30 directly following. Game three will take place Saturday at 3 p.m.

Florida (28-3, 4-2 SEC), which put together a combined one-hit shutout against the Upstate Spartans Wednesday, will continue its eight-game home stand with the three-game set against Arkansas (21-10, 0-3 SEC), and the Orange and Blue enter the series with a 15-game win streak over the Hogs. Florida went 3-0 against Arkansas in Fayetteville last season and the Gators own an 18-5 advantage over the Razorbacks in Gainesville.

Arkansas Season Stats | Florida Season Stats / Florida Pregame Notes

FLORIDA vs. ARKANSAS BROADCAST INFORMATION

WEEKEND PROMOTIONS

FRIDAY, MARCH 22: Rowdy Reptiles can check in for 3 points starting at 5:30 p.m. on the KSP concourse behind home plate. One lucky Rowdy Reptile will win a KINDLE!

FRIDAY SOCIAL MEDIA CHALLENGE: ROWDY REPTILES AND GATOR FANS in attendance respond to three TWITTER (@GatorZoneSBall) challenges, one pregame, one in the first inning and one in the third inning. Prizes are as follows:

Ø  Prizes for Pregame Twitter Scavenger Hunt: 1 Softball visor and 1 water bottle for the winner

Ø  Prizes for 1^st inning Gator Achievement Trivia Question: 1 Softball shirt and 1 water bottle

Ø  Prize for 3^rd inning Game Update Trivia Question: 1 Florida Softball Freezer Mug

SOCIAL MEDIA CHALLENGE DIRECTIONS

§  Follow @GatorZoneSBall on Twitter

§  Look out for the trivia questions 15 minutes before Friday’s game, in the middle of the 1^st inning, and in the middle of the 3^rd inning

§  Reply @GatorZoneSBall with your answers to the questions, along with a picture of you in the Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium and #FLSBall (This is NOT required for the trivia question posted 15 minutes before each selected game)

§  @GatorZoneSBall will randomly choose a winner who answers correctly and tweet back

§  Collect your prize at the Marketing Table behind the press box!

LAST TIME OUT FOR FLORIDA

Florida enters the weekend series against Arkansas following a quick five-inning, 11-0 win over USC Upstate Wednesday in mid-week non-conference action. Florida junior ace Hannah Rogers (Lake Wales, Fla.) and sophomore hurler Alyssa Bache (Clearwater, Fla.) combined for a one-hit shutout, UF’s 13 combined one-hitter program history, as the Orange and Blue improved to 28-3 overall on the season Wed. UF put up a three-spot in the first inning, while batting around in the third for a five-hit, eight run stanza, fueled by reigning co-SEC Player of the Week, sophomore Lauren Haeger’s (Peoria, Ariz.) homer and double. The mercy rule was Florida’s ninth of the season, while the shutout was the Gators’ 11th. Florida boasts a 4-2 record in SEC play, most recently taking the series against Tennessee last weekend in the Gators’ last conference action. Rogers leads UF in the circle (1.28 ERA) with 103 Ks in 109.1 innings pitched. Freshman Kelsey Stewart (Wichita, Kan.) is batting .400 on the season with seven doubles, five triples and three homers. The leadoff batter is 24-for-25 in stolen bases this year.

SCOUTING ARKANSAS

Arkansas enters the weekend series with the Gators at 21-10 overall on the season, while the Razorbacks are 0-3 in league play thus far, having dropped their first conference series at No. 4/5 Texas A&M last weekend. Arkansas will continue an eight-game road streak in Gainesville after playing two mid-week games at Savannah State in Georgia March 19 and 20. The Razorbacks convincingly defeated Savannah State Tuesday, 10-0, in six innings as sophomore pitcher Kimmy Beasley tossed a no-hitter. Arkansas returned Wednesday to down Savannah State in run-rule fashion, 14-1, in five, fueled by a Nicole Schroeder grand slam and a stellar pitching performance from Chelsea Cohen. Cohen went the distance with a two-hitter and nine strikeouts on the evening.

Sophomore Devon Wallace paces the Razorbacks at the plate with a .472 clip, eight doubles and nine homers. Wallace leads an Arkansas offense that has six players hitting over .300 on the season so far. Junior Ashley Martindale is the Hogs’ biggest threat on the base paths with 12-13 stolen bases. Wallace is a perfect 9-9 on the base paths.

Beasley leads Arkansas with a team-best 1.92 ERA in the circle, while Cohen has pitched a bulk of the innings (80.0), with 100 Ks (2.54 ERA). Beasley has 69 strikeouts in 47.1 innings pitched. Senior Hope McLemore (1.98 ERA) and freshman Kelly Young (2.25 ERA) have also split time in the circle for the Hogs, McLemore with 24 Ks through 35.1 IP and Young with 26 strikeouts in 28.0 IP.

FLORIDA vs. ARKANSAS STATISTICALLY

SERIES HISTORY

UF leads the series, 35-10 | Home: 18-5        Away: 17-5            Neutral: n/a

LAST MEETING: March 23-25, 2012 in Fayetteville

Game One: UF 6, Arkansas 0 | Game Two: UF 3, Arkansas 2 | Game Three: UF 5, Arkansas 0

UP NEXT

Following the weekend conference series with the Razorbacks, the Gators will host Sunshine State rival FSU in a non-conference mid-week clash at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium Wednesday, March 27. The game will be broadcast live on SunSports/FS Florida. UF will then hit the road to finish out the month of March with a SEC series at Ole Miss March 29-31 before returning back to Gainesville for a five-game home stand April 3-