TRAVELING TOWARD SUCCESS-Florida Softball Time Line
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TRAVELING TOWARD SUCCESS - Florida Softball Time Line June 13, 1995 The University of Florida Athletic Association Board of Directors, acting on a recommendation from President Dr. John Lombardi, approved the addition of women's softball to Florida's intercollegiate athletic program. September 4, 1995 Larry Ray, top assistant at perennial national power Arizona the past 10 seasons, was the University of Florida's selection as head coach of the inaugural Gator softball team, Athletic Director Jeremy Foley announced. November 8, 1995 Lora Pinkerton signed a national letter-of-intent to attend the University of Florida, becoming the first signee for the Gators. February 1, 1996 Ground was broken on the construction of the new softball facility, located at the corner of Hull and Museum Roads. September 30, 1996 The Gators held their first day of fall practice on the field at the new stadium. November 2, 1996 Florida hosted the Gator Fall Softball Tournament, where they defeat Florida Community College at Jacksonville, 4-0, in its first-ever competition, held at the Southwest Recreation Center Fields on the UF campus. January 26, 1997 The Gators had their first practice of the spring season at the UAA Softball Complex. February 8, 1997 Florida played its inaugural doubleheader, defeating Stetson in both games. The first pitch was thrown by UF’s Chelsey Sakizzie to Stetson’s Bryttnee Roberts at 4:01:13 p.m. ET. Roberts fouled off the pitch and Sakizzie went on to strike out the side. The following are the list of firsts for the UF softball team: • First SEC hit by UF player Amy Criswell at 4:12 p.m. ET. Criswell singled down left field line off Stetson's Jean Bonnici in the first inning. • First SEC run scored by UF's Amy Criswell at 4:19:13 p.m. ET. Criswell scored from first on a throwing error by Stetson's 3B Traci Brown on a bunt by UF's Trisha Ward. • First SEC extra base hit at 4:24 p.m. ET by UF player Kristin Sandler. Sandler doubled to left center in first. • End of first inning UF vs. Stetson at 4:26 p.m. ET. • First hit allowed by UF vs. Stetson at 4:29 p.m. ET. Julie Wagner connected with one of Chelsey Sakizzie's pitches, the only hit Sakizzie allowed in the game. • First RBI by UF's Kristin Sandler who doubled home Nicole Kreipl. • First stolen base by UF's Lora Pinkerton who stole second after reaching first on a single to center. • First win by UF, 8-0, vs. Stetson at 5:29 p.m. ET. The game lasted 1:28 and 2,388 people attended the game. February 14, 1997 Florida’s 4-3 eight-inning loss to Northwestern in Gainesville marked the first time an SEC team played an extra-inning game. February 15, 1997 Florida then defeated Florida Atlantic, 1-0, in eight innings for the league’s first extra-innings win. February 15, 1997 Jennifer Cordero hit UF's first home run at UF Softball stadium against Loyola (Ill.). It was an inside-the-park homer. February 19, 1997 The Gators beat No. 17 Florida State in the first game of a doubleheader for their first win over a ranked team. March 5, 1997 Florida and Arkansas squared off in the first SEC softball game as the Gators earned the first- ever SEC win with a 2-1, nine-inning victory over the Razorbacks. Chelsey Sakizzie recorded the first pitch, a strike, to Augrista Belford at 6:01:10 p.m. ET and went on to strike Belford out. The following is a list of SEC softball firsts: • First hit in a SEC game by Arkansas's Gretchen Thompson • First extra base hit (a double) in a SEC game by Arkansas's Gretchen Thompson • First run in a SEC game by Arkansas's Brett Erickson • First RBI in a SEC game by Arkansas's Tammy Kincaid, who singled home Brett Erickson • First stolen base in a SEC game by UF's Trisha Ward, who stole second in the fifth inning • First win in a SEC game at 8:20 p.m. ET; the game lasted 2:20 and 713 people attended. • First extra-inning SEC game March 11, 1997 Tennessee’s Jackie Beavers hurled a three-hit, 1-0 shutout against Florida for the league’s first-ever shutout victory. March 15, 1997 South Carolina’s Trinity Johnson recorded the SEC’s first no-hitter in a 5-0 victory against the Gators. May 9, 1997 Florida and Alabama faced each other in the first SEC Tournament game in the league’s history. Alabama’s Christy Caccavo threw the first pitch, a ball, to Florida’s Amy Criswell. The first hit of the augural tournament was a home run by the Crimson Tide’s Kierstin Arntsen off UF’s Chrlsey Sakizzie in the first inning. March 7, 1998 Chelsey Sakizzie threw UF's first perfect game against Iowa State in the Speedline Invitational, striking out 10 batters in nine innings to capture a 1-0 victory. March 17, 1998 The Gators entered the USA Today/NCFA Coaches Top-25 Poll for the first time, appearing at the No. 25 position. Chelsey Sakizzie was the first UF player to be named SEC Pitcher of the Week. She went on to earn that honor twice again the same season. March 28, 1998 Emily Marino hit Florida’s first out-of-the-park home run at the UF Softball stadium in the last game of the Tennessee series, securing a 5-3 Gator victory. May 3, 1998 UF captured its first SEC regular-season title. The Gators entered the stretch in second place in the SEC standings with a 19-5 overall SEC record, as No. 10 LSU held the top position with a league record of 22-3. Thanks to a combination of Florida's four-game sweep over SEC East Division rival Georgia and Alabama taking three-of-four games from LSU the same weekend, the Gators moved to the top of the SEC regular-season standings. May 5, 1998 The Gators, boasting a 47-20 overall and 23-5 SEC record, received their first berth into the NCAA tournament as the No. 3 seed in the Region 6 bracket. The Gators fell to host team South Florida, 1-0, and Arizona State, 1-0. May 6, 1998 Chelsey Sakizzie became Florida’s first SEC Softball Player of the Year and Coach Larry Ray was named SEC Softball Coach of the Year. Jan. 27, 1999 The Gators opened their spring season as a ranked team for the first time as they were voted No. 20 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll. Feb. 12, 1999 UF opened against a ranked team for the first time with No. 11 DePaul. The Gators won 3-2, as junior Beth Dieter earned the win to become the first Gator walkon to earn the No. 1 pitching spot. April 11, 1999 Nicole Kreipl became the first Gator to have her name in the NCAA record book as she tied for first with three doubles in a single game in a 9-1 victory over Florida A&M. March 9, 1999 A four-game South Carolina series marked the first time UF opened conference play against a ranked opponent, it was also the first time UF began SEC action against the Gamecocks. The Gators captured the first SEC victory of any league team this season with a 4-3 come-from- behind victory over No. 13 South Carolina in Gainesville. Feb. 11, 2000 Coach Larry Ray coached his 200th game in his fourth year at the helm of the Gator program. UF won 3-2 in eight innings against Stetson. April 28, 2000 The Gators set the UF home wins record with their 24th triumph against No. 21 Mississippi State. UF finished the season 28-7 at the Florida Softball Stadium. May 9, 2000 Seniors Jennifer Cordero, Beth Dieter, Jennifer Lutsi and Lora Pinkerton, and juniors Ashley Boone and Emily Marino, and sophomore Andrea Zimbardi were named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll, setting a school record of seven student-athletes. May 14, 2000 Jennifer Mossadeghi was the first UF freshman to be named to the SEC All-Tournament Team. She set a league tournament single-game record with two doubles against Arkansas the day before. May 19, 2000 Florida recorded its first run in an NCAA Tournament game to earn its first post-season win. The Gators upset No. 1 seed and No. 6 ranked Fresno State, 1-0. June 16, 2001 Karen Johns was named the second coach of the UF softball program. Aug. 18, 2001 Construction on the locker room facility began. The building housed a locker room, shower area, equipment room and team meeting area. It was completed for the start of the 2001 season. Jim McGinley of Alachua, Fla., was the architect, and Burns Brothers Inc. of Gainesville, Fla., was the contractor. February 18, 2002 The Gators defeated North Carolina, 10-0, in their season opener at the Katie Seashole Pressly Softball Stadium. In the third game of the GRU Classic, freshmen pitchers Amanda Knowles and Brittani Houghton combined for the first opening-day no hitter and the first combined no hitter by two freshmen in the program's history. October 21, 2002 Five members of the team were named National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Academic All-Americans. Sophomore Nikki Baldwin, junior Jenilee Garner, senior Andrea Zimbardi and freshman Jessica Franklin earned the honor for the first time in their careers.