By Tyler Spanyer | @KernelSpanyer

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After months of construction, the brand new UK Softball Complex will have its grand opening this weekend as the No. 18 Cats host No. 3 Florida in an SEC matchup.

UK (30-10, 8-4 SEC) is coming off three midweek wins over non-conference opponents Marshall and Eastern Kentucky in a doubleheader. The first win in Wednesday’s doubleheader was UK head coach Rachel Lawson’s 182nd win of her UK career, giving her the most in program history.

In the win against Marshall and the second win over EKU, the Cats had to mount seventh inning comebacks to win, exhibiting the toughness Lawson wants from her teams.

“We talk about toughness a lot, and those wins are a perfect example of the toughness we need for a deep postseason run,” Lawson said.

Freshman pitcher Kelsey Nunley picked up her 19th victory Wednesday, tying her for the most single-season wins by a pitcher in program history with Chanda Bell and Keary Camunas. Nunley will more than likely have an opportunity to break the record this weekend against the Gators’ potent offense.

The Gators (39-4, 12-3 SEC) have hit 57 home runs in their 43 games this season. Florida is led at the plate by freshman infielder Kelsey Stewart, who hits .381 with 22 RBIs.

“Florida has a very potent offense, and it will be a good test for our pitchers,” Lawson said.

Junior pitcher Hannah Rogers leads the team in pitching with a 22-3 record and 1.31 ERA. Rogers has struck out 158 batters in 160 innings.

Florida has two other pitchers in sophomore Lauren Haeger, who is 11-1 on the year, while sophomore Alyssa Bache is 6-0 this season.

The first game is set to begin Friday at 6 p.m. The grand opening ceremony is set for Saturday at 11:45 a.m. with the game set to start at 1 p.m and be televised by ESPNU.

The series will wrap up Sunday at noon with all games being played at the UK Softball Complex.