Florida has won 12 of the last 13 vs. UNF and is 20-3 in non-conference games this season.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The fourth-ranked Florida Gators baseball team returns to home action on Tuesday night with a non-conference tilt against the North Florida Ospreys of the Atlantic Sun. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. with coverage on SEC Network+.
Florida (31-10, 11-7 SEC) hosts North Florida (22-18, 81- ASUN) for the second time this season after winning the premiere by a 7-2 tally. The Gators enter with five-straight wins against the Ospreys on top of claiming 12 of the last 13 meetings.
Florida is 18-5 in the series under Head Coach Kevin O’Sullivan<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/coaches/kevin-o-sullivan/1551> including 14-3 at home. Leading the all-time series at 18-7, the Gators boast a 14-4 record vs. UNF in Gainesville.
Pitching Matchups
Tuesday | 6 p.m. (SECN+)
UNF RHP Avery Love (1-0, 9.10 ERA)
Florida RHP Yoel Tejeda Jr.<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/yoel-tejeda-jr-/15518> (1-0, 5.60 ERA)
Links WATCH<https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=b1e0ee74-d22a-4829-9f54-69272ed2aac2> | LISTEN<https://floridagators.com/showcase?Live=5137>
Florida dropped to No. 4 in the D1Baseball Top-25 this week. The Gators are also ranked fourth by Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball and Perfect Game.
SCOUTING THE OSPREYS
Picked to finish ninth out of 14 Atlantic Sun teams, North Florida enters with a 22-8 record and winners of five of its last seven. As a team, the Ospreys are hitting .290/.387/.469, led by catcher Jakob Runnels (.339/.444/.620, 11 HR, 44 RBI). On the mound, UNF sports a 6.58 ERA backed by a .962 fielding percentage.
LAST TIME OUT
The Orange & Blue went 1-3 last week, defeating Florida A&M by a 17-7 tally in seven frames before dropping three in Columbia against now-No. 3 South Carolina. Florida batted .267/.363/.492 on the week with six homers while pitching to an 8.49 ERA and .288 batting average against with 38 strikeouts vs. 26 walks in 29 2/3 innings.
UNF REFRESH
Florida scored seven unanswered runs to defeat UNF back on March 14 after falling behind, 2-0, through three innings. Rene Lastres<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/rene-lastres/15498> provided the two-run, go-ahead triple while Ty Evans<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/ty-evans/15491> paced the Orange & Blue with three RBI. Nick Ficarrotta<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/nick-ficarrotta/15493> (3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 K) and Brandon Neely<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/brandon-neely/15499> (1.0 P, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K) fired scoreless outings while Fisher Jameson<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/fisher-jameson/15496> (3.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 K) picked up his lone victory of the season.
NON-CON RESUME
Off to a 20-3 start (.870) this season, Florida went 20-5 (.800) against non-conference regular season opponents in 2022. That mark featured a 19-3 record following the opening weekend of the year. Adding the totals together, UF is 39-6 across its previous 45 non-conference games (.867).
HOME RUN DUO CASHING IN
The duo of Jac Caglianone<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/jac-caglianone/15489> (23) and Josh Rivera<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/josh-rivera/15504> (14) has combined for 37 home runs so far this season, which is the most of any two-player tandem in the country. South Carolina’s Ethan Petry (20) and Gavis Casas (16) sit in second with 36. Both players were named to prestigious watch lists this past week: Rivera to the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List for the nation’s top shortstop and Caglianone to the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Watch List.
OFFENSIVE RANKS
Backed by double-digit runs in 18 games and 10-plus knocks in 26 contests, Florida ranks top-10 nationally in slugging (third – .573), home runs (third – 85) and runs scored (eighth – 371) while sitting in 22nd with a .308 batting average (second in SEC). The Gators lead the SEC in hits, triples, at bats and total bases (796) – boasting 53 more bases than the next-closest SEC teams (South Carolina and LSU – 43). Meanwhile, the Gators are scoring in 47.6% of their batted innings (156 of 328).
TEJEDA TUESDAY
Probable starter Yoel Tejeda Jr.<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/yoel-tejeda-jr-/15518> is coming off his first-career win, tying his season high with four innings pitched against FAMU with two earned runs allowed on three hits and two walks while striking out one. Tuesday marks his sixth-career start, but the right-hander carries a 2.25 ERA and .172 batting average against across eight innings in his previous two outings.
RELENTLESS REPTILES
Nearly half (48.4%) of Florida’s wins this season have been in comeback fashion (15), surpassing last year’s 66-game total of 13 (19.7%). After going 0-20 last season when trailing after six innings, Florida has three wins in that scenario in 2023 and is 3-0 when tied after six. Even more impressively, the Gators are 13-5 when the opponent scores first this season, compared to 11-15 last year.
NCAA-LEADING JAC JACKS
Caglianone leads the nation with 23 home runs while ranking fourth in slugging (.875, second in SEC) and tied for eighth with 60 RBI (third in SEC). He is three home runs away from tying Florida’s single-season record of 26 shared by Matt LaPorta (2005) and Wyatt Langford<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/wyatt-langford/15497> (2022). The lefty slugger is on pace to hit 30 in the 55-game regular season alone. His 22 multi-hit games lead UF while his 15 double-digit RBI performances are tied with Rivera for the team lead.
RIVERA REACHING
Riding a 14-game on-base streak, Rivera is batting a team-high .388 during that period with three homers, two doubles, 14 RBI, 13 runs and three steals to accompany a .612 slugging percentage. On the season, Rivera owns a .387/.478/.720 slash line with 14 homers, one triple, six doubles, 53 RBI, 50 runs and 11 steals while starting all 41 games at shortstop. He leads UF in batting, runs and stolen bases. Rivera ranks top-10 in the SEC in runs (T-third), RBI (T-sixth), hits (eighth), total bases (ninth) and home runs (T-ninth).
LET ME RELIEVE YOU
Of UF relievers with at least five innings pitched, righty Clete Hartzog<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/clete-hartzog/15521> paces the squad with a 2.84 ERA and .136 batting average against. Fellow right-hander Ryan Slater<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/ryan-slater/15506> wields a 5-0 record, 3.41 ERA and .230 BAA in 31 2/3 frames, while southpaw Philip Abner<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/philip-abner/15488> represents the Gators’ top left-handed option: 3-0, 18 2/3 IP, 3.86 ERA, .225 BAA, 14.9 K/9.
BABY BOOMERS
Freshmen Luke Heyman<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/luke-heyman/15522> and Cade Kurland<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/cade-kurland/15514> were UF’s top hitters in Columbia over the weekend, as both players batted over .400 while no other Gator managed a .300 clip. The duo combined to go 8-for-19 (.421) with eight of Florida’s 18 hits (44.4%) and half of the team’s total bases (16 of 32). Heyman is hitting .359/.419/.705 with seven homers. Kurland is chasing JJ Schwarz’s freshman home run record (18 – 2015), as he takes 12 long balls and a .331/.422/.642 slash line into Tuesday’s matchup.
ON DECK
The Gators host Missouri in a three-game weekend series from Friday, April 28 through Sunday, April 30. Games one and two are scheduled for 7 p.m. with the latter matchup airing on SEC Network. Sunday’s series finale is on the books for 1 p.m.
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