Florida has won 11 of the last 12 meetings against JU and is 19-6 vs. the Dolphins under Head Coach Kevin O’Sullivan.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The sixth-ranked Florida Gators resume midweek play with a two-game, home-and-home series against Jacksonville of the Atlantic Sun Conference on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Florida travels to Jacksonville for a 6 p.m. road tilt on Tuesday before hosting the Dolphins at the same time on Wednesday. Although Tuesday’s matchup is not televised, Wednesday’s home game will stream on SEC Network+.
The Gators lead the all-time series over the Dolphins, 64-34, including a 24-19 advantage in away games and a 41-15 resume at home. With wins in 11 of the last 12 meetings, Florida has active three-game winning streaks over Jacksonville both at home and on the road. The two teams most recently met on March 8 of last season, with Tyler Nesbitt<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/tyler-nesbitt/15500> (2.0 IP), Ryan Slater<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/ryan-slater/15506> (5.0 IP) and Nick Ficarrotta<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/nick-ficarrotta/15493> (2.0 IP) combining for a three-hit shutout to lift UF to a 1-0 victory.
In the Kevin O’Sullivan<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/coaches/kevin-o-sullivan/1551> era, Florida is 19-6 against Jacksonville, featuring a 4-2 record on the road and 15-4 mark at home.
Pitching Matchups
Tuesday | 6 p.m. (no stream) Wednesday | 6 p.m. (SECN+)
Florida RHP Ryan Slater<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/ryan-slater/15506> (1-0, 4.76 ERA) TBD
Jacksonville RHP Bryce Fisher (0-1, 21.00 ERA) RHP Richard Long (0-0, 7.36 ERA)
Links STATS<https://judolphins.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary> | LISTEN<https://floridagators.com/watch/?Live=5062&type=Archive> WATCH<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/ca946c2a-0ec3-4bc0-9433-3ebf766886ad> | LISTEN<https://floridagators.com/watch/?Live=5063&type=Archive>
Moving up to No. 6 in the D1Baseball Top 25 this week, Florida now ranks inside the top six in the nation in every major poll. The Gators peak at No. 2 according to Baseball America and the NCBWA.
LAST TIME OUT
Florida delivered a 4-1 record last week, splitting a midweek home-and-home with USF while sweeping Cincinnati of the American Athletic Conference. Across the five games, UF batted .370/.453/.734 with 18 home runs, 68 hits and 54 runs scored.
DOWN-LOW THE DOLPHINS
Jacksonville is off to a 5-3 start to the campaign after posting a four-game sweep of Siena over the weekend. Picked to finish eighth out of 14 teams in the ASUN, the Dolphins are hitting .228 as a team and own a 5.38 staff ERA backed by a .971 fielding percentage.
NON-CON RESUME
Off to a 7-1 start already 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, including wins over No. 5 Florida State and No. 22 Miami. Adding the totals together, UF is 27-6 (.818) in non-conference play the last two seasons, including 26-4 across the previous 30.
HITTING STRIDES
Through the first two weeks, the Gators offense has established itself among the nation’s most elite. Florida ranks within the top-11 in the NCAA in the following: 102 hits (2nd), .685 slugging percentage (3rd), 23 doubles (T-3rd), .366 batting average (5th), 91 runs (5th), 20 home runs (T-5th) and a .461 on-base percentage (11th).
YARD PARTY
Florida set a program record with eight home runs in a single game in the series finale vs. Cincinnati on Feb. 26. Jac Caglianone<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/jac-caglianone/15489> recorded UF’s first three-homer game since Jud Fabian<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/jud-fabian/15127> vs. USF on May 4, 2022, while Josh Rivera<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/josh-rivera/15504> posted his first-career multi-homer game. Cade Kurland<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/cade-kurland/15514>, Luke Heyman<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/luke-heyman/15522> and Colby Halter<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/colby-halter/15495> also left the yard. Rivera and Caglianone became the first UF duo to hit multiple homers in the same game since JJ Schwarz (four) and Dalton Guthrie (two) accomplished the feat vs. Stetson on April 7, 2015.
RUNNING THE SHOW
Florida’s run differential of plus-59 is the team’s best through eight games since the 2003 season (plus-63). The Gators have scored in 40 of 63 batted innings this year (63.5%).
KNOCK KNOCK
In seven of eight games, the Gators have registered double-digit hits. Florida has at least nine hits in all eight matchups this season, averaging 12.8 per game (102 hits in eight games).
STARTING A TREND
Florida starters have struck out at least six batters in seven of eight starts this season, including all six weekend starts. Through 40.0 innings, UF starting pitchers are 5-0 with a 3.38 ERA and 57 strikeouts (12.8 K/9).
SLATED TO START
In line to start Tuesday’s game at JU, Slater’s best career outing arguably occurred vs. Jacksonville on March 8 of last season. Slater earned his first-career win in that contest, tossing five shutout, one-hit innings of relief with zero walks and two strikeouts. Tuesday’s start marks the fourth of Slater’s career and his second-ever appearance against the Dolphins.
KURLAND WHIRLWIND
Kurland is off to an unprecedented rookie season, pacing the Gators in hits (13), batting (.524), OBP (.607) and OPS (1.649) through eight games. Kurland has recorded two or more hits in each of his first six career starts. Although he was not named SEC Freshman of the Week, Kurland batted .529/.600/1.118 with three home runs across five games last week.
THE GRAND RIVERA
Coming off perhaps the best series of his career, Rivera slashed .538/.571/1.385 (7-for-13) with three home runs including one grand slam, one triple, eight RBI and six runs vs. Cincinnati. On the year, he owns a robust .448/.541/.828 batting line with 14 RBI, 13 runs, six walks and just four strikeouts. Rivera is tied with Kurland for the team lead in hits (13) and paces the Gators in stolen bases (two).
TY-BONE STEAKS
Having driven in 15 runs through eight games, outfielder Ty Evans<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/ty-evans/15491> is tied for eighth nationally in RBI (T-3rd in SEC). Evans is hitting .344/.417/.594 and his team-high five doubles are tied for sixth in the NCAA. His first homer of the campaign was a game-ending, two-run shot that gave UF a 13-3 run-rule victory over Cincinnati to clinch the series on Feb. 25.
WYATT MATTERS
Unanimous First Team Preseason All-American outfielder Wyatt Langford<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/wyatt-langford/15497> has four strikeouts against seven walks through eight games. Across 28 at bats, the Trenton, Fla. native is hitting .393/.550/.821 with seven extra-base hits including two homers. He leads the Gators with 14 runs scored and is one of two Gators to have reached base in all eight games this season (the other being Rivera).
COOL WHIFFS
Of the 10 Gators pitchers to throw at least one frame this season, nine have struck out more than one batter per inning. Through eight games, Florida has six pitchers who have struck out at least eight batters (Hurston Waldrep<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/hurston-waldrep/15517>, Brandon Sproat<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/brandon-sproat/15508>, Caglianone, Cade Fisher<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/cade-fisher/15513>, Ficarrotta, Brandon Neely<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/brandon-neely/15499>).
DRAFT BUZZ
ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel recently released his list of top-100 prospects for the 2023 MLB Draft, with Langford coming in at No. 1 overall (Waldrep – No. 19, Sproat – No. 54). According to MLB Pipeline, Langford ranks No. 3 overall, followed by Waldrep (No. 10) and Sproat (No. 78).
FRESH FACES
A talented group of 14 newcomers join the squad this year, featuring nine freshmen and five transfers. According to D1Baseball, the Gators’ freshman class was ranked No. 5 in the country while Florida’s transfer class came in at No. 7.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Four players return to the 2023 Gators despite having an opportunity to go pro following 2022: Sproat, Riopelle and infielders Colby Halter<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/colby-halter/15495> and Rivera.
ON DECK
Florida hosts rival No. 22 Miami in a three-game series spanning from Friday, March 3 through Sunday, March 5. The first two games will stream on SEC Network+, while Sunday’s 12 p.m. finale airs on SEC Network.
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