UF BSB: No. 10 Gators Await Opening Weekend Series vs. Air Force

No. 10 Gators Await Opening Weekend Series vs. Air Force
Florida takes on Air Force on Friday for the first time ever to open the program’s 111th season.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 10 Florida opens its 111th baseball season this Friday at 6:30 p.m. with the first of three games against Air Force at Condron Family Ballpark.

All three matchups air on SEC Network+ beginning with Friday night’s opener. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. on Saturday and 12 p.m. on Sunday.

Coming off the program’s 14th trip to the College World Series and second in as many seasons, head coach Kevin O’Sullivan<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/coaches/kevin-o-sullivan/1752> enters his 18th campaign at the helm of the Gators. Since O’Sullivan’s 2008 arrival, Florida leads the sport with 290 SEC wins, 37 MLB debuts, 16 NCAA berths (T-1st), 10 top-eight seeds, nine College World Series trips, nine Super Regionals hosted and six SEC titles. The Gators have advanced to nine of the last 14 College World Series overall.

Opening Night marks the first-ever meeting between Florida and Air Force on the diamond. However, the Gators have a limited history competing against service academies. From 1938-1946, Florida went 2-4-1 against Naval Air Station/Naval Air Base. The Gators have also faced off against Army a total of seven times with a 6-1 record, most recently taking down the Knights in the 2019 Lubbock Regional, 13-5. Collectively, Florida is 8-5-1 vs. service academic dating back to 1938.

Since the start of O’Sullivan’s tenure, the Gators are 15-2 (.938) in season openers while featuring a 41-8 resume (.854) in the first series of the year. The Orange & Blue has claimed victories in 10 of its last 11 openers dating back through 2014. Across the history of the program, Florida is 69-42-1 all-time in openers, featuring a 49-22-1 mark at home.

Pitching Matchups
Friday | 6:30 ET (SECN+) Saturday | 4 ET (SECN+) Sunday | 12 ET (SECN+)
Air Force RHP Dylan Rogers (5-5, 7.49) RHP Gaines Estridge (1-0, 8.10 ERA) RHP John Mitchell (DNP)
Florida RHP Liam Peterson<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/liam-peterson/17332> (3-6, 6.43 ERA) RHP Jake Clemente<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/jake-clemente/17322> (2-0, 5.34 ERA) LHP Pierce Coppola<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/pierce-coppola/17323> (1-4, 8.75 ERA)
Links WATCH<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/fc140187-bb2c-434b-9eda-051dac2bac9b> | LISTEN<https://floridagators.com/watch/?Live=5590&type=Live> WATCH<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/54ee7b5a-b8c8-4d94-a07b-5e67034a5bd8> | LISTEN<https://floridagators.com/watch/?Live=5591&type=Live> WATCH<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/0f745430-3d79-46b6-ac17-0f8835f860e1> | LISTEN<https://floridagators.com/watch/?Live=5592>

GATORS IN THE RANKINGS
Florida embarks on the 2025 campaign as a unanimous preseason top-11 team. The Gators came in at No. 10 in the D1Baseball preseason poll, but were ranked as highly as No. 7 in the country per Baseball America.

OPENING WEEKEND PROMOS
Highlighted by UF Athletic Hall of Famer Preston Tucker’s ceremonial first pitch, Opening Night features a giveaway of 500 Rowdy Reptile shirts for UF students. On Saturday, fans will be treated to an exhibition from Wings of Blue, a U.S. Air Force Parachute Team, during pregame at approximately 3:40 p.m. Schedule coasters will be available for the first 1,000 fans. All weekend long, 2025 team posters will be on hand for all fans.

FOOD TRUCKS
There will be two food trucks located in the Dizney Grove area beyond the outfield wall on each day of the weekend series.

Friday: Cilantro Tacos, Donut NV
Saturday: Big Lee’s BBQ, Kona Ice
Sunday: Rollin’ Sliders, Donut NV

SCOUTING THE FALCONS
Picked to finish seventh out of eight teams in the Mountain West, Air Force concluded with a 27-28 record (18-12 MWC) one year ago. Led by Preseason All-Mountain West outfielder/right-handed pitcher Chase Spencer, the Falcons slashed .286/.384/.468 with 64 homers and 93 steals across 55 games last season. On the mound, Air Force combined for a 6.55 ERA and .305 batting average against across 468 2/3 innings. Ending with a .968 fielding percentage, the Falcons committed 67 errors in 2,073 defensive chances.

2025 SCHEDULE OUTLOOK
Florida is scheduled to play 56 regular season games in 2025 with 36 at home, 16 of which are within the first 18 contests. The Gators play Air Force for the first time in program history, host Harvard for the first time since 2016 and take on four teams ranked in the top-10 of the preseason top-25 rankings by D1baseball (No. 4 Tennessee, No. 5 Arkansas, No. 8 Georgia, No. 9 Florida State). The Gators’ final SEC road series will be at No. 19 Texas, which marks the program’s first trip to Austin and the first meeting between the two teams outside of Omaha. Overall, UF will play 24 of their 56 games against teams who were in the top-30 in RPI rankings from last year (31 in the top-50, 36 in the top-100).

PRESEASON HYPE
Three Gators were named to the SEC Preseason All-SEC Teams as voted on by the league’s 16 head coaches: Kurland (First Team), Heyman (Second Team) and Shelton (Second Team). Florida was also picked to finish fifth overall in the new-look SEC, highlighted by one vote to win the conference outright. Five different schools received first place votes to win the SEC.

THE TALE OF 2024
The 2024 Gators advanced to the College World Series for the second-straight year, representing an underdog story of sorts despite opening as the preseason No. 2 team in the country. Finishing with a 36-30 record overall, Florida entered the final two games of the regular season as an unranked team with a 26-26 record and 11-17 resume in SEC play. The Gators rebounded to win the season series finale over No. 9 Georgia, going 10-4 down the home stretch to make the postseason field and advance all the way through the Regional and Super Regional rounds as a No. 3 seed. Florida finished 2-2 in Omaha and ultimately concluded the year as the No. 8 team in the D1Baseball Top 25.

FANTASTIC FOUR
Four Gators tested the waters of the 2024 MLB Draft but ultimately elected to return to the Orange & Blue in pursuit of a National Championship: Shelton, Evans, Heyman and Coppola. The latter three members of the quartet have experienced Omaha each of the last two seasons while Shelton made his College World Series debut one year ago.

INITIATING TRANSFER
Florida brought in a talented collection of nine transfers during the offseason, featuring projected starters in third baseman Bobby Boser<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/bobby-boser/17349> (USF), left fielder Blake Cyr<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/blake-cyr/17347> (Miami) and center fielder Kyle Jones<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/kyle-jones/17345> (Stetson), the latter of which was a Freshman All-American for the Hatters last year. Utilityman Justin Nadeau<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/justin-nadeau/17342> (Jacksonville) and infielder Landon Stripling<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/landon-stripling/17351> (Texas Tech) bolster the stellar positional class while Billy Barlow<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/billy-barlow/17355> (Clemson) and Matthew Jenkins<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/matthew-jenkins/17361> (Santa Fe College) project as the top contributors on the mound.

THUNDER ONE THROUGH NINE
Florida boasts 10 position players that posted an .800-plus OPS and slugged over .450 at the Division I level last season. Of the 12 UF hitters to have started a Division I game, all 12 posted an OPS above .750 one year ago. Florida returns five positional starters from last year’s CWS squad in Donay, Evans, Heyman, Kurland and Shelton. With Boser, Cyr and Jones projected to start as well, the Gators’ lineup will be composed of eight returning Division I starters from the 2024 campaign.

2024 OPS Leaders
Boser – 1.018
Nadeau – 1.003
Evans – .986
Jones – .935
Cyr – .933
Shelton – .925
Wilson – .876
Donay – .849
Heyman – .823
Kurland – .803
Stripling – .765
Hayden Yost<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/hayden-yost/17337> – .758

BELTIN’ SHELTON
Most players who bat .254/.374/.551 with 20 homers, 14 doubles and six steals are not viewed as having a down year, but such was the story of Shelton’s 2024 campaign after his 2023 Freshman All-American season at Alabama (.300/.419/.729, 25 HR). Even so, Shelton’s 20 home runs last season were tops at the position amongst active Division I shortstops while his 56 RBI tied for seventh. Now with a year-plus of service as the UF shortstop, Shelton is settled in and primed for a breakout after turning down the opportunity to become pro in the offseason. His 45 career homers are the fourth-most among active SEC players.

NUKE HEYMAN
Among active Division I catchers, Heyman’s 16 home runs last season are the sixth-most of any returning player at the position. With 28 long balls and 20 doubles in 121 games, the junior backstop owns a .275/.352/.512 career slash line. He finished on a tear last season, clubbing seven homers and slugging .592 across the final 17 contests.

JONESIN’ FOR A RING
Expected to command center field for Florida, Jones was not only an NCBWA Second Team Freshman All-American last season at Stetson but also collected ASUN Freshman of the Year honors and was an NCAA Division I Gold Glove Finalist. In his first collegiate campaign, Jones slashed .355/.459/.476 with five homers and 23 steals while drawing more walks (33) than strikeouts (27). The former 163rd-ranked outfielder in the 2023 recruiting class led the Hatters in hits (88), runs (53) and doubles (15) while enjoying a 34-game on-base streak in the middle of the season.

CLEMENTE IN THE CLUTCH
Expected to be a key piece of the pitching rotation in 2025, Clemente had a strong summer in the Cape Cod Baseball League, posting a 3.00 ERA in 27 innings along with 29 strikeouts and a 1.00 WHIP. This performance led to Clemente being named the starting pitcher for the East Division in the Cape Cod All Star Game, as well as earning the Brewster Whitecaps’ Most Valuable Pitcher award. Clemente looks to build off last year’s late-season momentum, where he allowed one run across three appearances in the College World Series and struck out nine batters over six postseason outings.

PHILLY SPECIAL
Philpott started off his Gators career in dominant fashion last year, posting four-straight scoreless appearances in which he recorded 12 strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings pitched. Philpott also received valuable postseason experience, pitching two scoreless innings against Kentucky in the College World Series. The sophomore right-hander is expecting to be a contributing factor of the Gators bullpen after a strong fall where he was clocked up to 97 miles per hour.

CYR’S YEAR
Ranked as the 10th-best player on Baseball America’s list of the top-100 transfers from the past offseason, Cyr looks to make an immediate impact in Orange and Blue. In limited action with the Hurricanes last year, Cyr recorded a .933 OPS and seven home runs while making the transition from second base to the outfield. In 85 career games, he slashed .298/.418/.593 with 24 homers, 15 doubles and 84 RBI. The junior outfielder performed well against the Gators during his time in Miami, recording five hits, four runs and eight RBI in six games, including a two-homer performance on March 3, 2023 at Condron Family Ballpark.

ARM BARN
The Gators return 198 2/3 innings pitched from the 2024 roster as compared to the 273 innings pitched that returned from the 2023 CWS Runner-Up squad. However, of the seven returning pitchers, six received postseason experience while five pitched in Omaha. These returners, led by projected weekend starters in Peterson, Coppola and Clemente, aim to lead a Gators pitching rotation that ranked fifth in the SEC in strikeouts one year ago.

THE BRODY BUNCH
Donay will be looked upon as a major contributor in this year’s lineup after showing flashes of power in 2024. The 6-foot-5, 235-pound catcher finished with 14 home runs in 167 at bats, a number that averaged to a homer every 12 at bats. His sophomore season was highlighted by a two-homer, five-RBI showing in the College World Series against Kentucky. Donay will see time at designated hitter and first base as well as catcher in 2025.

PETERSON PRIMED
Peterson, who threw the most innings of any returning UF pitcher last year, is set to become the Gator’s Friday night starter. After ranking fourth on the team in innings (63.0) and strikeouts (77) one year ago en route to Freshman All-SEC honors, the rising sophomore produced strong performances throughout fall practice and over the summer with the USA Collegiate National Team. While repping the stars and stripes, Peterson was one of four pitchers on the roster to not allow a walk.

CAPTAIN COPPOLA
As a redshirt junior and team leader, Coppola remains in Florida’s weekend rotation after a 2024 season in which he made his first pitching appearance in 783 days. Coppola, who recorded his first career win last season in Omaha against Kentucky, made eight weekend starts for the Gators and is projected as UF’s Sunday starter to open the year. Coppola and Evans are the two remaining Gators on the roster from UF’s 2021 recruiting class.

WILSON FINDS A WAY
Wilson, who entered the Stillwater Regional with just 26 at bats on the year, became a hero for the Gators during their 2024 postseason run. Transferring from Charleston Southern before the season, Wilson recorded nine hits and six RBI in the Stillwater Regional, claiming All-Tournament Team and Regional MVP honors in the process. Across 11 NCAA Tournament games, Wilson batted .310/.423/.548 with two homers, four doubles and 11 RBI.

2024 RANKINGS REVIEW
Florida finished the 2024 campaign ranked among the top-eight teams in the country in fielding percentage (third – .982), home runs (fourth – 136) and strikeouts per nine innings (eighth – 10.7). The Gators also posted the top fielding percentage in the SEC, committing just 42 errors across 2,350 chances in 66 games.

RELENTLESS REPTILES
After delivering 22 comeback wins one year ago, Florida delivered 21 victories in come-from-behind fashion in 2024 featuring 12 in SEC play alone. Florida trailed in six of its postseason wins and claimed five-straight NCAA Tournament elimination games to keep its season alive. Dating back to 2023, Florida went 9-1 across a span of 10 postseason elimination matchups before being shut out by Texas A&M in the final game of the year.

RESTARTING THE SCORING STREAK
Florida scored in every game from May 27, 2022 at the SEC Tournament up until the final game of the 2024 regular season when the Gators were shutout, 6-0, by Texas A&M in Omaha on June 19. The streak spanned 144-consecutive games and represented Florida’s third-longest scoring streak in program history.

TICKET INFORMATION
Season tickets<https://am.ticketmaster.com/gators/en/buy/virtual-venue/QlMyNQ==?utm_source=WEB&utm_medium=STORY&utm_campaign=BASE-SEASON&camefrom=CFC_GATORS_WEB_STORY_BASE-SEASON> and SEC Five-Pack Mini-Plans<https://am.ticketmaster.com/gators/en/buy/flexplan/10312?utm_source=WEB&utm_medium=STORY&utm_campaign=BASE-MINI&camefrom=CFC_GATORS_WEB_STORY_BASE-MINI> are currently on sale now in addition to single-game tickets<https://www.ticketmaster.com/florida-gators-baseball-tickets/artist/1294070>. Tickets can be purchased online<https://floridagators.com/sports/2015/12/10/_tickets_baseball_.aspx> or by contacting the Gator Ticket Office at (352) 375-4683.

MOBILE TICKETING & FLORIDA GATORS APP
As a reminder, mobile ticketing is required. There will be two ways to access your tickets:
1) through the Florida Gators app<http://s1445136311.t.en25.com/e/er?s=1445136311&lid=1301&elqTrackId=F42DAD870CD1B888DE14DCC3F8C8916F&elq=f69e4978773d47758819914b4936bd42&elqaid=3046&elqat=1> from your mobile device or
2) through FloridaGators.com/myaccount<http://s1445136311.t.en25.com/e/er?s=1445136311&lid=1324&elqTrackId=E19038CB8FD63F3F29DC57131044A028&elq=f69e4978773d47758819914b4936bd42&elqaid=3046&elqat=1>. Fans will also be able to transfer or donate their tickets easily within the app or online.

PARKING/SHUTTLES
Fans are encouraged to park at the Fifield and IFAS lots during the weekend. An increased number of shuttles will be available for transportation to the ballpark each day.

Click HERE<https://floridagators.com/documents/2024/2/14/2024_BB_Parking_Map_copy.pdf> for a Parking map.

* General Parking is available in the west Condron Family Ballpark baseball lot and the Fifield parking lot located directly across Hull Road.
* Disabled parking is available on a first-come, first-serve basis in the Condron Family Ballpark west lot with a valid Disabled Placard.
* Fans can follow this link<http://floridagators.com/EventParking> to an interactive parking map.
* RV Parking is available in the Fifield Flat lot. Reserved RV parking is not available for Florida baseball games. All motor home parking is on a first come, first-served basis.
* On-board generators are permitted, however exterior or pull-along generators are prohibited at all times. For safety reasons, all motor homes/RVs are required to utilize exhaust extensions or “smoke stacks” to channel exhaust fumes to the top of the motor home/RV.
* Overnight stays are only allowed on weekend series in the Fifield Flat lot.
* Do Not Park Illegally
* Park in designated parking spots (Do not park on grass or in No Parking Zones).
* Vehicles are subject to towing if they block streets, sidewalks, service drives, or fire lanes, or if illegally parked in a disabled space.

TRAFFIC PATTERNS ON GAME DAY
Those visiting Condron Family Ballpark on game day should be aware of updated traffic patterns surrounding the ballpark. Fans are advised to utilize Ballpark Way, which will serve as a connecting route to the ballpark from Archer Road. For departures, a postgame traffic flow pattern guide can be found here.<https://floridagators.com/common/controls/image_handler.aspx?thumb_id=0&image_path=/images/2022/4/22/BB_Post_Game_Traffic_20220421.png>

ON DECK
Florida has five more games on the schedule next week, beginning with midweek contests at Jacksonville on Feb. 18 and against Florida A&M on Feb. 19. The Gators remain home for a three-game series against Dayton from Feb. 21-23.

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