The series between Florida and Alabama dates back to 1940 in Tuscaloosa.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – SEC Opening Weekend officially gets underway on Thursday night, with No. 5 Florida set to host No. 24 Alabama at 7 p.m. on SEC Network in the first installment of a three-game series.
Games two and three are currently scheduled for Friday, March 17 (6:30 p.m.) and Saturday, March 18 (4 p.m.) on SEC Network+. However, with anticipated inclement weather on Saturday, SEC Baseball policy stipulates that a formal request and decision on the scheduling of games two and three cannot be made until the morning of Friday, March 17.
The history between Florida (16-3) and Alabama (16-2) dates back to 1940 in Tuscaloosa. Although the Tide won the first six meetings and 10 of the first 12, the Gators are 20-2 in the series since 2011 and 26-6 under Head Coach Kevin O’Sullivan<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/coaches/kevin-o-sullivan/1551>. Florida has won five-straight home games vs. Alabama, sporting victories in 11 of the last 12 in Gainesville.
Across the all-time series, the Orange & Blue hold a 67-58 advantage that features a 36-18 mark in home matchups. The Gators have won 13 of the last 14 meetings overall.
Pitching Matchups
Thursday | 7 p.m. (SECN) Friday | 6:30 p.m. (SECN+) Saturday | 4 p.m. (SECN+)
Alabama RHP Hagen Banks (0-0, 0.00 ERA) RHP Ben Hess (3-0, 1.83 ERA) LHP Grayson Hitt (2-1, 4.76 ERA)
Florida RHP Brandon Sproat<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/brandon-sproat/15508> (3-0, 3.92 ERA) RHP Hurston Waldrep<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/hurston-waldrep/15517> (3-0, 3.86 ERA) LHP Jac Caglianone<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/jac-caglianone/15489> (3-0, 1.77 ERA
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The Gators moved up one spot to No. 5 in the D1Baseball Top-25 this week and rank as highly as No. 2 in the nation according to Baseball America and Perfect Game. Florida sits at No. 4 in the USA Today Poll.
SERIES PROMOS
The first 750 fans on Friday, March 17 will receive green Florida baseball script St. Patrick’s day T-shirts, presented by GFL Environmental. Shirts are available at Gates 1 and 2 for those in the Diamond Deck, as well as Gate 3. Green Kirspy Kreme donuts will also be handed out at Gate 1 to the first 250 fans.
FOOD TRUCK SCHEDULE
There will be two food trucks located in the Dizney Grove area beyond the outfield wall on each day of the weekend series.
Thursday: Tony Dilla, Fat Tiki
Friday: Mayflower Cellars, B’z Gelati
Saturday: Frios, Cajun Knights
SCOUTING THE TIDE
After opening the season with a 14-0 record, Alabama has dropped two of its last four contests. Picked to finish fifth in the SEC West, the Tide is hitting a robust .349/.468/.618 with 39 home runs and 16 stolen bases in 25 attempts. On the mound, Alabama hurlers have worked to a 3.43 ERA backed by a .970 fielding percentage.
LAST TIME THEY FACED
The Gators and Tide faced four times last season, playing a series in Tuscaloosa during SEC Opening Weekend (W 6-4, W 13-6, L 7-8) and meeting again in Hoover at the SEC Tournament (W, 11-6).
THE REFRESH
Florida took all three against Siena (W 3-2, W 11-0, W 12-2) in a home weekend series to go 5-0 last week. UF then came from behind to defeat UNF, 7-2, in a midweek contest highlighted by catcher Rene Lastres'<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/rene-lastres/15498> go-ahead, two-run triple in the fifth.
IT’S CALLED A WINNING STREAK
The Gators enter Thursday’s premiere riding a seven-game winning streak dating back to Sunday’s series-clincher over No. 22 Miami. Over the course of the streak, Florida is batting .348/.462/.634 with as many walks (36) as strikeouts (36), while averaging 10.9 runs/game, 11.1 hits/game and 4.4 extra-base hits/game. Meanwhile, the UF pitching staff has worked to a 3.16 ERA, .223 batting average against, 71 strikeouts (11.2 K/9) and 18 walks (2.8 BB/9) across 57.0 innings. Conversely, opposing pitchers have a 12.18 ERA in the last seven games.
AMERICA’S #1 OFFENSE
The Gators lead the nation in hits (228), runs scored (209) and slugging (.651) while ranking second with 45 home runs, third with 11 triples and fourth in batting (.348). UF has 14 more runs and seven more hits than any other team in the country. Florida also leads the SEC in nearly every offensive statistic including runs, slugging, hits, triples, RBI, at bats and total bases (426). Florida has 54 more total bases than the next-closest SEC program (Georgia).
SEC HEAVYWEIGHTS
This weekend’s matchup between Florida and Alabama features two of the top offenses in the SEC: UA ranks first in the SEC in batting with UF in second; UF first in hits with UA in second. Both are top five in the SEC in slugging, runs, RBI, home runs, total bases and plate appearances.
GIVE US A SEC
Florida has won four-straight SEC series dating back to 2022, with a 9-3 regular season record in that time. Including the SEC Tournament, the Gators are 13-5 across their last 18 games vs. SEC opponents. Since O’Sullivan took the reins in 2008, Florida’s .613 winning percentage is the best in the conference (257-162).
THREE-HEADED MONSTER
Florida’s weekend starting rotation of Brandon Sproat<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/brandon-sproat/15508>, Hurston Waldrep<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/hurston-waldrep/15517> and Jac Caglianone<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/jac-caglianone/15489> has combined for a 9-0 record with a 3.19 ERA, .167 batting average against, 98 strikeouts (14.2 K/9) and 29 walks (4.2 BB/9) in 62.0 innings across 12 starts. The trio has allowed just 36 hits all season (5.2 H/9). All three starters have thrown over 20.0 innings with 26 or more strikeouts.
KEEPS A RIGHT ON A-HURSTON
The right-handed Waldrep has missed the most bats, as his 40 strikeouts rank T-third in the country entering the series. Waldrep sports a gaudy 17.1 K/9, carrying a 3-0 record and 3.86 ERA into his fifth start as a Gator. After striking out 13 vs. Cincinnati on Feb. 25, he punched out a career-high 14 batters against No. 22 Miami on March 4 – becoming the first UF pitcher to strike out 14 since Rob Bonanno’s 15 vs. Georgia on May 19, 1994. Waldrep has struck out 34 in his last three starts.
CAN’T ROCK THE SPROAT, BABY
Dating back to April 29, 2022 when he took over the Friday-night role vs. Kentucky, Sproat has made 10 starts and is 8-0 with a 2.39 ERA, 65 strikeouts and 23 walks across 60 1/3 innings – and Florida is 10-0. That equates to over six innings per start over that period. Sproat has not lost a decision since April 23, 2022 vs. Tennessee.
JAC OF ALL TRADES
Caglianone leads the NCAA with 13 home runs, backed by a .408/.471/1.026 slash line with 30 RBI (seventh in NCAA, third in SEC) and 27 runs (T-ninth in NCAA). Caglianone ranks third nationally in slugging and is on pace to swat 37 long balls in the 55-game regular season alone. On the mound, he leads all qualified UF hurlers with a 1.77 ERA and .130 batting average against, owning a 3-0 record and 26 strikeouts in 20 1/3 frames. He has allowed just nine hits in four starts.
PEN(T) UP ENERGY
The Florida bullpen has hit its stride across the last five games, going 2-0 with three saves, a 1.74 ERA, .183 batting average against and 29 strikeouts against just five walks in that span. The improvement has been anchored by Nick Ficarrotta<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/nick-ficarrotta/15493> (5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 4 K), Philip Abner<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/philip-abner/15488> (4.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K) and Ryan Slater<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/ryan-slater/15506> (3.0 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 7 K).
CADER MADE
Freshman Cade Kurland<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/cade-kurland/15514> is tied with teammate Wyatt Langford<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/wyatt-langford/15497> for third nationally with 29 runs scored while hitting .420/.512/.725 with five home runs, six doubles and 23 RBI through his first 17 career starts. Kurland has collected hits in 15 of his 17 starts including a team-high 11 multi-hit games.
RIVERA’S CAREER YEAR
Shortstop Josh Rivera<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/josh-rivera/15504> has reached base in all 19 games including 22-straight dating back to 2022. Rivera owns eight home runs in just 67 at bats – one shy of his career high of nine in 2022 in 224 at bats. That’s an improvement from 24.9 HR/AB to 8.4 HR/AB. Last week in game one vs. FAU, Rivera went 3-for-4 with two homers and nine RBI – the most by a Gator since JJ Schwarz drove in 10 vs. Stetson on April 7, 2015. On the season, Rivera is slashing .388/.511/.791 and is tied for third in the NCAA (second in SEC) with 31 RBI, which is one short of his career high of 32 in 64 games last year. He has drawn 16 walks against seven strikeouts, ranking top-10 in the SEC in runs, total bases and homers.
GOING STREAKING
On top of Rivera’s streak, Caglianone carries an 18-game on-base streak into Thursday while Michael Robertson<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/michael-robertson/15505> sits at 16 games. UF’s longest-active hitting streak belongs to BT Riopelle<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/bt-riopelle/15503> with hits in seven straight. Ty Evans<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/ty-evans/15491> leads the team with eight multi-RBI games.
BLAST OFF
UF saw its streak of homering in 15-straight games end Tuesday vs. UNF, which marked the Gators’ longest such streak in the last 25 years. The Gators have homered in all but two games, with the team’s 45 long balls (second in NCAA) on pace for 130 homers in the regular season alone.
HIT & RUN
19 games in, Florida has a run differential of plus-120 while scoring in 86 of 150 batted innings this season (57.3%). The Gators have a nation-leading 228 hits (12.0 hits/game), producing double-digit knocks in 16 of 19 contests and seven-plus in every matchup this season.
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).
ON DECK
The Gators finally hit the road next week, traveling to No. 21 Florida State on Tuesday with coverage on ACC Network at 7 p.m. Florida then treks to Oxford for a three-game SEC series at No. 4 Ole Miss from Friday, March 24 through Sunday, March 26.
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