UF enters the midweek series ranking first nationally in hits (164), home runs (35) and slugging percentage (.671).
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Midweek baseball continues on Tuesday as No. 6 Florida welcomes Florida Atlantic to town for a two-game midweek series at Condron Family Ballpark. The Gators (10-3) and Owls (7-4) match up at 6 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday, with coverage on SEC Network+ for both games.
The two-game set marks the first meeting between Florida and FAU since March 3, 2021, when the Owls edged out the Gators in 10 innings, 3-2. Even so, Florida enters having won six of the last nine against Florida Atlantic, including an 11-5 record in the series under Head Coach Kevin O’Sullivan<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/coaches/kevin-o-sullivan/1551>. The Gators are 8-5 against the Owls under O’Sullivan at home.
Pitching Matchups
Tuesday | 6 p.m. (SECN+) Wednesday | 6 p.m. (SECN+)
FAU LHP Evan Waterbor (1-0, 1.80 ERA) RHP Tyler Murphy (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Florida RHP Yoel Tejeda Jr.<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/yoel-tejeda-jr-/15518> (0-0, 4.05 ERA) TBD
Links WATCH<https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=f10a4186-034a-4124-ac4c-dcf8d6291efb> | LISTEN<https://floridagators.com/watch/?Live=5073> WATCH<https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=69bdad58-9269-456c-91af-a9f81354c7d4> | LISTEN<https://floridagators.com/watch/?Live=5074&type=Archive>
The Gators remained at No. 6 in the D1Baseball top-25 this week despite picking up a top-25 series victory. Florida sits as highly as No. 2 in the country according to Baseball America.
SCOUTING THE OWLS
Although they upset No. 22 Miami (W, 6-5) on their home turf last week, the Owls enter Tuesday on a three-game losing streak after being swept by UConn over the weekend. Florida Atlantic is slashing .289/.400/.491 with 15 home runs while pitching to a 3.21 ERA with 91 strikeouts across 101 innings.
LAST TIME OUT
After splitting a midweek home-and-home with Jacksonville, the Gators took two of three games from No. 22 Miami to pick up a third-straight series win to open the season. Florida batted .333/.413/.714 with 10 home runs during the series, outscoring the Canes by a 30-22 margin.
OFFENSIVE DOMINANCE
Through 13 games, the Florida offense has made a case for the nation’s best, ranking first in hits (164), home runs (35) and slugging percentage (.671). Florida has eight more hits than the next-closest team and three more homers than South Carolina, who ranks second. The Gators also sit second in the NCAA in runs (147), fifth in batting average (.350) and tied for eighth in triples (seven). Florida leads the SEC in runs scored, doubles, total bases (313), slugging, hits, triples, plate appearances (549), RBI, home runs and at bats (468). The Gators’ 313 total bases are 65 more than the next closest SEC program (South Carolina, 348).
CONDRON ON FIRE
More than 6,800 fans attended each game of the Miami-Florida series last weekend, peaking at a whopping 8,081 on Friday night and featuring a record 1,970 students. The weekend’s combined attendance of 22,830 marked a new program series record.
NON-CON RESUME
Off to a 10-3 start 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 29-6 across its previous 35 non-conference games.
LANGFORD = NATIONAL POW
Unanimous First Team All-American outfielder Wyatt Langford<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/wyatt-langford/15497> collected SEC Co-Player of the Week honors alongside Georgia’s Charlie Condon on Monday, on top of being named the Perfect Game/Rawlings National Player of the Week. Starting all five games for UF, Langford slashed .500/.560/1.200 with a team-high 10 hits, four homers and nine runs while pacing the SEC with 24 total bases. Entering Tuesday, Langford is hitting .438/.554/.979 and ranks first in the SEC with 23 runs (third in NCAA), second with 47 total bases, T-second with six doubles, T-third with 21 hits, fourth in slugging, T-fifth with six homers, ninth in OBP and 11th in batting.
STARTER’S DELIGHT
Florida’s starting pitchers wield an 8-0 record and 3.62 ERA with 96 strikeouts across 64 2/3 frames – translating to 13.4 strikeouts per nine innings. Gators starters are holding opposing hitters to a minuscule .180 batting average.
COOL WHIFFS
The Gators have struck out double-digit batters in 11-straight games dating back to Feb. 19 vs. Charleston Southern. In that span, UF has eclipsed 15 strikeouts on four occasions, peaking with 18 vs. No. 22 Miami on March 4. On the season, Gators hurlers have struck out 157 batters in 111 innings – translating to 12.7 per nine innings, which ranks fifth in the NCAA and first in the SEC.
TEJEDA TUESDAY
On Tuesday night, right-hander Yoel Tejeda Jr.<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/yoel-tejeda-jr-/15518> will be making his third-career start. In his first two starts, he pitched to a combined 4.76 ERA with five hits allowed, six walks, five strikeouts and a .217 BAA across 5 2/3 innings.
RUNNING THE SHOW
Florida’s run differential of plus-75 is the team’s best through 13 games since the 2003 season. The Gators have scored in 63 of 106 batted innings this year (60.2%).
HITS PARADE
The Gators have 164 hits through 13 games (12.6 hits/game). Florida has produced double-digit hits in 11 of 13 contests this season.
CADER MADE
Freshman second baseman Cade Kurland<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/cade-kurland/15514> has opened his collegiate career with hits in 11-straight games. That streak paces the Gators, as does Kurland’s .449 batting average (seventh in SEC) and 22 hits (second in SEC). In 12 games including 11 starts, Kurland is hitting .449/.500/.837 with five homers, four doubles, 19 RBI, 18 runs and one steal. He has collected two or more hits in nine of his 11 starts.
LAUNCH PAD
The Gators have launched multiple home runs in eight-straight games dating back to Feb. 24 vs Cincinnati. During that period, Florida has hit 28 home runs, equating to 3.5 per game. The Orange & Blue lead the nation with 35 homers, led by Jac Caglianone’s<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/jac-caglianone/15489> NCAA-leading 10 and Langford’s six (T-fifth in SEC). Seven Gators have hit multiple homers while four (Caglianone, Langford, Kurland and Josh Rivera<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/josh-rivera/15504>) have already gone deep five or more times.
SECOND TO CAGLIA(NONE)
Caglianone currently leads the NCAA with 10 home runs. He is also 12th in slugging (third in SEC) and tied for 15th with 20 RBI (T-fourth in SEC). With six more total bases (53) than the next closest SEC player, Caglianone is slashing .385/.448/1.019 with seven homers across the last six games.
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 (Hurston Waldrep<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/hurston-waldrep/15517> – No. 19, Brandon Sproat<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/brandon-sproat/15508> – No. 54). According to MLB Pipeline, Langford ranks No. 3 overall, followed by Waldrep (No. 10) and Sproat (No. 78).
ON DECK
Florida welcomes Siena to Gainesville for a three-game weekend series spanning from Friday, March 10 through Sunday, March 12. All three games will stream on SEC Network+.
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