The last four series have been won by the home team while UF has claimed five of the last seven series overall.
Gainesville, Fla. – Condron Family Ballpark is the site of a top-10 SEC showdown this weekend as the No. 7 Florida Gators host the No. 5 Vanderbilt Commodores in the final home set of the regular season.
The series opener is scheduled for Friday night at 5:30 p.m. on SEC Network. Games two and three will stream on SEC Network+ on Saturday at 6:30 and Sunday at 1 p.m.
Entering the weekend, the Gators (37-12, 15-9 SEC) trail the Commodores (35-13, 17-7 SEC) for first place in the SEC East by two games. These two teams last met in Gainesville in 2021, when the Gators took two of three games for a series win (L 7-11, W 11-8, W 5-3). Josh Rivera<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/josh-rivera/15504> (5-for-11) batted .455 in that series with three runs scored and was named the SEC Newcomer of the Week.
The home team has claimed the last four series between Florida and Vanderbilt, with the Orange & Blue posting victories in five of the last seven series overall. Vanderbilt won the first two games in Nashville last season for a series win, as Deric Fabian<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/deric-fabian/15492> homered in the top of the 10th inning to help Florida steal the finale. BT Riopelle<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/bt-riopelle/15503> (5-for-12) hit .417 in the series and swatted three homers in the opener.
Across the all-time rivalry, Florida is 143-78-1 (.646) and 81-24 in Gainesville. The Gators wield a commanding 30-20 lead in the series under Head Coach Kevin O’Sullivan<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/coaches/kevin-o-sullivan/1551> including a 16-5 mark at home.
Pitching Matchups
Friday | 5:30 p.m. ET (SECN) Saturday | 6:30 p.m. ET (SECN+) Sunday | 1 p.m. ET (SECN+)
Vandy LHP Carter Holton (4-1, 4.11 ERA) LHP Devin Futrell (6-2, 2.42 ERA) LHP Hunter Owen (4-0, 3.16 ERA)
Florida RHP Brandon Sproat<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/brandon-sproat/15508> (6-2, 4.84 ERA) RHP Hurston Waldrep<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/hurston-waldrep/15517> (6-3, 5.07 ERA) LHP Jac Caglianone<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/jac-caglianone/15489> (4-2, 4.91 ERA)
Links WATCH<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/f9823bb8-1d7a-41d8-96e8-a760020b6d5b> | LISTEN<https://floridagators.com/showcase?Live=5157> WATCH<https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=69b32d0f-c9a9-480d-a29f-d783bf13487c> | LISTEN<https://floridagators.com/showcase?Live=5159> WATCH<https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=0fff99c6-c7ff-40b9-8f34-71df0bac19da> | LISTEN<https://floridagators.com/showcase?Live=5160>
Florida fell to No. 7 in the D1Baseball Top 25 this week following the series loss at Texas A&M, representing UF’s lowest ranking since Week 2 of the season. The Gators are ranked as highly as No. 5 according to the USA Today Coaches Poll.
SERIES PROMOS
On Friday, the first 500 fans will receive Florida Baseball grocery tote bags. Game two on Saturday features a Closet Cleanout, providing fans the opportunity to win previous giveaways from earlier in the season. Senior Day is scheduled for Sunday. Moms will also receive flowers at the series finale in honor of Mother’s Day.
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, Cajun Knights
Saturday: Frios, Pardon My Cheesesteak
Sunday: Frios, Big Island Bowls
LAST TIME OUT
The Orange & Blue posted a 2-2 record last week, coming from behind for a 7-5 Tuesday win over Florida State before dropping two of three at Texas A&M in College Station over the weekend (W 6-5, L 2-15, L 2-3). Wyatt Langford<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/wyatt-langford/15497> was UF’s top hitter over those four games, going 5-for-12 (.417/.563/1.000) with two home runs, one double and two steals. Philip Abner<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/philip-abner/15488> was excellent in relief, throwing 2 2/3 innings over two scoreless appearances with five strikeouts and zero walks.
DOWN-LOW ON THE DORES
Vanderbilt lost two of three at Alabama last weekend but rebounded for a 12-inning midweek win at Louisville to enter with a 35-13 (17-7 SEC) record on the season. The Dores are hitting .280/.387/.461 with 62 homers as a team while pitching to a 4.03 ERA and 472 strikeouts across 428 1/3 innings. Defensively, Vanderbilt boasts a .981 fielding percentage with just 31 errors in 48 games.
HOME SERIES STACKS
Florida is 8-0 in home series this season featuring 10-straight series wins at Condron Family Ballpark dating back to last season. The Gators are 20-4 in home series with four sweeps this season alone, hitting .330/.437/.606 with 9.6 runs/game, 10.9 hits/game and 4.9 runs allowed/game. Overall, Florida has claimed 14 of its last 16 series dating back to last season including nine of 11 in SEC play.
VANDY VOLITION
Florida is 25-7 against Vanderbilt across the last 32 meetings in Gainesville dating back to 2000 (.781). In the last three home series, Florida is 7-2. Six of the last seven series in Gainesville have been won by UF.
RELENTLESS REPTILES
Just under half (45.9%) of Florida’s wins this season have been in comeback fashion (17), 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 4-1 when tied after six. Even more impressively, the Gators are 14-6 when the opponent scores first this season, compared to 11-15 last year.
TOP-FIVE IN HOMERS AND SLUG
Backed by double-digit runs in 20 games and 10-plus knocks in 29 contests, Florida ranks top-10 nationally in home runs (fourth – 101), slugging (fifth – .565) and runs scored (ninth – 424). The Gators lead the SEC with eight more hits than any other team (495), as well as slugging, triples (18), at bats and total bases (923) – boasting 50 more bases than the next-closest SEC program (LSU – 873). Meanwhile, the Gators are scoring in 46.8% of their batted innings (184 of 393).
QUIET WYATT?
Despite missing seven games to injury this season, Langford has improved in nearly every statistic in 2023 including on-base percentage (.538 – second in SEC), batting average (.399 – third), runs (57 – third), walks (42 – third), slugging (.784 – fifth) and doubles (15 – seventh). He has 16 more walks (42) than strikeouts (26), and his 12 homers through 42 games are just two shy of last year’s pace, when he had 14 jacks after 42 contests. Langford has reached base or scored a run in all but two games.
CAGS BREAKS HOME RUN RECORD
First baseman/left-handed pitcher Jac Caglianone<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/jac-caglianone/15489> broke Florida’s single-season home run record with his nation-leading 27th long ball of the season on Saturday night at Texas A&M. The blast broke a tie with Matt LaPorta (2005) and Langford (2022), as Caglianone is on pace to swat 30 homers in the regular season alone and 36 if the Gators play 66 games, which would break Ivan Melendez’s BBCOR record of 32 set last season. Caglianone leads the SEC in slugging (.853) and home runs with five more homers than any other player while ranking fifth nationally in slugging and sixth with 69 RBI (second in SEC).
CADER THE TATER KING
Freshman Cade Kurland<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/cade-kurland/15514> has hit more home runs (14) in a single season than any other second baseman in program history. The record was previously held by Ted Rich (13 in 1992) for 31 years. Kurland is hitting .300/.389/.594 with 18 multi-hit games and 12 multi-RBI performances.
PHIL OF THE HILL
Abner has worked to a 3.91 ERA with 14.5 strikeouts per nine in 23 innings. He has produced scoreless appearances in 12 of his outings, including two-straight last week spanning 2 2/3 frames.
THE BRANDY MAN CAN
Two-time SEC Pitcher of the Week Brandon Sproat<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/brandon-sproat/15508> is 6-2 this season and 11-2 in his last 18 starts dating back to 2022. Florida is 15-3 in Sproat’s last 18 starts including 11-2 this season. He has gone five innings in all but one of his last 18 starts. Sproat’s 88 strikeouts are tied for 22nd nationally (T-third in SEC). Sproat and Hurston Waldrep<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/hurston-waldrep/15517> rank second and third in the SEC in strikeouts, as Waldlrep’s 102 also sit fourth in the NCAA.
OUR RIVERA RUNS THROUGH IT
As a leading candidate for the Brooks Wallace Award for the nation’s top shortstop, Josh Rivera<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/josh-rivera/15504> is in line for career highs in total bases (116), batting (.367), OBP (.465), slugging (.655), homers (14), runs (55), RBI (55) and steals (12). He ranks top-15 in the SEC in runs (sixth), RBI (ninth), batting (10th), hits (11th), steals (13th), total bases (T-13th) and OBP (14th). His .344 average in SEC play leads all Gators and ranks 14th in the conference. As one of two Gators to start all 49 games, Rivera has reached base safely in 46 contests, notching hits in 41 games including 20 of the last 22. His 14 homers are one shy from tying Brady McConnell (15 – 2019) for the most by a UF shortstop while his 55 RBI are tied with Mark Kiger (2002) for second in a season at the position.
TOUGH AS NEELS
Closer Brandon Neely<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/brandon-neely/15499> leads the SEC with four more saves than any other player, as he has 10 saves in 10 chances this season. He wields 49 strikeouts in 32 innings, translating to 13.8 strikeouts per nine.
THE SHELLY DELI
Since breaking into the starting lineup vs. Missouri, Tyler Shelnut<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/tyler-shelnut/15515> is 8-for-21 (.381/.423/.714) and ranks second on the team in every slash category while swatting two home runs and a team-high 10 RBI. He is batting .324/.390/.501 across 34 SEC at bats.
CAUGHT A WHIFF
Florida ranks eighth nationally and is in line to set a school record with 11.0 strikeouts per nine as a team (9.9 in 2016). The Gators have double-digit strikeouts in 31 of 39 games.
AHEAD OF THE CURVE
Florida is 37-12 (15-9 SEC) through 49 games. Last season, UF was 31-18 through 49 games and 11-13 in SEC play after 24 conference contests.
PARKING/SHUTTLES
Fans are encouraged to park at the Fifield, IFAS and UF Performing Arts Center lots during the weekend. An increased number of shuttles will be available for transportation to the ballpark each day.
General Parking is also available in the west Condron Family Ballpark baseball lot. Handicapped parking is available on a first-come, first-serve basis in the Condron Family Ballpark west lot with a valid Disabled Placard. Click HERE<https://floridagators.com/documents/2023/1/31/2023_BB_Parking_Map.pdf> for a Parking map.
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>
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.
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets are currently on sale for the 2023 season, including both season tickets and single-game options. 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. Season ticket prices and availability can be accessed directly here<https://am.ticketmaster.com/gators/buy?filterType=69>,<https://am.ticketmaster.com/gators/virtual-venue/QlMyMw==> while single-game sales can be found here.<https://www.ticketmaster.com/florida-gators-baseball-tickets/artist/1294070>
Continue to check FloridaGators.com for additional updates related to the 2023 baseball season.
ON DECK
Florida travels to Jacksonville, Fla. for a neutral-site battle at 121 Financial Ballpark against Florida State at 6 p.m. There is no live stream or television broadcast for the matchup.
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