Top-10 Bout at No. 6 South Carolina On Deck for No. 3 Florida
UF is 16-8 vs. SC under Kevin O’Sullivan and enters on a 13-series winning streak overall dating back to 2022.
Columbia, S.C. – No. 3 Florida baseball treks to No. 6 South Carolina for a top-10 SEC series at Founders Park spanning from Thursday, April 20 through Saturday, April 22.
Thursday night’s series premiere airs on ESPNU at 7:30 p.m. Games two and three will stream on SEC Network+ on Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m.
After facing the Gamecocks (31-6, 10-4 SEC) four times last season, the Gators (31-7, 11-4 SEC) are making their first trip to Columbia since 2021. Florida went 3-1 in the series in 2022, taking two of three at home (W 14-5, W 8-0, L 1-4) before winning a 10-inning battle in the first round of the SEC Tournament in Hoover, 2-1.
As a result, UF enters the weekend with a 16-8 record vs. South Carolina under Head Coach Kevin O’Sullivan<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/coaches/kevin-o-sullivan/1551> including 10-10 on the road. Prior to being swept in 2021, Florida had not lost a road series to the Gamecocks since O’Sullivan’s inaugural 2008 season. The all-time series is tied at 51-51 while South Carolina holds a 28-18 lead in Columbia.
Pitching Matchups
Thursday | 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPNU) Friday | 7 p.m. ET (SECN) Saturday | 2 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Florida RHP Brandon Sproat<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/brandon-sproat/15508> (5-1, 4.96 ERA) RHP Hurston Waldrep<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/hurston-waldrep/15517> (6-1, 4.15 ERA) LHP Jac Caglianone<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/jac-caglianone/15489> (4-1, 4.74 ERA)
South Carolina LHP Will Sanders (3-1, 5.03 ERA) RHP Jack Mahoney (3-1, 3.22 ERA) TBD
Links WATCH<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/331a4afb-eaf3-44f1-8823-567ae2bdd5b6> | LISTEN<https://floridagators.com/showcase?Live=5130> WATCH<https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=ea1934ce-1603-43d3-bc01-301fdbc01f1d> | LISTEN<https://floridagators.com/showcase?Live=5135> WATCH<https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=01110b88-7733-4e46-8e56-781f5c9389f5> | LISTEN<https://floridagators.com/showcase?Live=5136>
Florida remained at No. 3 in the D1Baseball Top-25 this week and rank as highly as No. 2 nationally at Baseball America and Perfect Game.
HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT
Florida and South Carolina pace the SEC and are tied for second nationally with 31 wins. The matchup features two of the top-three home run hitting teams in the country, as the Gamecocks rank first with 88 while the Gators sit in third with 82. Florida’s .589 slugging percentage is good for second in the NCAA. Carolina’s .567 mark ranks fifth.
SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS
Although South Carolina was picked to finish fourth in the SEC Eastern Division, the Gamecocks enter the series at 31-6 (10-4 SEC) and ranked sixth in the nation. The Gamecocks sport series wins over Clemson, Georgia, Missouri and Mississippi State while splitting with LSU. South Carolina is batting .289/.431/.567 with a nation-leading 85 home runs and wields a 3.25 ERA on the mound.
LAST TIME OUT
The Gators are coming off a 17-7 win over FAMU in seven innings on Tuesday after going 3-1 across four home games last week. Jac Caglianone<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/jac-caglianone/15489>, Luke Heyman<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/luke-heyman/15522> and Deric Fabian<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/deric-fabian/15492> homered in the onslaught, with the former two players driving in four apiece. Heyman became the first Gator with three sacrifice flies in a game since Justin Shafer did so – also vs. FAMU – on March 7, 2012. Florida’s eight runs in the second inning marked a season high.
BORDER BATTLE REFRESH
Florida posted its 15th comeback win of the season in game two vs. Georgia, with outfielder Michael Robertson<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/michael-robertson/15505> walking off the Dawgs with a single in the ninth. Caglianone pitched five innings of two-run ball to earn the win in the rubber match while also hitting two home runs including a grand slam en route to seven RBI.
IN THE RANKINGS
Florida remained at No. 3 in the D1Baseball Top-25 this week and ranks as highly as No. 2 according to Baseball America and Perfect Game.
ROAD WARRIORS
Florida is 8-1 on the road this season and is outscoring opponents by 3.0 runs/game. Offensively, Florida is averaging 2.8 homers/game and 10.4 hits/game away from home.
STACKING SERIES
Florida has won 13-straight series dating back to last season including nine-consecutive in SEC play. The Gators are 22-5 in weekend series this year and 31-8 over their last 13 series.
JUST A SEC
UF last dropped an SEC series from April 22-24, 2022 vs. No. 1 Tennessee. That means a series win at SC would make it a calendar year without a series loss for UF. Since O’Sullivan took the reins in 2008, Florida’s .618 winning % in regular season SEC play is tops in the SEC (268-166).
CASE FOR THE NATION’S TOP OFFENSE
Powered by double-digit runs in nearly half of its games (18), Florida ranks top-10 nationally in slugging (second – .589), home runs (third – 82), runs (fourth – 361), triples (seventh – 17) and hits (eighth- 410) while sitting in 18th with a .316 batting average (second in SEC). The Gators lead the SEC in slugging, hits, triples, at bats and total bases – boasting 64 more bases than the next-closest SEC team (South Carolina – 700). The Gators are scoring in 48.5% of their batted innings (147 of 303). Florida has a run differential of plus-160, averaging 9.5 runs/game and 10.8 hits/game.
TRIPLE THREAT / TRIPLE SLASH
Florida’s torrid offense is led by the three-headed monster of Wyatt Langford<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/wyatt-langford/15497> (.389/.546/.796), Caglianone (.382/.430/.892) and Josh Rivera<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/josh-rivera/15504> (.400/.491/.757), who hit consecutively in the Gator order. Rivera has the lowest OPS of the bunch at 1.248, as the trio is the only in the SEC to all sport an OPS above 1.200. Interestingly enough, each player leads Florida in a different triple-slash category: Rivera in batting (.400), Langford in on-base percentage (.546) and Caglianone in slugging (.892).
RELENTLESS REPTILES
Nearly half of Florida’s wins this season have been in comeback fashion (15), surpassing last year’s 66-game total of 13 (19.7%). After going 0-20 last season when trailing after six innings, Florida is 3-4 in that scenario in 2023, and 3-0 when tied after six innings. Even more impressively, the Gators are 13-4 when the opponent scores first this season, compared to 11-15 last year.
WE’RE GOING STREAKING!
Rivera is riding an 11-game hitting streak, slashing .436/.510/.718 with three homers, two doubles, 13 RBI, 13 runs and eight walks vs. four strikeouts over the course of it. Catcher BT Riopelle<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/bt-riopelle/15503> has reached base in 17-straight games.
RIVERA MEANS MORE
With a .407/.471/.780 slash line, Rivera, is hitting .84 points higher than any Gator in SEC play. He leads UF in hitting, slugging, runs and steals in SEC games.
STARTING OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT
Over the last five games, Florida starters are 2-0 with a 3.41 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and .175 batting average against in 29 innings.
GOLDEN SPIKES CANDIDATES
Rivera and Caglianone were named to the Golden Spikes Midseason Watch List on April 5. Rivera has already set career highs in homers (14), RBI (52), runs (50) and steals (11), ranking among the top bats in the nation in runs (T-fourth in NCAA, second in SEC), RBI (T-12th in NCAA, fifth in SEC), homers (T-20th in NCAA, eighth in SEC) and hits (56 – T-37th in NCAA, T-fifth in SEC). Caglianone’s 22 homers are three more than former UF teammate Kris Armstrong’s<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/kris-armstrong/15090> 19 for the nation’s lead, and are four more than the next-closest SEC player, Ethan Petry. As the fastest Gator ever to 20 homers – doing so in 37 games and besting Jud Fabian’s<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/jud-fabian/15127> record by 12 (49) – he is four away from tying the school record (26). He leads the SEC in hits (60), at bats (157) and total bases – with 20 more than any player. Cags ranks fourth nationally in slugging and RBI.
DON’T ROCK THE SPROAT, BABY
Right-hander Brandon Sproat<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/brandon-sproat/15508> has lost one decision across his last 15 starts. In that span, Sproat is 10-1 with a 3.45 ERA and 10.4 K/9 across 88 2/3 innings, equating to an average of 5.9 innings/start. His 12.7 strikeouts per nine rank 28th nationally. He is 1-0 with a 1.65 ERA in 16 1/3 innings vs. South Carolina (four games).
KEEPS A RIGHT ON HURSTON
Ranking second in the country behind LSU’s Paul Skenes with 83 strikeouts, righty Hurston Waldrep<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/hurston-waldrep/15517> has thrown four quality starts in his last five outings and Florida is 4-0 across his last four (Waldrep 3-0). With a 14.4 K/9, Waldrep has six-plus strikeouts in all nine starts and eight or more in four-straight.
BABY GRANNIES
Freshmen Cade Kurland<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/cade-kurland/15514> and Heyman each hit grand slams in game one vs. Georgia. Both players have developed into mainstays in the UF lineup, with Kurland ranking third on the team in multi-hit games (16) and multi-RBI games (11). The duo has 17 homers in 57 combined games.
QUICK HITS
* Caglianone’s career home runs/game rate is .439 while the team record is .344 (Matt LaPorta).
* Langford is closing in on 100 career games in the field without an error (98).
* Langford is on track to set Florida’s career slugging record (.736, record is .714).
* Florida’s K/9 is 11.1 this season. The team record is 9.9 (2016).
ON DECK
Florida returns home to host North Florida on Tuesday at 6 p.m. before welcoming Missouri to town for a three-game weekend series.
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