Florida baseball hosts Marshall in Opening Weekend

The long-awaited debut of the Florida Gator baseball team is over; the season begins Friday in the final opening weekend at McKethan Stadium as the the Gators will host Marshall University  for the first ever meeting between the two programs.

Pitching Matchups

Friday night will feature a pitching match up between Florida’s Tommy Mace and Marshall’s Wade Martin.  Mace returns for his second season as the Gators’ Friday night starter.

Martin, a red shirt senior, returns to the mound after making 10 starts in 2019. The entire pitching match up for the weekend…

RHP Tommy Mace (Florida)

RHP Wade Martin (Marshall)

Satuday

RHP Jack Leftwich (Florida)

RHP Brady Choban (Marshall)

Sunday

RHP Nick Pogue (Florida)

RHP Jeffery Purnell (Marshall)

 Gators on the Mound

 As a sophomore in 2019, Mace pitched in all of Florida’s weekend series. About a month into the season, he took over as the Friday night starter.

Tommy Mace is ready to bring the 🔥🔥🔥#GoGators pic.twitter.com/pnTabgjFsf

— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) February 7, 2020

Last season, Mace finished with an 8-5 record as a starter. Additionally, he led the Gators with 74 strikeouts and posted a 5.32 ERA.  In addition, veteran pitchers Jack Leftwich and Nick Pogue will take the mound for the Gators.

In the 2019 season, Leftwich made 13 appearances. The junior had 62 strikeouts while posting a 5.31 ERA.

Sophomore Nick Pogue returns for his second season on the mound for the Florida. The right-hander threw through 34.2 innings last season, mostly in relief.  Gator coach Kevin O’Sullivan says he has not given up a run in many of his outings in scrimmages and has earned the right, at least for now, to be the Sunday starting pitcher.

A Look at The Herd

Marshall baseball returns to the field with fresh faces as they only return three of their 2019 starters.  Last season, the Herd finished with an overall record of 29-28.

They are led by senior infielder Zach Inskeep and junior Geordon Blanton. At the plate, Inskeep recorded 30 RBIs for Marshall in 2019.

Blanton, an infielder, recorded 26 RBIs last season.

The 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣0️⃣ season begins tomorrow in Gainesville vs. #4 Florida Gators! 🌴⚾️🤘#RiseAsOne pic.twitter.com/NXjy96Ngs8

— Marshall Baseball (@HerdBaseball) February 13, 2020

How to Watch

You can follow live coverage of this weekend’s series on the SECNetwork+ or listen live on the air at 98.1 FM/850 AM WRUF.

• Friday, Feb. 14
  • 6:30 p.m.
  • 98.1 FM/850 AM
• Saturday, Feb. 15
  • 4 p.m.
  • 98.1 FM/850 AM
• Sunday, Feb. 16
  • 1 p.m.
  • 103.7 FM