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Baseball season is in full swing, and the No. 10 Florida Gators’ opening series against Air Force starts Friday.
Tomorrow. #GoGators pic.twitter.com/AkKczMDZ0Q
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) February 13, 2025
First Time In Program History
For the first time in program history, the Gators and Falcons meet on the mound. The United States Air Force Parachute Team, Wings of Blue, will make an appearance before Saturday’s game.
The Gators finished last season (36-30, 13-17) in Omaha, getting eliminated in the semifinals. They did not go as far as originally hoped, however, 15 players returned, four of which were drafted in the MLB: juniors Colby Shelton and Luke Heyman, redshirt junior Pierce Coppola and senior Ty Evans. In a media availability Tuesday, coach Kevin O’Sullivan said returning players will be crucial to the Gators’ success this season.
“Getting those guys back was huge for us. From not just, you know, all of their experience, but their leadership,” O’Sullivan said.
Other notable returning players include sophomore Liam Peterson and juniors Cade Kurland and Brody Donay. Furthermore, Florida’s transfer class has many showstopping athletes like sophomore Kyle Jones from Stetson, junior Blake Cyr from Miami, senior Bobby Boser from USF, and senior Billy Barlow from Clemson. Freshman Brendan Lawson has big shoes to fill, stepping in at first base — one of Jac Caglianone’s key positions.
The batting lineup for the Gators is still being finalized, but the starting pitching lineup is set.
Air Force Lookout
Air Force ended the season with an overall 27-28 record. The team was the Mountain West Regular Season Champion and was eliminated by Fresno State in the conference tournament.
Star hitter Chase Spencer was the only player elected on the Preseason All-Mountain West team. He was also elected to the 2024 Mountain West All-Conference Second Team as he started all 55 games last season and had 70 hits, six of which were home runs. Spencer also broke the Falcon’s record with 17 conference individual season stolen bases.
The starting pitchers for the Falcons include Dylan Rogers on Friday, Gaines Estridge on Saturday and John Mitchell on Sunday.
Tuning In
The entire series will be streamed on SECN+ and ESPN 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF.
Gator great Preston Tucker will throw the first pitch. In 2024, he was inducted into the UF Athletic Hall of Fame and played for the Houston Astros, Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds.
Weekend Schedule Update
In order to avoid the potential for severe weather Sunday, Florida and Air Force will now play Games 2 and 3 on Saturday via a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
Tickets for Saturday’s originally-scheduled 4 p.m. game will be good for Game 3 of the series. Tickets for Sunday’s originally-scheduled 12 p.m. finale can now be used for Game 2 on Saturday at 1 p.m.
The Gators continue to face non-conference opponents following the opening series when they face Jacksonville on Tuesday, Florida A&M on Wednesday and Dayton for their second weekend series, all at Condron Family BallPark.
