Florida Baseball Hosts Georgia In A Weekend Series

The top ranked Florida baseball team will host their Eastern division rival the Georgia Bulldogs (23-15, 7-8 SEC) Friday night as the teams are set to kick off their weekend series at McKethan Stadium.

The Gators (29-8, 9-6 SEC) have won four of their last five games and are facing a Georgia team which has struggled offensively all season.  Coming off a stretch in which they played five games in six days, Georgia head coach Dave Perno hopes his team will be able to wake their bats up early against Florida.

Sophomore right-hander Jonathon Crawford (4-1, 4.05 ERA) will be on the mound for the Gators in Friday’s series opener.  Crawford has drawn a start in all five of the Gators’ SEC series this season, and is 3-0 with a 2.78 ERA in league action.

He will go against Georgia left-hander Alex Wood (5-1, 2.64 ERA).  Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan says Wood’s ability to come at a hitter in a variety of ways makes him a true staff ace.

In Saturday’s matchup, the Gators will have a clear advantage in starting pitchers.  Junior southpaw Brian Johnson (5-1, 3.88 ERA) will take hill for the Gators, going against Georgia senior Michael Palazzone (1-5, 5.81 ERA).  Florida catcher Mike Zunnino says Johnson has been playing really well as of late.

Junior right-hander Hudson Randall (3-1, 3.56 ERA) is scheduled to get the ball for the Gators on Sunday.  Georgia has yet to announce who will oppose him but, if Randall does start, it will be the first time he has seen game action since March 30th (arm fatigue).

Game times this weekend are at 7 p.m. both Friday and Saturday and 3 p.m. on Sunday.  You can catch all the action from these games LIVE on our sister station Country 103.7 The Gator.  Coverage begins five minutes before the first pitch.