Gators Host Lions in Weekend Series

For the third consecutive weekend, Florida Baseball will host at McKethan stadium, this weekend to the Columbia Lions.

The series begins tonight at 6:30 p.m. Saturday’s game will start at 4 p.m. and the final match up will be at 1 p.m. on Sunday. All three games will be broadcast online via SEC Network+.

#Gators are back at the Mac this weekend!

3⃣ games on tap vs. Columbia
6:30 pm | 4 pm | 1 pm

📰: https://t.co/A2DglvJ09Q pic.twitter.com/Wj0kyqXY6D

— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) March 2, 2017

Ready to Roar: The Columbia Lions

This will be the season opener for the Lions, who are coming off of a strong season in 2016  winning seven of their final nine games. Before that, Columbia won three straight Ivy League Championships.

The Lions are predicted to start right-handed pitcher Ethan Abrams in the opening game of the series tonight. Last season he finished out 1-1 with a 4.72. Lefty Josh Simpson is slated for Saturday (2016: 2-4, 6.07 ERA) and finish out with junior Ty Wiest, who missed last season recovering from Tommy John surgery.

They also heavily rely on right-handed pitcher and 2016 All-Ivy League second team selection Harrison Egly. Known as “Dirty Harry” for his ability to come in and shut down a game, Egly became Columbia’s all-time leader in saves last season as a sophomore. He currently has 10 career close-outs and tied the program’s single-season mark with five saves in 2015 and 2016.

Randel Kanemaru is expected to be Columbia’s anchor at the plate; a two-time All-Ivy League selection who is .340 with five homers and 27 RBI in 28 games.

See what our guys had to say about going up against the nation's best. #ColumbiaBASE #RoarLionRoar pic.twitter.com/PKcFGeP1vI

— Columbia Baseball (@CULionsBaseball) March 3, 2017

Series History

There isn’t much depth to Columbia and Florida’s history, as the two teams have only met one previous time. On March 18, 2003 the Gators earned a 24-8 victory in Gainesville.

Compared to other SEC opponents, the Lions are 1-4 all-time. The last time the Lions played an SEC team was in 2014 when they were beat out 8-7 in 11 innings to Texas A&M. This season Columbia will will face Mississippi State twice next weekend.

Home Field Advantage

So far this season the Gators have proved to play much better in front of an orange and blue crowd. Of Florida’s 7-2 record, the losses have delved from road games to Jacksonville University (3-2) and a lopsided 11-2 loss to UCF.

Strong pitching and defense have been the cornerstone to winning so far this season. The Gators have a 2.00 ERA and .981 fielding percentage in their seven wins.

It’s still early, but if this Columbia squad comes out swinging, the Gators will have to get the bats going.