Florida Baseball Welcomes Georgia State for Midweek Meeting

The No. 5 Florida Gators baseball team (9-3) welcomes Georgia State (4-9) for a Tuesday night game in Florida Ballpark.

The Gators’ offense came to life in their weekend sweep over Florida A&M. After taking both games in the Friday doubleheader (10-2 in Game 1 and 5-1 in Game 2), the Gators completed the sweep on Sunday with an 8-0 victory.

Georgia State is coming off of a weekend series loss to No. 17 Tennessee. However, they have seen some success against ranked opponents including a 10-1 victory over No. 10 Georgia Tech last week Wednesday.

A Look at Florida

The weekend series victory showcased the strength of the Gators on the mound. Pitchers Tommy Mace, Jack Leftwich and Hunter Barco each took a victory in their respective starts.

However, according to head coach Kevin O’Sullivan, the Gators still have to figure out the bullpen situation. A midweek matchup could give the Gators a chance to experiment on the mound.

In last week’s midweek loss against No. 21 FAU, Garrett Milchin got the start on the mound. Florida also saw the arms of Trey Van Der Weide, David Luethje, Jordan Butler, Timmy Manning and Franco Aleman.

Milchin will also get the start on the mound in the Gators’ matchup with Georgia State.

The Florida offense saw success at the plate behind the bats of lead-off hitter Jacob Young and Jud Fabian. Young set a new Florida record on Sunday against Florida A&M with a 30-game hitting streak.

Captain's Log, Day 6⃣4⃣6⃣

THE STREAK LIVES!#GoGators pic.twitter.com/x1iTEdJKir

— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) March 7, 2021

Florida’s Colby Halter and Nathan Hickey have also been impactful for the Gators. Halter leads all Florida hitters with 16 RBIs while Hickey adds 15.

Who to Watch For Florida

• Jacob Young, Outfielder
  • Young set a record this past weekend for more consecutive games with at least one hit. The sophomore leads the team with 22 hits this season and has made his mark as a lead-off hitter for Florida.
  • Here’s what coach O’Sullivan had to say regarding Young:
• Jud Fabian, Outfielder
  • The redshirt sophomore out of Ocala has put up four home runs in his past five games. He’s averaging .275 percent at the plate and records 14 RBIs on the season.
• Garrett Milchin
  • The redshirt junior has taken the mound against FAU and North Florida. Through five innings pitched, Milchin has struck out seven batters while allowing three runs.

Scouting Georgia State

Although Georgia State doesn’t have a star-studded roster, they have plenty of potential.

With the majority of his roster underclassman, head coach Brad Stromdahl notes how important it is for his team to go out and compete against some of the best teams in the country.

The Panthers have only played against ranked opponents this season including No. 14 West Virginia, No. 7 Georgia, No. 2 Vanderbilt, No. 10 Georgia Tech and No. 17 Tennessee. Their midweek game against Florida will mark their sixth consecutive ranked opponent.

In their season opener, Georgia State split the series with West Virginia. The Panthers managed to take two of the four games throughout the series.

In addition, the Panthers took a Friday night game over Vanderbilt in their series. Georgia State also added a midweek victory over Georgia Tech last week to their resume.

Who to Watch For: Georgia State

• Will Mize, SS
  • The freshman leads the team at the plate with a batting average of .422. Mize also leads Georgia State in hits with 19. The shortstop has put up two home runs and records eight RBIs on the season.
  • Coach Stromdahl had this to say on Mize:
• Seth Clark, LHP
  • Clark will get the start on the mound for Georgia State. The left-hander was the Friday night starter last year but has grown into the role of relief or closing pitcher.
  • Here is what coach Stromdahl had to say: