Florida Gator baseball (19-9, 5-4 SEC) hosts the Florida A&M Rattlers (10-16, 4-0 MEAC) for their second midweek game this week on Wednesday night at Florida Ballpark.
The Gators took a close 7-6 victory over Stetson in their Tuesday night midweek meeting with the Hatters.
Florida hosted the Rattlers in the first weekend of March for a weekend series. The Gators won all three games, 10-2, 5-1, and 8-0 respectively.
The pitching matchups are still to be determined.
Gators On the Rise
Florida is riding the momentum of a weekend series win and finding ways to win in the midweek. The Gators are strong at the plate and can find ways to get on base. However, Florida still needs to polish their fielding after a few errors against Stetson.
Regardless, the difference makers for the Gators: the freshmen.
The Gators’ weekend series showcased strong play from freshman Jordan Carrion. Carrion earned Co-SEC Freshman of the Week for his performance against the Ole Miss Rebels. Fast forward to Tuesday night and freshman Josh Rivera is making his mark for Florida.
https://twitter.com/GatorsBB/status/1379591511248003074
Rivera was three of four at the plate for two RBIs. In the bottom of the eighth, Rivera hit a home run that would end up being the game winner for Florida.
Florida’s midweek starter Garrett Milchin looked solid on the mound, tossing five innings while allowing two hits and two runs while striking out four batters.
A Look at Florida A&M
Florida A&M has yet to play a game in the month of April. Their weekend series against North Carolina Central scheduled for this past weekend was cancelled.
The Rattlers last played a midweek game against Alabama State University on March 30. Florida A&M won in a tight game, 15-14, after erasing a nine run deficit.
https://twitter.com/FAMU_Baseball/status/1377059349990871048
Junior outfielder LJ Bryant has been a strong force at the plate for the Rattlers. Bryant leads Florida A&M with 18 RBIs and 28 hits on the season.
How to Watch
You can watch the Gators Wednesday night matchup on SEC Network+ or tune into ESPN 98.1 FM/850 AM WRUF starting at 6 p.m.