Gators Baseball Takes on Georgia in SEC Weekend Series

The No. 9 Florida Gators baseball (33-15, 15-9 SEC) welcomes the Georgia Bulldogs (28-18, 11-13 SEC) to Florida Ballpark for their final home SEC weekend series. After a tough 6-1 midweek loss to Stetson on Tuesday night, the Gators will look to tighten things up against a conference opponent.

Both teams enter this weekend with two SEC opponents left before the start of the SEC Tournament. After their series with Georgia, the Gators will face the top-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks to finish the regular season.

Pitching Matchups

Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan is switching up the Gators’ pitching rotation this weekend. Coach O’Sullivan will keep Franco Aleman, Hunter Barco, and Tommy Mace on the mound.

• Game 1 | RHP Tommy Mace (5-0, 4.43 ERA) v. LHP Liam Sullivan (1-1, 3.96 ERA)
• Game 2 | LHP Hunter Barco (8-2, 4.26 ERA) v. LHP Jaden Woods (3-0, 4.00 ERA)
• Game 3 | RHP Franco Aleman (1-2, 5.17 ERA) v. TBD

A Look at the Gators

In their two past series, the Gators have dropped Game 1 to their opponents. Vanderbilt and Kentucky each took the first game of the series despite Florida winning both in the final two games.

Despite this, the Gators will look to claim a Game 1 victory on Friday night by adding Mace to the mound. Florida pitchers will look to go a solid five to six innings before relying on the bullpen. The Florida bullpen has been inconsistent as of late making it more important for starters to pitch deeper into games.

The Gators have seen no trouble at the plate against SEC opponents. In their series with the Wildcats, Florida combined for 30 hits and 22 runs.

Big bats in the Bluegrass 💪🔨#GoGators pic.twitter.com/6ncwcBkIXw

— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 9, 2021

Jud Fabian and Kendrick Calilao each recorded home runs for the Gators. Fabian leads the Gators with 18 home runs on the season.

Florida’s RBI leader Nathan Hickey has been a constant at the plate for the Gators. In addition, Jacob Young leads the Gators with 65 hits on the season.

Previewing Georgia

The Bulldogs are coming off of a weekend series against the top-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks. Georgia avoided the sweep with a 7-3 Game 2 victory on Saturday. However, the Razorbacks managed to take the series victory with a 9-7 Game 1 win and 5-3 Game 3 victory.

At the plate, the Bulldogs are led by Connor Tate who leads the team in both hits (64) and RBIs (32).

Georgia is amidst a seven game road stretch to round out the regular season.

How to Watch

• Friday 6:30 p.m. | 98.1 FM/850 AM WRUF | SEC Network+
• Saturday 6:30 p.m. | 98.1 FM/850 AM WRUF | SEC Network+
• Sunday 12:00 p.m. | 98.1 FM/850 AM WRUF | SEC Network