Florida baseball matches up against Bethune-Cookman

The Florida Gators (15-5, 2-1 SEC) enter into a midweek matchup against Bethune-Cookman (8-11, 3-0 SWAC) at Florida Ballpark. Now entering the sixth week of the season, the Gators come in at No. 8 on the D1Baseball Top 25.

Florida Gators

This past weekend, the Gators came out on top in their three-game series against Alabama, securing their first conference wins of the season.

In the first game of the series, the Gators held on to secure a 6-4 win in their SEC opener. Sophomore Hunter Barco pitched a career-high eight innings. He managed to hold off the Crimson Tide. Moreover, he led the Gators to victory with 10 strikeouts.

The second game of the series, a 13-6 win, marked 600 wins for head coach Kevin O’Sullivan. In this monumental victory, sophomore Wyatt Langford led the Gators with two home runs. Over Florida’s last 10 games, Langford has a total of five home runs.

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In the series finale, the Gators fell short to the Crimson Tide 8-7.

Although the weekend ended on a disappointing note, the Gators walked away with two hard-fought wins and a couple of new records.

Bethune-Cookman Wildcats

Bethune-Cookman, of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, comes into this matchup on a three-game winning streak after sweeping Jacksonville State last weekend.

The Wildcats have an 8-11 record this season. However, they have shown they are weak on the road, with a 1-4 away mark.

With their competitive schedule, the Wildcats have been improving offensively over the course of the season, said head coach Jonathan Hernandez.

Entering their matchup against Florida, the Wildcats will look to come out hard and put pressure on the Gators.

The Matchup

Historically, dating back to 1989, Florida is 33-1 all-time versus Bethune-Cookman, with a 13-1 record under O’Sullivan. The last time these two teams met, in 2018, the Gators came out on top, claiming a 7-4 victory.

On the mound, pitcher Nick Pogue will get his second start of the season for the Gators.

Also, the Bethune-Cookman head coach said pitcher Alec Mendez will get his first start of the season Tuesday.

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First pitch is set for 6 p.m.