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The No.7 Florida Gators take on the Harvard Crimson this weekend. Here is what to expect outta the boys from Cambridge, Massachusetts:
Crimson Clash ⚔️#GoGators pic.twitter.com/I7vcLmNf6E
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) March 7, 2025
It’s been a tough start to the season for Harvard (0-6), but in its defense, it hasn’t been the easiest of schedules to begin the year. The season began at the USA Baseball National Training Complex for a round-robin weekend where the Crimson had to play solid Big Ten opponents Northwestern and Indiana. The Crimson lost to Northwestern (5-5) 5-1 and to Indiana (6-7) 14-4.
Ahead of this weekend, Harvard traveled to Greenville, S.C., for a three-game set against Michigan State. Harvard was swept, losing all three games by double-digits and only scored five runs.
It’s a Crimson Struggle
Pitching Staff
Harvard has not done well this year on the mound. The pitching struggles are a big reason the record is what it is. The staff ERA is 12.31. Opponents are hitting a staggering .334. In 45 1/3 innings, Harvard has allowed 62 earned runs, with 12 being home runs. The Crimson have also walked 44 batters and only have 39 strikeouts as a staff.
These numbers are major red flags heading into the weekend. The Gators are hitting .320 as a team with 24 home runs.
Harvard will go with right-handed pitcher Callan Fang ( 2024: 3-3, 4.64 ERA) on Friday, RHP Truman Pauley (0-2, 5.40 ERA) on Saturday. It’s TBA for Saturday’s second game. The biggest key for Fang and Pauley will be to limit the free passes. Both pitchers do a decent job at making hitters hit their way on base, which needs to be the mindset this weekend.
Harvard Offense
In addition to the poor pitching, the offense has not been any better. Struggles against Michigan State (9-2) is not a good sign, considering the Gators’ staff is much better. Florida (12-2) will roll with RHP Liam Peterson (3-0, 1.13 ERA) and RHP Aidan King (2-0, 0.87 ERA) on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Similar to Harvard, the second-game starters on Sunday have not been announced.
Obviously, it’s a tall task for Harvard, which is hitting .210 as a team. Despite an offense that has only managed 20 runs and 37 hits, there are a few hitters to keep an eye on. Jordan Kang leads the team with six hits, two homers and four RBIs. Kang is hitting .333, which tied for the team lead. Jack Rickheim is another name to write down. Rickheim is batting .300 this season with six hits and two extra-base hits.
To put in perspective just how one-sided this offense is compared to Florida’s, the Gators have 111 more hits (148) than Harvard. As many doubles (32) as Harvard has hits and more home runs (24) than Harvard has scored.
Up Next
First pitch Friday is at 6:30 p.m. Watch it live on SEC Network+ (home for the series) or listen live on ESPN 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF starting at 6:25 p.m. UF announced because of the threat of inclement weather on Sunday, that Games 2 and 3 are now on Saturday via a doubleheader beginning at noon.
