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The No. 13 ranked Florida Gators return home for a pair of midweek games against Jacksonville on Tuesday and Florida A&M on Wednesday at Condron Family Ballpark.
Florida (16-5), which dropped from No. 7 to No. 13 in the D1Baseball Top 25 on Monday, looks to regain momentum after a rough weekend in Knoxville, where Tennessee swept in the first SEC series of the season.
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Tennessee (20-0) outscored the Gators by 15 runs across the three-game set, while the Gators struggled to find consistency at the plate and their bullpen issues reappeared in costly moments.
Bullpen Struggles Continue
Saturday’s Game 2 against Tennessee was a microcosm of Florida’s bullpen troubles. Freshman right-hander Aidan King delivered one of the strongest starts of his young career, going six innings while allowing just four hits, one run and striking out six. But once King exited, the wheels fell off.
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Three Gators relievers combined to record just one out in the seventh inning, surrendering seven hits, nine runs and two walks while striking out only one batter. The game, which had been 1-0 with one out in the seventh, quickly turned into a 10-0 Tennessee run-rule victory when the Vols plated nine straight runs without Florida recording another out.
It wasn’t the first time this season the Gators’ bullpen has cost them a game. Similar struggles surfaced against UCF and again in a Game 3 meltdown against Miami. With SEC play now underway, Florida needs to find stability in the later innings if it hopes to compete for a conference title.
Midweek Matchups Provide Reset Opportunity
Tuesday’s game with Jacksonville (11-8) and Wednesday’s game against FAMU (9-10) offer Florida a chance to get back on track before a critical home weekend series against No. 4 Georgia (21-2). Originally scheduled for Feb. 19, the game against FAMU was postponed due to weather and rescheduled for this week.
Coach Kevin O’Sullivan may use the midweek games to experiment with his bullpen, giving multiple relievers opportunities to prove themselves. UF will start right-hander Jackson Barberi (1-0, 5.59 ERA) on Tuesday, while JU goes with righty Aaron Zenus (0-1, 3.60). The Gators’ offense, which has averaged eight runs per game this season, will also look for a bounce-back performance after Tennessee’s pitching staff stifled them.
Florida has dominated both Jacksonville and FAMU in recent seasons, but given the bullpen’s inconsistency, the Gators cannot afford to take any opponent lightly. The first pitch against Jacksonville is scheduled for 6:30, with Wednesday’s game against FAMU also scheduled for 6:30. Both games will air on the SEC Network+ and ESPN 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF.
