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After a frustrating home weekend against Georgia, Florida is turning the page, eyes now set on Florida State on Tuesday.
The Gators handed No. 4 Florida State its first loss on March 11 in Tallahassee. Now, these two rivals meet again in Jacksonville for Game 2 of the three-game season series. The biggest question for Florida (18-8, 0-6 SEC) coming into this one has to be what the mindset of this team is right now.
Are the Gators going to be able to move on from what happened over the weekend, or is it gonna carry over now into this week?
Offense Needs to Get Back in Gear
Florida’s top hitters have been disappointing. The offense has been Jekyll and Hyde this season, especially against teams with good pitching. Since the last time these two teams met, Florida has struggled, batting .266, scoring 47 runs and striking out 62 times.
Some of the Gators’ best bats have been ice-cold. Brody Donay is 3-for-14 with five strikeouts in his last four games. He has not had a home run since Harvard back on March 8.
Now, one guy who continues to play well is Colby Shelton, Mr.Reliable for the Gators. He is hitting .382, leads the team with 39 hits and is third in RBIs with 23. Shelton had success the first time these two faced off, he went 2-for-3 with a towering two-run home run. Shelton needs to continue to carry the load until the rest of his teammates pick up the slack.
Who Can Florida Rely on the Mound?
With all the injuries Florida has dealt with, it has been hard to find consistent enough arms to send out to the mound. The walks have been the biggest issue. Against Georgia, Florida walked 18 Bulldogs, which extended innings and put more guys on who later scored. If the team wants to start getting back on track as a staff, it has to start there. Gators’ pitchers did well against the Seminoles the first time. Don’t expect usual midweek starter Billy Barlow to get the start because he pitched on Saturday.
Expect UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan to make Tuesday night a bullpen game.
“It’s going to be a collective group,” O’Sullivan said. “We’ll have to figure out the pitching because obviously what we’re doing is not working, we’ll make some changes.”
Slowing down Florida State (20-3, 5-1 ACC) is going to be a challenge. Guys like Max Williams, who is hitting .316 and leads the team with 10 home runs. Alex Lodise is another hitter to watch. Lodise leads FSU in batting average (.458), hits (44), RBIs (26) and is second in home runs with seven.
What is Next
The first pitch for Tuesday’s sold-out game is at 6 p.m. at VyStar Ballpark in Jacksonville. Listen live on ESPN 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF + WJXL 1010AM. The game will now stream on ACCNX!
FSU is expected to start sophomore righty John Abraham (2-0, 3.65 ERA over 12.1 innings), while Florida is expected to start freshman LHP McCall Biemiller (0-0, 7.20 ERA over five innings this season).
Biemiller faced his first power-conference opponent Saturday vs. Georgia and allowed three runs on two hits over two innings, issuing two walks and striking out four batters. It’ll be a matchup of former Tampa Jesuit High teammates.
Sunshine State battle in Jax!
No. 4 Florida State
⏰ 6 p.m. ET
Jacksonville, Fla.
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️ https://t.co/gpyJxlBSd4#GoGators pic.twitter.com/kMlU7SrtjM— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) March 25, 2025
