By Josh Benton
The Florida baseball team (47-17 in 2010) comes into the 2011 season ranked No. 1 in the Baseball America rankings and No. 3 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America poll.
The Gators, led by fourth-year coach Kevin O’Sullivan, will begin their march toward Omaha with a three-game home stand this weekend against the University of South Florida.
One of the Gators’ greatest strengths will be its pitching staff. The team will have 11 pitchers returning from last year’s team. Sophomore lefty Brian Johnson (6-4, 4.03 in 2010) will face off against right-handed USF senior Randy Fontanez (5-7, 3.59 in 2010) in the season opener. Johnson, along with junior Preston Tucker, have both been named to the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List.
Right-handed sophomore Hudson Randall, who in 20 pitching appearances went 8-4 with a 3.24 ERA as a freshman for the Gators, will start Saturday’s game against Bulls senior Andrew Barbosa (8-2, 2.40 in 2010).
“I think (USF is) a decent team,” Randall said. “They don’t have too much power in their lineup, I don’t think. Their starting pitchers are decent and you can’t take them too lightly.”
Four freshmen will join the staff this season, including righty Karsten Whitson, who was drafted ninth overall in the first round of the 2010 Major League Baseball Entry Draft by the San Diego Padres. Whitson turned the Padres and their money down for a baseball scholarship with the Gators. He’ll be rewarded for that decision with an opportunity to start in the series finale against left-handed USF freshman Nick Gonzalez.
“(The pitch count this weekend) will be around 70,” O’Sullivan said Thursday. “Each pitcher has gone about five innings his last time out and threw about 65 pitches, so we’ll bump it up to 70.”
The Gators will only be returning three seniors, led by infielder Josh Adams. Adams is a career .298 hitter with 143 runs scored, 145 RBI and 25 homers in his three seasons with the Gators. He’ll be starting at second base on opening day.
Also helping provide some offensive punch to the lineup is sophomore Austin Maddox, who batted .333 with 17 home runs and 72 RBI in his first season with the Gators. He’ll start at first base on Friday but also plays third base.
“I’m in a lot better shape [than last year],” Maddox said. “I’ve dropped probably 10 pounds since last year and I feel like I’m moving better. I’m more flexible. I’ve done a better job on my body this offseason. It helps a lot [playing third base]. I can move better over there, my first step’s gotten better and I can get to balls I wasn’t able to get to last season. I feel a lot more confident at third base this year because I’ve taken so many ground balls every day and I’ve worked so hard over the offseason.”
The Gators are projected to take the SEC crown this season by the conference’s coaches’ preseason poll. If they do, they will win back-to-back SEC championships for the first time since the 1981-1982 seasons.
Their first game against USF will be on Friday, Feb. 17 at 7:00 p.m. from McKethan Stadium. The game can be seen on television on Sunsports. Saturday’s game will start at 4:00 p.m., and the series finale on Sunday starts at 1:00 p.m.