That old baseball axiom of good pitching beating good hitting will be tested this weekend when Alabama comes to Florida for a three-game Southeastern Conference baseball series at McKethan Stadium.
Alabama (16-7 overall, 3-3 SEC West) leads the conference in batting (.343), slugging percentage (.603), hits (274) and doubles (57). It is second in the conference in runs scored (213) and home runs (46).
The Gators (15-8, 3-3 SEC East) have struggled at the plate. They are last in batting (.285), on-base percentage (.374), hits (199) and runs batted in (118). Florida is 10th in home runs with 14.
On those statistics alone, it would seem that coach Kevin O’Sullivan and the Gators are in for a long weekend. But a good pitching staff can limit good hitting, and Florida certainly is well armed. Florida boasts a 3.37 ERA and has allowed only 18 home runs as a pitching staff.
Alabama boasts one of the top power hitters in the country this season. Senior right fielder Kent Matthes is hitting .424 with 41 runs batted in, but the key stat is his 15 home runs, which leads the country. Matthes’ 15 homers match the number hit by the entire Florida team this season. He is also a Florida native who played his high school ball at Edgewater High School.
The usual three-hole hitter for Alabama is second baseman Ross Wilson, younger brother of Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson. He boasts a .349 batting average with three home runs and 21 RBI.
His counterpart up the middle is sophomore shortstop Josh Rutledge, Alabama’s No. 2 hitter with a .344 average, three homers and 16 RBI. The sparkplug who gets it all going is freshman left fielder Taylor Dugas, who is hitting .420 in the leadoff spot with two home runs and 17 RBI.
Other key contributors for Alabama are junior third baseman Jake Smith (.342, 6, 19), junior first baseman Brandon May (.325, 3, 22) and senior center fielder Alex Kubal (.254, 1, 23).
The Alabama pitching rotation has been a little inconsistent. As a team, the Crimson Tide has a 4.10 ERA, which ranks in the middle of the pack of the SEC.
Friday night Alabama will send right-hander Austin Hyatt to the mound. The senior is 4-0 on the season with a 2.57 ERA in five starts. Both of his SEC starts this season have resulted in him going eight innings. Florida junior right-hander Jeff Barfield, who is 2-0 with a 1.17 ERA, will oppose him in the series opener at 6:30 p.m.
Saturday at 4 p.m., Alabama will send freshman left-hander Adam Morgan (3-1, 3.10 ERA) against Florida freshman left-hander Nick Maronde (1-1, 2.14 ERA). Alabama junior left-hander Del Howell (2-0, 0.00 ERA), who has thrown only two starts this season and pitched 11 innings, gets the starting nod in the Sunday series finale at 1 p.m. against Florida senior right-hander Patrick Keating (2-3, 4.68 ERA).