Off the back of five consecutive SEC series wins, No.23 Florida wraps up the regular season with a three game home series vs No.18 Alabama.
The three-game set begins Thursday, May 15 at 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network+, which will carry each contest of the series. Game two is scheduled for Friday at 6:30 p.m. followed by Saturday afternoon’s finale at 4 p.m.
The Gators (35-18, 13-14 SEC) have dominated the Crimson Tide (39-13, 15-12 SEC) in recent history, winning 23 of their previous 26 contests including 16 of the last 18. That dominant stretch has powered the Orange & Blue to a 70-59 all-time series lead, highlighted by a 35-19 mark in Gainesville.
Head Coach Kevin O’Sullivan is going for his 500th-career home victory this weekend (499-151, .768). O’Sullivan is 29-7 overall and 13-2 at home against the Tide in his 18-year tenure as UF skipper.
It’s a big weekend in Gainesville as the newly ranked Gators are looking to finish strong and give themselves a chance at hosting a Regional in the NCAA Tournament. It’s possible that the winner of this series earns a top 16 National seed.
Pitching matchups
Thursday: RHP Liam Peterson (8-2, 3.81 ERA) vs RHP Tyler Fay (0-2, 5.54 ERA)
Friday: LHP Pierce Coppola (3-0, 1.15 ERA) vs RHP Riley Quick (7-2, 3.53 ERA)
Saturday: RHP Aidan King (5-2, 2.90 ERA) vs LHP Zane Adams (7-2, 4.84 ERA)
Scouting the Crimson Tide
Alabama travels to Gainesville coming off their best series win yet, defeating No.10 Georgia in two of three games. Georgia is the only currently ranked team that Alabama has beaten this season as the Crimson Tide have suffered losses to Auburn, Tennessee, LSU, and Vanderbilt, three of which are ranked inside the top 10 while Tennessee ranks 17th. Despite having five series losses on the season, Alabama has yet to be swept in 2025, which is a credit to their well-rebound team.
The first thing that jumps out about this Alabama team is their ability to hit the long ball as they’ve launched 87 home runs this season, which ranks T-16th in the country. Leading the way is 2024 first team All-American Justin Lebron, who is simply one of the best hitters in college baseball highlighted by his 17 home runs this season. Lebron has a ton of power inside his 6’2, 180-pound frame and displays incredible athleticism at shortstop with the ability to make highlight reel plays. Lebron’s batting average is down from his .338 mark as a true freshman, but he’s still hitting .317 with an improvement in walk totals. Lebron is a strong candidate for the first overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft
Alabama has four hitters with double digit home runs including Jason Torres, who some of you may remember as a Miami Hurricane from previous seasons. Torres actually homered vs Florida last season while playing with the Canes. Another player to watch out is Alabama’s three-hole hitter Kade Snell. The redshirt senior leads the SEC with a .390 batting average and has 10 home runs to match.
As a team, Alabama holds a team batting average of .286, which ranks 106th in the country. The Crimson Tide have struggled finding success at the bottom of their order, which is not all that uncommon in this league. Alabama does swing and miss quite a bit at the plate, striking out on over 25% of their at bats, which bodes well for a Florida pitching staff that ranks 5th in the country in strikeouts per nine.
On the mound, Alabama holds a team ERA of 4.92, which ranks 63rd in the country, just ahead of Florida’s 5.01 ERA. The Crimson Tide pitching staff walks less than four batters a game, which is very good for a power SEC pitching team that strikes out 9.7 batters per nine innings.
If Florida can sweep or even take two of three vs Alabama, they’ll give themselves a shot at hosting a regional, which would be huge for Florida’s chances of advancing in the postseason.