No.3 Florida travels to Columbia to take on No.6 South Carolina in a three-game series inside Founders Park.
The Gators faced the Gamecocks four times last season, taking two of three at home (W 14-5, W 8-0, L 1-4) before winning a 10-inning battle in the first round of the SEC Tournament in Hoover, 2-1.
Florida (31-7, 11-4 SEC) returns to South Carolina (31-6, 10-4 SEC) for the first time since 2021, where the Gators were swept by the Gamecocks. Prior to that, Florida had not lost a road series to the Gamecocks since Kevin O’Sullivan’s inaugural 2008 season.
Florida enters the weekend with a 16-8 record over South Carolina under head coach Kevin O’Sullivan, including an even 10-10 record on the road.
One team will get a leg up in the all-time series this weekend as the series is tied at 51 games a piece.
DATES, TIMES, BROADCAST INFO
(All times eastern)
Game 1: Thursday, April 20th at 7:30 PM / ESPNU
Game 2: Friday, April 21st at 7:00 PM / SECN
Game 3: Saturday, April 22nd at 2:00 PM / ESPN2
PITCHING MATCHUPS
Thursday: RHP Brandon Sproat (5-1, 4.96 ERA) vs. RHP Will Sanders (3-1, 5.03 ERA)
Friday: RHP Hurston Waldrep (6-1, 4.15 ERA) vs. RHP Jack Mahoney (3-1, 3.22 ERA)
Saturday: LHP Jac Caglianone (4-1, 4.74 ERA) vs. TBD
GAMECOCK BASEBALL
South Carolina comes into this weekend after back-to-back series against No.1 LSU and No.4 Vanderbilt. The Gamecocks split with the Tigers and lost 2/3 to the Commodores. Prior to that, South Carolina’s schedule wasn’t all that difficult, but their competitive battles against two of the top teams in the country proves they deserve to be considered one of the best teams in college baseball.
South Carolina is batting .289/.431/.567 with a nation-leading 85 home runs while holding an impressive 3.25 ERA on the mound.
The Gamecocks have committed 39 errors for a fielding percentage of .970.
ROAD SUCCESS
Kevin O’Sullivan’s squad has been excellent away from home, posting an 8-1 record on the road, including a series sweep of Ole Miss and 2/3 from Tennessee.
The Gators are outscoring opponents by 3.0 runs per game away from Condron Ballpark while averaging 2.8 homers per game and 10.4 hits per game on the road.
SHORTHANDED
Florida will be without the SEC saves leader, Brandon Neely, after a questionable ejection during Sunday’s rubber match against Georgia led to a suspension. Neely was served a four-game suspension that will last throughout the South Carolina series.
The Gators will need other pitchers to step up and deliver big innings this weekend. I’m looking at LHP Philip Abner to take over the closer role in Neely’s absence.
Starting pitching will be key for the Gators this weekend. Florida will need their rotation to eat innings with a shorthanded bullpen. Over the last five games, Florida starters are 2-0 with a 3.41 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and .175 batting average against in 29 innings. Working quick will be the recipe for success this weekend.
As if this series wasn’t hard enough, the Gators will need to overcome the absence of their top reliver.
RECENT DOMINANCE
Florida hasn’t dropped an SEC series since April 22-24, 2022 vs. No. 1 Tennessee. A series victory over South Carolina would make it one calendar year without a series loss for the Gators.
Since O’Sullivan took the reins in 2008, Florida’s .618 winning % in regular season SEC play is tops in the SEC (268-166).
NOTEABLES
- Caglianone’s career home runs/game rate is .439 while the team record is .344 (Matt LaPorta).
- Langford is closing in on 100 career games in the field without an error (98).
- Langford is on track to set Florida’s career slugging record (.736, record is .714).
- Florida’s K/9 is 11.1 this season. The team record is 9.9 (2016).
- RHP Brandon Sproat has lost one decision in his last 15 starts
- RHP Hurston Waldrep ranks second in the country in strikeouts with 83
- Josh Rivera is hitting .84 points higher than any Gator in SEC play. He leads UF in hitting, slugging, runs and steals in SEC games.