The wait is finally over. No.7 Florida is set to open the 2023 college baseball season with a three-game series against Charleston Southern inside Condron Family Ballpark.
DATES AND TIMES
Game 1: Friday, February 17th at 7:00 pm.
Game 2: Saturday, February 18th at 4:00 pm.
Game 3: Sunday, February 19th at 1:00 pm.
(All times eastern)
CHARELSTON SOUTHERN IN 2022
Charleston Southern, led by head coach Marc Macmillan (entering 3rd season as Buccaneers coach), posted a 24-30 (13-11 Big South) record a season ago. CSU came up one game short of an NCAA Tournament bid, losing the Big South conference championship game 3-2 to Campbell University.
The Buccaneers were a sound team offensively a year ago, posting a collective slash line of .285/.394/.432 with 48 homeruns and 389 runs scored, an average of 7.2 runs per game.
Pitching was a different story for the Buccaneers, combining for a team ERA of 6.73 and a WHIP of 1.78 in 2022. CSU allowed opponents to hit .292 against them, giving up 48 homeruns and 428 runs, an average of 7.92 runs per game.
CSU struggled mightily on defense in 2022, combining for 88 errors and a .954 fielding percentage, leading the Buccaneers to allow 86 unearned runs.
KEY DEPARTURES
CSU will be without the services of Nick Rodriguez in 2023. The 5-10, 183-pound infielder was named a Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American in 2022, just the second in program history. The Tampa native slashed .384/.489/.493 before transferring to Missouri State.
Pitching coach Anthony Izzio resigned from his position with the Buccaneers upon accepting a pitching coach and recruiting coordinator position at Tulane. Izzio recently completed his second season with the Bucs and played a key role in the blue and gold reaching the championship game of the Big South Tournament last month. CSU hired Karl Kuhn as the program’s pitching coach this offseason. Kuhn was the head coach at Radford University the past three seasons.
KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH
The Buccaneers return 16 players from the 2022 roster, including infielders Tyrell Brewer and Connor Aldrich.
Brewer, a Florida State transfer, has put together back-to-back .300% seasons at the plate, starting 77 games for the Bucs during that span. In 2021, Brewer placed ninth in the Big South in on-base percentage (.444). The Orlando native isn’t a major threat to hit the long ball or hit for extra bases, but he has a knack for getting on base.
Aldrich, a senior from Jacksonville, Fla., holds a career batting average of .240 across 78 starts for CSU. In 2021, Aldrich hit .272 with an OBP of .349. Like Brewer, Aldrich isn’t a threat to hit home runs, totaling just one long ball in his three-year career.
WEEKEND ROTATION
While Florida has yet to announce their weekend rotation, Charleton Southern will trot out two right handers and a lefty against the Gators.
FRIDAY: Senior RHP Zac Robinson
The Wabash Valley College transfer will be the first pitcher to toe the rubber for the Bucs.
Robinson held a 3-1 record in his lone season with CSU, totaling 21 appearances including one start. The 6-3, 203 pounder held an ERA of 9.48 and a WHIP of 1.79 across 31.1 innings in 2022, posting a .313 batting average against.
Robinson appears to have decent command as well as the ability to keep the ball in the ballpark, allowing three home runs a year ago.
SATURDAY: Senior LHP Ryan Gleason
The Virgina Tech transfer will take the mound for the 2nd game of the series against the Gators.
Gleason appeared in 17 games including five starts in his only season as a Buccaneer, posting a 1-2 record across 18.1 innings pitched.
The 6-4, 209-pound left-hander held an ERA of 12.76 and a WHIP of 2.29 in 2022, striking out 20 batters and walking 22 in the process.
SUNDAY: Sophomore RHP Evan Truitt
Untraditionally, CSU’s ace will pitch on Sunday.
As a true freshman, Truitt made 16 appearances including 10 starts for the Bucs, posting a 4-4 record across 54.2 innings.
His ERA of 4.28 is by far the best of CSU’s weekend rotation.
The 6-0, 180-pound right-hander totaled 60 strikeouts in his freshman campaign, allowing just 23 walks in the process.
CONNECTION TO FLORIDA
Former Gator baseball player Matt Den Dekker served as an assistant coach for CSU in 2020 after serving as a student-assistant coach at the University of Florida from August 2019-March 2020.
Den Dekker is now coaching in the minor leagues with the New York Mets organization.
PREDICTION
I don’t envision many problems on Friday and Saturday with the Gators’ elite pitching duo of Hurston Waldrep and Brandon Sproat. Sunday will be the toughest test for Florida for a number of reasons. The first being that Florida is still trying to solidify their Sunday starter. With Pierce Coppola not expected back until SEC play, coach Kevin O’Sullivan will need to find a replacement in the meantime. Sullivan could turn to a number of arms including Jac Caglianone and Brandon Neely. Philip Abner and Rylan Slater were mentioned as possible Sunday candidates as well, but I see them as the weekday arms for now.
The Bucs are throwing their ace against Florida on Sunday, giving CSU the best chance to win the final game of the series.
THINGS TO WATCH FOR
You may see three different lineups for three straight games. Florida is as deep as they’ve been since the 2018 season and there’s plenty of deserving players that won’t see their name on the lineup Friday night. Non-conference play is the time to play around with the lineup and figure out which nine bats gives the Gators the best chance to win games heading into SEC play.
CLOSER
Florida needs to identify a closer if they want to be as successful as the expectations show. Ryan Slater is one name that comes to mind as he’s somewhat familiar with the closer role and has significantly improved during the offseason, according to coach Sullivan.
Look for Florida to throw many different arms out of the bullpen this weekend.
The road to Omaha starts now!