Florida (22-19/10-8 SEC) will meet one of the nation’s hottest teams in No. 25 USF (26-14/10-2 Big East) on Tuesday night at McKethan Stadium in its first of four games this week. The Bulls are currently on a 12-game winning streak, while the Gators have won 11 of their last 14 games.
Over the weekend in their first trip to Missouri, the Gators took the first two games in Columbia, 8-6 and 4-3 in 15 innings, to raise their winning streak to a season-high eight games, before the Tigers avoided the sweep with an 8-2 triumph. Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan is not disappointed in the way the weekend ended despite the loss.
Sophomore catcher Taylor Gushue (.295, team-leading 24 RBI) went 7-for-16 over the three games with MU, while senior first baseman Vickash Ramjit continued his strong season by going 6-for-15. Ramjit leads Florida with a .325 batting average overall and is a team-best .382 in SEC play. He ranks second in runs scored (27) and is third in RBI (22).
USF moved up three spots to No. 25 in this week’s collegiate baseball NCAA Division I poll. The Bulls are alone at the top of the Big East standings as their 12-game winning streak continues. USF swept UConn on Sunday and improved to 10-2 in conference play. USF head coach Lelo Prado talked about the winning streak his team has been on.
Florida had reeled off 12-straight victories over USF before the Bulls ended the slide at McKethan Stadium last April with a 5-3 win. O’Sullivan is 10-1 against USF (8-1 in Gainesville and 2-0 in Tampa). The Gators have taken 34 of the 43 encounters on their home field and hold a 53-24 advantage in the all-time series. O’Sullivan believes the game against USF is a good opportunity to get back on the right foot.
First pitch is set for 7 p.m. You can catch all the coverage of the game right here on ESPN Radio 850/900 starting at 6:55 p.m. Next up, UF will host Tennessee (17-21/5-13 SEC) starting Friday night in another pivotal conference weekend series.