Gators Baseball To Face FAU in Midweek Game

The Gators continue to march forward into the 2021 season. The dreaded opening series against Miami moves further into the past. As that series does, so does the most recent time Florida has lost a game.

While late-inning pitching remains an issue for the Gators, they have won their last five games. Almost all of is because of their bats–got to give ace Tommy Mace credit still–he’s been electric–but he only starts once a week and not this game.

The Gators bats look to stay in the groove and continue their winning streak when they face the FAU Owls Wednesday night.

Outscore, Outscore, Outscore

No kidding, sherlock, someone might say. You’re suppose to outscore the opponent. That’s how you win a game.

This is true. But so far this season, there is an added layer of meaning to “outscoring” the opponent.

The Gators have scored 75 runs so far this season–an average of 9.4 runs per game. The Gators have also given up 47 runs this season–an average of almost six runs a game. There’s a wide margin here, but six runs is a still a lot of runs to give up a game, even in college. If you remove the 18-2 win over Samford, this gap closes a bit too.

Struggling arms cost the Gators the series against Miami, and forced the need for Jacob Young to walk it off in a 10-9 win over Samford back on Sunday.

FAU knows this and will be looking to exploit the bullpen for some late-game action.

Any Given Day–Remember That

While Florida is FAU’s toughest opponent yet, the Owls are still 6-1 to start the season.

They have exploited bad pitching. FAU has scored double-digit runs four times, including a 20-run game against a ranked UCF. That is not a typo. Here’s the link to the box score. 

Two of FAU’s top hitters are batting over .400 in their first seven games (Mitchell Hartigan: .414, Nolan Schanuel: .406). One of those hitters, Schanuel, has 15 RBIs already.

In the game of baseball, especially when playing like that, a team like FAU can come in and upset a team like Florida.

Key to Win: Don’t Give Them the Chance

Sure, outscoring the opponent is how you win a game. Can’t believe this obvious statement is being said.

But it has to be said in the context that is emphasizing the need for run prevention.

Florida is going to score enough runs, in theory, to win, no doubt. But the arms need to silence any chances the Owls have to make noise. It’ll help them get ready for heart of the schedule. Keep in mind, the first Florida State game is in less than two weeks, and SEC play starts immediately after.

First pitch is at 6 p.m., and coverage will begin on 98.1 FM/850 AM WRUF following the Gators Women’s Basketball game.