Gators Set for Big Baseball Clash with Hurricanes

After a tough loss Wednesday, the Florida Gators baseball team looks to bounce back in a big three-game series matchup with the Miami Hurricanes. Jacksonville took down the Gators in the swamp 10-8 after an 18-8 loss in game one.

The Hurricanes, currently ranked No. 22 in D1 baseball rankings, are 7-2 so far this season. They too are going into the weekend after a loss, falling to Florida Atlantic University 6-5 on Tuesday.

Florida is currently ranked No. 6 at 8-2. The Gators suffered their only two losses at home in the Condron Family Ballpark. They have swept both of their three-game series so far this season. Miami provides the Gators with their first matchup against a ranked opponent this season.

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Gators’ Caglianone on Fire

Gators two-way player Jac Caglianone is in the midst of a breakout season. With 10 games played, Caglianone has recorded eight home runs. As of Wednesday, he leads D1 baseball in homers. This number is already more than his entire home run total of seven from last season.

Seasoned Gators baseball broadcaster Nick Belmonte said it how it is.

Caglianone is batting .410 so far this season, and his bat will be a key to the Gators’ success against Miami.

Pitching Concerns

In their past two games, the Gators have given up 20 hits total. In their first four games of the season, Florida gave up a maximum of five hits in a game. Since then, they have only given up that few hits once. In their fall-apart loss against USF on Feb. 22, they allowed a season-high 13 hits. Despite recent relief pitching issues, Belmonte said it’s not just a UF problem.

Brandon Sproat will start on the mound in Friday’s matchup, with Hurston Waldrep and Jac Caglianone taking the mound Saturday and Sunday respectively.

Hurricanes Trending Up

With a strong start to the season, the Hurricanes find themselves in the D1Baseball.com Top 25 rankings. Zach Levenson leads the Canes batting .500 on the season. Yohandy Morales leads the team with four home runs so far.

Belmonte spoke on this Miami team’s potential.

Karson Ligon is currently showing a .66 era so far this season. His pitching this weekend will be key to the Hurricane’s success.

Gage Ziehl will pitch in Friday’s matchup, with Ligon following on Saturday and Alejandro Rosario on Sunday.