The Florida Gators will host the Samford Bulldogs for a three-game weekend series at Florida Ballpark. Samford comes into this series with a 3-1 record on the season but is also coming off an 11-9 loss to the Alabama State Hornets.

Florida was able to rebound nicely with a midweek series sweep after losing two out of three to Miami last weekend. Florida swept the North Florida Ospreys in two games during a home-and-home midweek series. This will be the first time Florida plays Samford in program history.

The Samford Bulldogs are led by head coach, Casey Dunn. The Samford manager is in the middle of his 17th season as the Bulldogs head coach.

Samford comes into this series trying to make a name for themselves. The Bulldogs have had the Gators circled on their calendar ready to play against one of the top baseball programs in the country.

Samford’s pitching staff will be led by their Friday night ace Samuel Strickland. The junior left-handed pitcher is coming off a strong Opening Day against UT Martin. Strickland pitched five innings allowing five hits, no runs, no walks, and six strikeouts.

Former Mississippi State right-handed pitcher Jesse McCord will be on the mound for the Bulldogs on Saturday. The redshirt-senior threw four innings allowing six hits, four runs, no walks, and struck out seven last outing. Senior right-handed pitcher Zach Hester is the projected starter for Samford on Sunday.

The Samford Bulldogs lineup is also a quality lineup that has one of the top power hitters in the country. Sophomore Sonny DiChiara is a 6’1” 230 pound first baseman that has a ton of power at the plate. In 2019, DiChiara was a Freshman All-American after slashing .293/.407/.646 with 21 home runs, 55 RBIs, and a 1.053 OPS. DiChiara is already off to a hot start as he’s batting .364 with two home runs in four games.

Junior second baseman Brooks Carlson came into the season with tons of offseason hype. Carlson was a First Team Preseason All-American on Collegiate Baseball. Carlson has started in all four games and is currently batting .267 with four hits, three RBIs and three free passes. Two other players to watch in Samford’s lineup is outfielder Ryan Crockett and catcher Kaden Dreier.

C- Kaden Dreier

1B- Sonny DiChiara

2B- Brooks Carlson

3B- Will David

SS- Taylor Garris

LF- Colton Ledbetter

CF- Max Pinto

RF- Ryan Crockett

DH- Tyler McManus

The Gators are ready to prove what happened last weekend against the Miami Hurricanes was an anomaly.

The Florida Gators will feature the same weekend rotation as last weekend. Junior right-handed pitcher Tommy Mace will be on the mound Friday night. Mace had a strong Opening Day as he threw five innings allowing three hits, one run, two walks and eight strikeouts.

Junior right-handed pitcher Jack Leftwich will get the start on Saturday and freshman left-handed pitcher Hunter Barco will look to rebound on Sunday after a tough performance against Miami.

The Gators' pitching staff also needs to fix their free passes issues. During the Miami series, Florida allowed 30 walks and hit by pitches. However, Florida only allowed five walks against the UNF Ospreys. Bullpen arms like Christian Scott, Ben Specht, and Franco Aleman will be counted on heavily this series.

The Gator bats are off to a nice start in the 2021 season. In five games, Florida has scored 39 runs averaging 7.8 runs per game. The Gators also have a .312 team batting average that ranks 25th in the country.

The Gators' offense is off a red hot start due to the production from their entire lineup and freshmen. Designated hitter Jordan Butler is the team’s leading hitter this early in the season. Butler is slashing .421/.520/.474 with eight hits, five walks and a .994 OPS

Freshman catcher Nathan Hickey has been terrific for the Gators as he’s batting .400 with two home runs, six RBIs, and a team-high 1.250 OPS. Jud Fabian is starting to heat after recording four hits in the midweek series. Fabian homered twice and drove in six runs versus UNF.

Senior third baseman Kirby McMullen is listed as day-to-day with the possibility of him playing Friday night. McMullen was injured on Tuesday night when a North Florida player accidentally slid into McMullen while stealing third.

Two other Gators to watch for in this series are freshmen Colby Halter and Sterlin Thompson. Both are competing for playing time and are projected to get a start or two during this series. Halter is competing for the starting second base job with Cory Acton and Thompson is competing for the starting right field job with Kendrick Calilao. Acton is off another slow start as he’s only 1-8 on the season. On the other hand, Calilao is swinging a hot bat and is batting .364 with four hits and two RBIs.

C- Nathan Hickey

1B- Kris Armstrong

2B- Cory Acton

3B- Kirby McMullen

SS- Josh Rivera

LF- Jacob Young

CF- Jud Fabian

RF- Kendrick Calilao

DH- Jordan Butler