The Gators have claimed seven of the last eight series against the Hurricanes.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 6 Florida Gators and No. 22 Miami Hurricanes meet in a top-25 matchup this weekend spanning from Friday, March 3 through Sunday, March 5. The first two matchups will stream on SEC Network+ while Sunday's 12 p.m. finale airs on SEC Network.

Entering the weekend, the Gators have claimed seven of the last eight series against the Canes. Florida took two of three in Coral Gables last year (L 2-5, W 8-1, W 11-3), outscoring Miami, 19-4, across the final two games of the series. Florida has won 18 of its last 24 contests vs. Miami and owns a 77-50-1 record at home despite trailing in the all-time series, 130-133-1.

The Gators are 37-16 against the Canes under Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan including 19-8 at home.

Pitching Matchups

Friday | 6:30 p.m. (SECN+)

Saturday | 2 p.m. (SECN+)

Sunday | 12 p.m. (SECN)

Miami

RHP Gage Ziehl (1-1, 11.57 ERA)

RHP Karson Ligon (2-0, 0.66 ERA)

RHP Alejandro Rosario (1-0, 1.08 ERA)

Florida

RHP Brandon Sproat (2-0, 5.06 ERA)

RHP Hurston Waldrep (2-0, 3.27 ERA)

LHP Jac Caglianone

Moving up to No. 6 in the D1Baseball Top 25 this week, Florida now ranks inside the top six in the nation in every major poll. The Gators peak at No. 2 according to Baseball America and the NCBWA.

SERIES PROMOS Florida baseball script crew necks will be handed out to the first 500 students in attendance on Friday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. with gates set to open at 5 p.m.

FOOD TRUCK SCHEDULE There will be two food trucks located in the Dizney Grove area beyond the outfield wall on each day of the weekend series.

Friday: Smoked Biscuit, Pardon My Cheesesteak

Saturday: Mayflower, Fat Tiki

Sunday: B'z Gelati, Halo Donuts

SCOUTING THE CANES Miami enters with a 7-2 record featuring an 0-1 mark on the road. So far this season, the Canes took two of three against Penn State and swept Dartmouth last weekend. Similarly to Florida, Miami is coming off a midweek loss, having fallen to Florida Atlantic on Tuesday, 6-5. Miami is slashing .308/.420/.600 as a team and pitching to the tune of a 3.49 ERA. The Hurricanes have committed nine errors for a .970 fielding percentage.

LAST TIME OUT After sweeping Cincinnati last weekend (13-6, 13-3, 13-7), the Gators split a midweek home-and-home with Jacksonville (W 18-8, L 8-10). Across the last five games, Florida is hitting .353/.446/.705 with 13.0 runs/game, 13.4 hits/game and 3.6 homers/game.

NON-CON RESUME Off to an 8-2 start this season, Florida went 20-5 (.800) against non-conference regular season opponents in 2022. That mark featured a 19-3 record following the opening weekend of the year. Adding the totals together, UF is 27-5 across its previous 32 non-conference games.

ROTATIONAL STABILITY Florida's starting rotation of Brandon Sproat, Hurston Waldrep and Jac Caglianone enters the weekend with a 5-0 record, 3.55 ERA, .135 BAA and 50 strikeouts against 15 walks in 33.0 innings - equating to 13.6 strikeouts per nine innings. The trio has allowed just 15 hits.

SWING KINGS Through two weeks, the UF offense has established itself among the nation's most elite. Florida ranks within the top-six in the NCAA with: 129 hits (second), .658 slugging percentage (third), 117 runs (third), 25 home runs (third), 27 doubles (T-third) and a .355 batting average (sixth). The Gators have 38 more total bases (238) than the nest closest SEC team (South Carolina, 200). Florida also leads the SEC in hits, runs, RBI and doubles.

KNOCK KNOCK Florida has recorded double-digit hits in nine of ten games including nine-plus hits in every contest. Through 10 games, Florida is averaging 12.9 hits/game. Four Gators have 15 hits or more, as UF hitters occupy three of the top four spots on the SEC total bases leaderboard.

RUNNING THE SHOW Florida's run differential of plus-67 is the team's best through 10 games since 2003 (plus-86). The Gators have scored in 52 of 81 batted innings this year (65.3%).

YARD PARTY The Gators have launched multiple homers in each of the last five games. Nine different players have gone deep for Florida this season, including five with multiple jacks. In the series finale vs. Cincinnati, Florida set a program record with eight home runs in a game. Caglianone recorded UF's first three-homer game since Jud Fabian vs. USF on May 4, 2022, while Josh Rivera posted his first-career multi-homer game. Rivera and Caglianone became the first UF duo to hit multiple homers in the same game since JJ Schwarz (four) and Dalton Guthrie (two) did so vs. Stetson on April 7, 2015.

SPROAT GOAT Dating back to April 29 of last season when he took over the Friday night role vs. Kentucky, Sproat has made eight starts and is 7-0 with a 2.32 ERA, 49 strikeouts and 16 walks across 50 1/3 innings - and Florida is 8-0. That equates to an average of 6.29 innings per start over that period, during which Sproat has pitched at least five innings with three earned runs or fewer in every outing. Sproat has a 0.00 ERA and .194 BAA vs. Miami in 8 1/3 career innings (three games, one start).

NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN In his second start as a Gator, Waldrep struck out 13 Bearcats, tying his career high and marking the most by a UF pitcher since Jackson Kowar struck out 13 vs. Texas on June 19, 2018 in the College World Series. The 2022 All-American and 2023 Preseason First Team All-American is currently 2-0 with a 3.27 ERA, .179 BAA, 1.09 WHIP and 19 strikeouts against five walks in 11.0 innings. Waldrep's 15.6 K/9 ranks 30th in the NCAA and T-third among pitchers with at least 11.0 innings pitched. His 19 punchouts rank second in the SEC alongside Tennessee's Chase Dollander and behind only Paul Skenes of LSU.

CADER MADE Freshman second baseman Cade Kurland should still be in high school, but instead is off to a .457/.513/.914 start with the Gators through nine games (eight starts). Kurland collected multiple hits in each of his first seven starts and has at least one knock in all eight (active eight-game hit streak). Leading the team with a .457 average, Kurland is second on the squad with 32 total bases and tied for second with four homers. He ranks third in the SEC in total bases (32), T-third in hits, T-third in doubles (four), T-fifth in RBI, T-sixth in runs, T-seventh in homers, 10th in batting and 10th in slugging.

THE GRAND RIVERA A .343/.385/.571 lifetime hitter vs. the Canes, Rivera is coming off perhaps the best series of his career. He leads Florida with 17 hits, 17 RBI and three stolen bases while being tied with Wyatt Langford for the team-high with 16 runs. Across the last five games, Rivera is batting .500/.560/1.136 with four home runs, one triple, 11 RBI and nine runs. UF's shortstop is second in the SEC in hits, tied for second in runs, tied for third in RBI, fourth in total bases, tied for seventh in homers and 13th in batting.

SECOND TO (CAGLIA)NONE Contributing both on the mound and in the batter's box, Caglianone currently leads the NCAA with eight home runs. He is also sixth in slugging (first in SEC) and tied for 25th in RBI (T-ninth in SEC). With seven more total bases (42) than the next closest SEC player, Caglianone is slashing .410/.477/1.077 with homers in six of the last seven games including three straight.

WYATT MATTERS A Unanimous First Team Preseason All-American outfielder, Langford has six strikeouts against nine walks through 51 plate appearances (11.8 K%, 17.6 BB%). With a .500/.692/1.000 line across the last five games, Langford is hitting .405/.549/.811 with three home runs, 16 runs, 10 RBI and a 1.360 OPS. His .549 OBP leads UF, as he is one of two Gators to have reached base in all 10 games this season (the other being Rivera).

SLATER-AID Righty Ryan Slater picked up his second win of the season at JU on Tuesday, throwing four innings of one-run ball on three hits with four strikeouts. The Palm Harbor, Fla. native has a 3.72 ERA. .171 BAA and 10 strikeouts over 9 2/3 frames.

DRAFT BUZZ ESPN's Kiley McDaniel recently released his list of top-100 prospects for the 2023 MLB Draft, with Langford coming in at No. 1 overall (Waldrep - No. 19, Sproat - No. 54). According to MLB Pipeline, Langford ranks No. 3 overall, followed by Waldrep (No. 10) and Sproat (No. 78).

ON DECK Florida remains at home next week, hosting FAU in a two-game midweek series on Tuesday, March 7 ( 6 p.m.) and Wednesday, March 8 (6 p.m.). Both games will stream on SEC Network+.

PARKING/SHUTTLES Fans are encouraged to park at the Fifield and IFAS lots during the weekend. An increased number of shuttles will be available for transportation to the ballpark each day.

General Parking is also available in the west Condron Family Ballpark baseball lot. Disabled parking is available on a first-come, first-serve basis in the Condron Family Ballpark west lot with a valid Disabled Placard.

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