The college baseball season has finally arrived for the University of Florida The Florida Gators return to the diamond for the first time since March 10th after the 2020 season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Gators will also be opening their brand new stadium this Friday against one of their biggest rivals. The Miami Hurricanes come to town as they’ll take on the Florida Gators in the opening series.

The last time these two played against each other was last season at Alex Rodriguez Park in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup. Florida swept Miami in a three-game series including two extra innings wins. That series sweep had the Gators as the No. 1 team in the country until the season was canceled.

The Gators will look to continue their success against the Hurricanes, as Miami is looking to send a message to the college baseball world. This opening weekend matchup will be a great test for both teams to see where they rank amongst the best of college baseball.

The Hurricanes will take on the Florida Gators at Florida Ballpark and will be led by their head coach, Gino DiMare. The Miami head coach is entering his third season with the Canes.

The Hurricanes will be featuring a completely different weekend rotation since all three of their starters left for the MLB. Junior right-handed pitcher Daniel Federman was named the team’s Friday starter Tuesday afternoon.

The rest of Miami’s rotation are freshmen. Miami native Alejandro Rosario and Victor Mederos. Rosario was named the Saturday arm and Mederos will get the start for the Hurricanes on Sunday.

Both of these freshmen pitchers were Under Armour and Perfect Game All-Americans coming out of high school. Both feature high-velocity fastballs in the mid-90s.

The Miami Hurricanes lineup is one of the best in the country. Sophomore catcher Adrian Del Castillo is the best hitter in Miami’s lineup but he’s also a top draft prospect. Del Castillo is widely considered to be the best catcher in the 2021 MLB Draft and is also projected to be taken in the Top 10.

Infielders Anthony Vilar and Alex Toral are other hitters to watch for in Miami’s lineup. Vilar is one of the top-hitting second basemen in the country. He has started in every game he’s played in Miami. Vilar slashed .297/.361/.469 with seven extra-base hits, 15 RBIs, and a .830 OPS.

Toral is one of the most dangerous power hitters in all of college baseball. Toral’s raw power makes for a difficult at-bat every time he steps into the batter’s box. During the 2020 season, Toral slashed .296/.453/.593 with five home runs, 16 RBIs, and a 1.027 OPS.

Two other hitters to watch for in Miami’s lineup are outfielder Jordan Lala and infielder Yohandy Morales. Lala is Miami’s leadoff hitter and a very difficult out. He does a good job of setting everything up for Miami once he gets on base. Morales is a true freshman that’s projected to be starting shortstop for the Hurricanes. Morales was one of the top high school prospects in the country and was Miami’s top position player recruit in their 2020 recruiting class.

The Florida Gators baseball program comes into the 2021 season with extremely high expectations after an impressive 2020 season. One of the reasons Florida’s expectations are so high is because of their pitching staff.

Florida returns its entire weekend rotation from last season. Florida’s pitching staff had a team 2.41 ERA which was 16th best in the nation and fifth in the SEC. Junior right-handed pitcher Tommy Mace will be the Gators Friday arm for the third year in a row. Junior right-handed pitcher Jack Leftwich will be Florida’s Saturday starting pitcher and freshman left-handed pitcher Hunter Barco will be on the mound on Sunday.

The Gators will also have one of the deepest bullpens in college baseball. Florida only lost two bullpens arms from last season (Justin Alintoff and Nolan Crisp). Florida was able to keep the top pitchers from their 2020 recruiting class.

Florida will rely on the usual relievers such as Christian Scott, Ben Specht, Tyler Nesbitt, Brandon Sproat and Ryan Cabarcas. Two newcomers that have performed well in the fall are freshmen LHP Timmy Manning and JUCO transfer RHP Franco Aleman.

The Florida Gators offense also returns most of their lineup, as the only starter they lost from the previous season was left fielder Austin Langworthy. Florida returns one of the top-scoring offenses from the 2020 season. The Gators were tied for 30th in the country for runs scored.

The top hitter in Florida’s lineup is the centerfielder Jud Fabian. The Ocala native is another top draft prospect for the 2021 MLB Draft. Fabian is considered to be the top outfielder in the draft and one of the favorites to win the Golden Spikes Award. During his 2020 season, Fabian slashes .294/.407/.603 with team-high five home runs, 13 RBIs, and a 1.010 OPS.

Another outfielder that was incredibly productive for the Gators last season was Jacob Young. The speedy sophomore is currently riding an 18-game hitting streak that dates back to the end of the 2019 season. Young finished last season as the top hitters on Florida’s lineup. He led the Gators in batting average (.450), hits (27), on-base percentage (.514), and stolen bases (6).

Freshmen Nathan Hickey and Josh Rivera are also coming off really impressive seasons in 2020. Hickey finished last season with a .311 batting average, four home runs, and team-high 1.061 OPS. Rivera also hit well as he batted .298 with two home runs, drove in nine runs, and also played great defense.

Two other Gators to watch in their lineup are infielder Kris Armstrong and outfielder Kendrick Calilao. Armstrong is a power-hitting switch hitter that has put on shows during batting practices in the fall. He struggled against live competition but started to improve as the team returned from winter break. Calilao is coming off a down season after performing so well as a freshman two years ago. Calilao will start in right field to begin the season but could lose his starting job if he doesn’t perform as he did back in 2019.