Series Preview: No. 12 Florida vs. No. 6 Tennessee

The Florida Gators (will be back on the road after a five-game homestead. Florida will travel to Knoxville, Tennessee to take on the Tennessee Volunteers.

The Tennessee Volunteers are the sixth ranked team in the country according to D1 Baseball’s Top 25 rankings. The Volunteers have a 25-5 record with wins against some of the best teams in college baseball

The Florida Gators come into this weekend riding a three-game winning streak. Florida is also 2-0 on the week after beating the Stetson Hatters and FAMU Rattlers during their midweek games.

The Tennessee Volunteers are in the middle of a short four-game homestead with three of their home game versus Florida. The Volunteers will be led by their head coach, Tony Vitello, is the middle of the fourth season at the University of Tennessee.

The Volunteers pitching staff is one of the best pitching staffs in the country and SEC. Tennessee’s pitching staff is led by their ace right-handed pitcher Chad Dallas. The former JUCO transfer has been really solid for the Volunteers.

In six starts, Dallas has a 4-0 record with a 4.28 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 13.1 K/9, and a .235 opponent batting average. Left-handed pitcher Will Heflin is the projected Saturday starter for Tennessee. Heflin has a 2-1 record with a 3.86 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, and has 35 strikeouts in 30.1 innings pitched.

True freshman right-handed pitcher Blade Tidwell is the Sunday starter for the Volunteers. The former Top 100 prospect has a 4-1 record with a 2.58 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and a .257 opponent batting average.

As for the Volunteers offense, they haven’t produced as much as many people believed. However, they have some hitters in their lineup that have produced at the plate and also have some top-hitting prospects.

Tennessee’s leading hitter is their Australian infielder Liam Spence. The senior is batting .404 with 42 hits, seven doubles, two triples, two home runs, 19 RBIs, and a team-high 1.090 OPS. Sophomore outfielder Drew Gilbert is Tennessee’s leader in home runs with six. He also has a .303 batting average, six doubles, 29 RBIs, and a .906 OPS. Two other Tennessee hitters to watch this weekend are second baseman Max Ferguson and first baseman Luc Lupcius.

The Florida Gators are riding a little hot streak as they head into hostile territory. The Gators will need to play as they have played in the past five games.

Florida has made some more changes to their pitching rotation. Right-handed pitcher Tommy Mace will get the start for the series opener. Mace didn’t get the start in their last weekend series but he did get the win and pitched five innings.

Florida has not announced who’ll get the start on Saturday but it will likely be Jack Leftwich or Christian Scott. Junior right-handed pitcher Franco Aleman could also get the start on Saturday. Aleman started in the series opener last Friday and Scott got the start last Saturday.

Left-handed pitcher freshman Hunter Barco will still be on the mound for the series finale. Barco has a 4-2 record with a 5.30 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 11.4 K/9, and a 1.8 BB/9.

The Gators' offense has been really good during the 2021 season. The Gators have a .285 team batting average which ranks tied for fourth in the SEC with the Arkansas Razorbacks.

The lead hitter for the Gators is freshman catcher/DH Nathan Hickey. The second-year freshman is slashing .369/.485/.641 with 38 hits, eight doubles, six home runs, 34 RBIs, and a team-high 1.126 OPS.

Outfielder Jacob Young is tied for first in hits in the SEC with 42 hits on the season. Young also has a .344 batting average, eleven doubles, 16 RBIs, and a .919 OPS. Two other Florida Gators to watch this series are infielder Colby Halter and outfielder Jud Fabian.