
Florida baseball fans missed out on the second midweek game of the year after the Gators won in Jacksonville 10-4 Tuesday night and had their Wednesday matchup against Florida A&M cancelled. Not to fear, the Gators are back this weekend for a three-game stint against the Dayton Flyers.
Here’s three things to watch out for this weekend:
Dayton’s leading slugger just getting started
Martin Howell leads the Flyers in batting average, slugging percentage and OPS through the team’s first four games and is one of just two players to record a home run for Dayton. However, Howell has only appeared in two games this season.
Expect the sophomore catcher to play in all three games this weekend, either behind the dish or somewhere else in the order. He’ll look to make an impact against a tough Florida rotation.
Donay’s streak on the line
After one series it may have been overzealous, but now that Brody Donay has homered in four-straight games through the midweek, the streak must be acknowledged. He may not get out in every game of the series, but look for Donay to go yard at least once against a Dayton staff that’s given up 19 earned runs this year already.
Relief rotation still taking shape
Florida’s starting order last weekend of Liam Peterson, Jake Clemente and Pierce Coppola will certainly get the call again after an impressive showing against Air Force. However, coach Kevin O’Sullivan may opt to call upon some different arms out of the Gators’ bullpen.
Luke McNeillie and Aidan King both pitched Tuesday against Jacksonville after appearing in the prior weekend series. It’s unclear whether the pair will get more run this coming weekend. Alex Philpott threw just one inning Tuesday, making him a possibility.
Florida has also yet to field the likes of Jacob Gomberg, Christian Rodriguez and others. There’s also Jackson Barberi and Caden McDonald, who both made relief appearances last weekend. Expect O’Sullivan to continue exploring the depth of his staff against Dayton.
First pitch for game one Friday is set for 6:30 p.m. and will stream on ESPN SEC+.

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