ChompTalk.com

Chomping at the bit for Florida Athletics

recent posts

about

Jackson Castellano is the Baseball contributor for ChompTalk. He is a student at the University of Florida, studying sports media journalism. Contact Jackson Castellano at jaxcastellano@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter @jaxacastellano.
BSB: Three things to watch in midweek matchups against UCF, FAU

BSB: Three things to watch in midweek matchups against UCF, FAU

(Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

With a 2-1 series win against Miami behind them, the No. 7 Florida Gators have no choice but to keep their eyes forward with the last full week of non-conference play ahead of them before a heavy slate next week on the road against No. 6 Florida State and No. 2 Tennessee.

Kicking off the final warmup week for Florida is a road matchup against UCF Tuesday before returning home Wednesday to host Florida Atlantic. Here’s three things to watch in the midweek:

Depleted arms

Florida had to call upon five bullpen arms in Sunday’s 13-7 loss to Miami, including previous midweek starters Billy Barlow and Jackson Barberi.

While Barberi only threw 13 pitches and will be good to go for the midweek, Barlow ended up throwing 39. At best, he gets moved to Wednesday’s matchup and makes a short appearance.

“Obviously not the result [Barberi] wanted, but we’ve gotta think ahead to Tuesday,” Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said.

As for who else might get the start in the midweek, look for right-handers Caden McDonal or Christian Rodriguez. McDonald didn’t make an appearance all weekend and Rodriguez only threw 20 pitches on Sunday.

Duel with Duer

Florida Atlantic will offer whichever Florida pitcher starts Wednesday a challenge in the form of outfielder Jake Duer. The TCU transfer is leading the team with a .520 average and has knocked in 9 RBIs. He went 7-for-13 with two RBIs and a walk-off home run last weekend against Fordham.

Duer could take advantage of a less experienced or depleted pitcher thrown into the starting spot.

Keeping the Knights’ bats cold

Before Florida faces the Owls, it’ll travel to deal with UCF and its red-hot lineup. Eight of the team’s batters are hitting above .300, and the Knights have knocked in 84 RBIs this season. Standing out among the rest is outfielder Andrew Williamson. He’s slashing .365/.682/.472 with three homers and 14 RBIs.

The Gators could get caught slipping early with Williamson’s big bat.

Florida takes on UCF Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Orlando. The game will stream on ESPN+.

Posted in ,

Leave a comment