ChompTalk.com

If it’s been a while since you’ve caught up with Florida baseball: Don’t worry. You’re not alone. After a rough go against Tennessee to open, the No. 13 ranked Gators quietly went 2-0 in two run-rule wins against Florida A&M and Jacksonville through the Spring Break midweek.

Now, in the shadow of Florida basketball’s March Madness tipoff just 20 minutes after first pitch tonight, the Gators will take on No. 4 Georgia in it’s SEC home opener. Here’s two things to know before first pitch tonight:

Rivalry Renewed

Even though the Florida’s typical Friday night crowd will be preoccupied with watching the one-seed Gators take on Norfolk State, expect a decent bunch to show up and the players on the field to come out with a little juice tonight. There’s a lot to be gained from a good showing against the ‘Dawgs.

For one, a series win or sweep against a top-5 team speaks for itself, and would go a long way to ease the damage of being swept by Tennessee, both in rank and morale.

And, although the Georgia-Florida game doesn’t always ring bells of baseball, this one could be a little more heated.

The Gators fell to its interstate rival in the other two major men’s sports this season. It’s up to Florida baseball to salvage that series. Expect UF to show up aggressive.

Rotating through rotations

Florida’s been hit by the injury bug. While the team should be able to survive losing Kyle Jones for the year and Cade Kurland going back out again after returning this week for the first time since the Miami series, the pitching situation is going to be a little tougher.

The Gators just got Jake Clemente back last weekend. This weekend, Liam Peterson will sit out due to “general soreness.” Aidan King will start on Friday night. But with Pierce Coppola just returning to throwing this week, who’s in play for Saturday?

In a perfect world, I think coach Kevin O’Sullivan would want to go with sophomore Frank Menendez. The left-hander took big strides this season, posting a 1.29 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in 7.0 innings pitched. But Menendez has an elbow injury and will be out for the season. So the question remains.

Sully likes to mix in a lefty to his weekend rotation, but he can’t. The next man up is freshman Nikko Janssens, and after the youth experiment on the mound last season led to a barely above .500 record, I don’t think Florida wants to feed Janssens to the ‘Dawgs.

In this case, experience rules. The best bet for Florida’s starter is Billy Barlow. He’s been starting for UF every midweek, posting a 3.15 ERA in six appearances. He sat out this midweek, and likely not by accident. Expect the Clemson transfer to get his first SEC start Saturday.