Kevin O’Sullivan bounded down the steps of McKethan Stadium’s first base dugout on Thursday, clad in a hoodie, gloves and knee-high gym shorts in 40-degree weather.
After a 4-0 start to the season, it’s safe to assume O’Sullivan isn’t feeling the heat.
But his players are.
Florida’s batters are riding the Southeastern Conference’s largest hot streak early in the season, with a league-high 50 runs in four games.
No. 6 UF will look to continue its early season success when it starts a three-game series against No. 8 Miami (4-1) at 7 p.m.
Florida is currently third in the SEC in slugging percentage at .583.
The Gators are also hitting .340 at the plate, led by SEC Player of the Week Harrison Bader, who is currently on pace to hit 41 home runs and tally 193 RBIs.
Of course, those numbers will drop off significantly once UF begins play against ranked opponents.
That’s where the Hurricanes come in.
Miami leads the Atlantic Coast Conference in 14 different categories, including runs (48), hits (53) and RBI (43).
UM’s Friday night starter, lefty Andrew Suarez, was named a 2015 preseason All-American and enters this season after throwing a complete game shutout in last May’s NCAA regional matchup against Bethune-Cookman.
"He is one of the best left handers in the country," O’Sullivan said. "We’ve got our hands full."
Suarez will have to contain an emerging Florida lineup that is feeling confident after notching 22 runs against Rhode Island on Saturday, currently an SEC high.
Against Rutgers on Sunday, Miami scored 25.
The stage is set.
"It’s Miami, they’re good," Bader said." They’re gonna come right at you, and we’re ready to fight right back."
Florida is relishing the challenge, and even though tonight’s matchup marks only the fifth in a 55-game schedule, O’Sullivan wants to see how his players respond.
"I think it’ll be a good barometer of where we’re at," the coach said. "It’s certainly not going to be an indication of where we’re going to become the end of the season. But it’ll tell us a lot about our team and where we’re at right now and what we need to work on."
Most recently, the Gators have improved at first base, with John Sternagel expected to start.
The sophomore has made the most of his limited playing time to start the season, tallying three RBIs and four runs in 10 at-bats.
Logan Shore will get his second opportunity on the mound a week after striking out four in five innings and allowing four hits.
Freshman Dalton Guthrie will keep his spot at the top of the order after going 7-for-16 with one stolen base through four games.
And O’Sullivan will continue to use freshmen Mike Rivera and JJ Schwarz interchangeably — one will start at catcher while the other fills Florida’s designated hitter role.
And now that UF’s positions are solidified, it can concentrate on the task at hand.
Does a series against Miami feel different than others?
"Honestly, yeah it does," Bader said. "Not that a win or loss counts any more than any one win or loss, but you wanna take on your rivals."
This is especially true for Florida, which dropped two out of three against Miami last season, something the players haven’t forgotten.
"It’s gonna be all out warfare," Bader said.
Follow Ian Cohen on Twitter @icohenb
