Florida baseball has found success against Florida State in recent years.
In the last three seasons, the Gators have won four straight meetings and seven of the last nine matchups against the Seminoles, outscoring them a combined 40-17 in the process.
No. 2 Florida (18-3) looks to continue that trend tonight when it hosts No. 13 Florida State (17-4) at 7 p.m. in the first of three games to be played this season.
“Florida State, obviously even though they’re not in the (Southeastern Conference), it’s a huge rivalry,” UF outfielder Harrison Bader said. “We’re gonna come at them guns ablazing ready to rock and treat them just like any other game.”
Both UF and FSU are on hot streaks right now.
The Gators have won eight of their last nine and 13 of their last fifteen.
The Seminoles have won 13 of their last 14 contests — the lone loss coming in a 4-1 decision to Wake Forest on Friday.
And while FSU does not have a batter in its starting lineup hitting better than .300 this season, the Seminoles are seventh in the country with a .419 on-base percentage.
Its top nine batters all have at least a .250 batting average and seven have a slugging mark of at least .421.
“Same Florida State every year,” coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “Their record’s always really good. … It’ll be a good game.”
Eric Hanhold will start on the mound for UF against FSU.
The junior right-handed pitcher is 1-0 on the year, tossing four scoreless innings in three appearances.
“They’ll want to win. We’ll want to win. It’s a pride game,” O’Sullivan said. “It’s a game for people to step up and it’s always a fun game. I know they’re looking forward to it.
Notes: Florida is 3-2 against ranked opponents this season. FSU is 2-0. … The Gators have started at least three freshmen in every game this season. … Bader leads Florida in slugging percentage (.898), on-base percentage (.557), batting average (.424), total bases (53), RBIs (24), walks (17) and home runs (seven). All of those numbers rank in the top-five of the SEC in their respective categories.
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Harrison Bader (8) celebrates with Dalton Guthrie (5) and Richie Martin (12) after hitting a home run during Florida's 22-3 win against Rhode Island on Saturday at McKethan Stadium.
