The last time No. 4 Florida went into a Southeastern Conference series, the results were not what it anticipated.
The Gators let the series against Ole Miss slip away after dropping the first two games (4-1) and (5-2) and giving them their first weekend series loss of the season. They left Oxford, Mississippi, on a semi-high note, however, winning the series finale 8-4.
Now at .500 in conference play, Florida (21-5, 3-3 SEC) looks to keep the recent momentum going when it hosts a three-game series against Alabama (13-10, 3-3 SEC) at McKethan Stadium.
The series opens tonight at 7, with the final two games being played Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m.
The Gators are coming off a come-from-behind 9-6 win against Stetson, with senior Josh Tobias hitting a game-sealing two-run homer in the eighth inning.
“It was definitely a big thing for us as a team to build our confidence,” outfielder Buddy Reed said. “Ole Miss was a tough place. We didn’t obviously play our best baseball and we’re surely capable of doing like, like we did (against Stetson).”
While the Crimson Tide are only batting .277 as a team, they have a lot of power in the middle of their lineup.
Junior Mikey White and sophomore Casey Hughston are both hitting above .400 this year and have recorded six of Alabama’s nine home runs this year.
“Their lineup is physical,” UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “They’re older. They’ve got a lot of SEC at-bats under their belt.”
If Florida wants to jump out to a fast start against Alabama, it will need to have more production at the plate.
And that will include some more production from Tobias.
But after three years of up-and-down performances, the third baseman has been nothing but consistent during his senior year.
Tobias leads Florida with a .391 batting average, which is good for 10th in the SEC.
In the last four games he’s played, Tobias has a .529 clip with five RBIs.
For the first time in his collegiate career, Tobias has experimented with being a switch hitter instead of solely batting as a righty.
O’Sullivan said Tobias’ batting average as a lefty is higher than .400.
“I’ve never seen this in my career before — a guy hit one way for three years and all of a sudden in his senior year come back and swing the bat from the other side and have the success he’s had,” O’Sullivan said. “You’re not going to see this very often. I’m pleased with how he’s been playing.”
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Josh Tobias bats during Florida's 14-8 win against Florida State on March 17 at McKethan Stadium.
