For the first time in seven years, Florida will face Florida State on a weekend.
The No. 4-seed Gators (47-16) will host the Seminoles (44-19) tomorrow at 7:30 in UF’s first Super Regional matchup since 2012.
Florida went 1-2 against FSU during the regular season, but all three matchups were midweek games. This weekend, both teams will have the opportunity to showcase their best arms out of the pen.
For UF, Logan Shore will start on friday followed by A.J. Puk on Saturday. If the series is pushed to a Game 3, freshman Alex Faedo will likely get the nod.
Florida’s starters have been simply dominant in the postseason. In Regionals, they allowed one run through 18 innings while striking out 16 batters.
“Logan’s been lights-out ever since he stepped on campus,” shortstop Richie Martin said. “… and I’ve never seen A.J. throw the ball like he has. So if he can come out with that, I think we’ll have a pretty good chance of winning.”
FSU will likely use their Nos. 1 and 2 pitchers as well: Boomer Biegalski and Mike Compton. Biegalski leads the Atlantic Coast Conference in strikeouts, with 119.
On offense, the Gators and Seminoles stack up somewhat evenly. UF leads FSU in batting average (.298 to .259) and hits (646 to 540), but the two have similar on base percentages (.381 to .390) and the same number of runs (426).
“We’re trying to take it like another weekend series, but obviously, we know in the back of our mind, this is for Omaha,” Shore said. “This is Florida State, and we’re really excited.”
Both Friday and Saturday’s games can be watched live on ESPN2.
“It’s kind of crazy to think that it’s here now,” Martin said. “I’ve never wanted to win this bad in my life.”
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UF's Richie Martin follows through on his swing during Florida's 12-5 win against the South Carolina Gamecocks on April 11, 2015 at McKethan Stadium.
