After a steady series victory over Kentucky, the Florida Gators return to the Sunshine State for a battle with the Stetson Hatters.
The Gators will head to DeLand, Florida for their fourth and final matchup of the year with the Hatters. It’s only been a week since their previous meeting in Gainesville, when the Gators won an offensive battle, 9-6.
The Hatters seek redemption on Tuesday afternoon to follow a three-game series loss against the North Florida Ospreys, which set their record back to 24-20.
The No. 10 Gators walk on Melching Field with a little extra swagger, fresh off a successful road trip through Lexington, Kentucky.
Batters with the hot-stick, like outfielders Jacob Young and Kendrick Calilao, came out swinging over the weekend to push Florida past their own errors and ahead on the scoreboard with five RBIs between the pair.
Freshman catcher Nathan Hickey stepped up to the plate as well, but his numbers failed to live up to the standard he’s set this season.
Hickey only went a combined two-for-fifteen against the Wildcats, to lower his overall batting average to .335, but his slugging percentage still stands tall at .574.
In the previous bout, Florida was represented on the mound by starting right-hander Timmy Manning, but head coach Kevin O’Sullivan went to his bullpen four times to find the winning formula.
Trey Van Der Weide proved to be the winning ticket for the Gators. The graduate student churned out his second win on the season with 2.2 innings pitched and three strikeouts. Christian Scott sealed the deal in the final two frames with a strikeout of his own.
The first pitch is set to take place at 6:30 p.m. from Melching Field and will be broadcasted live on ESPN+ and for your listening pleasure on 98.1 FM/980 AM. Live stats will also be available on FloridaGators.com.
Contact Jesse Richardson at jrichardson@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @JesseRich352
