For the third straight weekend, the No. 5 Florida (35-10, 17-4 Southeastern Conference) baseball team will take on the SEC Western division leader, traveling to Fayetteville, Ark., to face the No. 18 Razorbacks (30-13, 10-11 SEC) in a three-game series at Baum Stadium starting tonight at 7:30.
Can UF keep pace with Vanderbilt and South Carolina? The Gators are tied atop the East with their two powerhouse counterparts. The trio ranks as three of the top five teams in the country and everyone is scoreboard watching, even if it's something that's uncomfortable to discuss. "Everybody knows everybody," Gators second baseman Josh Adams said. "Everybody can feel it, it's just one of those things you don't talk about." This weekend, the No. 4 Commodores, who have won six-straight conference games, travel to Kentucky to face the bottom-dwelling Wildcats. The No. 2 Gamecocks, winners of five-straight conference contests, trek to Oxford to challenge Mississippi, whom the Gators just swept.
How will UF deal with the raucous environment? The Gators won seven straight home games following an eight-game road trip where they went 4-4. Historically, Florida has struggled at Baum Stadium - home to the third-largest average crowd in the nation - getting swept in consecutive road series in 2007 and 2009. Although coach Kevin O'Sullivan has dominated the SEC, the Razorbacks are the lone conference opponent he has a losing record against (4-8). "We need this challenge," O'Sullivan said. "If we want to be able to play well at the end of the year and play well in regionals and super regionals, we're going to have to play in tough environments like Arkansas. It's certainly not going to be easy, but I like the way we're playing."
Will Zunino, Tucker and Co. continue knocking the cover off the baseball? During UF's recent homestand, the Gators scored at least seven runs in six of the seven games. While the new composite bats required an adjustment period, Florida's hitters have seemingly found the sweet spot. The Gators lead the conference in hitting, propelled by catcher Mike Zunino and right fielder/first baseman Preston Tucker. While Zunino captured headlines last week with monster efforts including a two-homer, seven RBI performance, Tucker has been just as hot. The junior has a nine-game hitting streak, batting .324 while drilling four long balls and two doubles. Florida's two mashers have combined for 35 RBIs, 23 runs and 32 hits in the last nine games. "The thing that's really taken us to another level is our offense," O'Sullivan said. "We're really swinging the bats from top to bottom. There are multiple guys that are contributing."
