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USA Today
15-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Red-hot Florida baseball ends regular season with three game set against Alabama
Red-hot Florida baseball ends regular season with three game set against Alabama Florida returned to national relevance last weekend with a sixth straight series win against the SEC and a season-defining victory against the previously No. 1-ranked Texas Longhorns. The Gators now have a chance to end the regular season with a .500 record or better in conference play as the Alabama Crimson Tide come to Gainesville for a three-game series starting Thursday. Starting shortstop Colby Shelton is once again listed as out on the SEC Availability Report heading into the weekend. He's missed the past few weeks and Florida's offense has kept pace, but the rest of the lineup is going to suffer at some point with him on the bench. McCall Biemiller, Niko Janssens and Jacob Gomberg are all new additions to the injury report, giving Florida limited left-handed relief arms this weekend. The good news is that Florida's big lefty, Pierce Coppola, is back in the fold and should look to go four innings in his third start back from injury. Liam Peterson is the expected Friday night starter, with Coppola going Saturday and freshman Aidan King in the Sunday slot. Florida has all but secured a playoff spot, but there's an outside shot at hosting a regional with the second-half surge coming together. A sweep of Alabama may do the trick, but a deep run in Hoover might also be needed. Here's what the Gators are putting on the field this weekend. Projected Starting Lineup: Florida Gators Pos. Player Name AVG OBP SLG AB R H HR RBI C Luke Heyman .301 .394 .578 173 37 52 13 44 1B Brody Donay .303 .422 .642 165 349 50 14 31 2B Justin Nadeau .289 .423 .423 142 31 41 3 21 3B Brendan Lawson .316 .429 .535 187 39 59 9 54 SS Bobby Boser .319 .422 .578 204 62 65 14 54 LF Blake Cyr .253 .358 .414 174 40 44 7 29 CF Hayden Yost .283 .399 .415 159 36 45 3 33 RF Ashton Wilson .247 .407 .400 85 23 21 3 19 DH Ty Evans .240 .294 .430 100 21 24 3 23 Probable Starters: Game 1 - Thursday (6:30 p.m. ET) Team Pitcher Record ERA FLORIDA RHP Liam Peterson 8-2 3.81 ALABAMA RHP Tyler Fay 0-2 5.54 NOTES: Liam Peterson threw Saturday last weekend, but he only went four innings (66 pitches). Florida's ace should be rested, and the SEC Tournament starts next Tuesday, May 20, so he needs to be on the right throwing schedule. Texas put more bat to ball against Peterson last weekend than we're used to seeing, but the Longhorns are one of the nation's elite programs. Alabama isn't much easier of an opponent, but Peterson's strikeout numbers should return to normal. Tyler Fay started the year as a bullpen arm for Alabama, but has moved into the starting rotation over the last month or so. He's a power sinker-slider guy who can run it up to 95 mph and mix in a changeup. His walk rate is down from 9.6% to 5.7% as a freshman, but the strikeout rate also slightly dipped from 19.3% to 17.6%. Fay's ground ball rate is also notable in Year 2, moving above 50% while his fly ball rate drops below 30%. Florida's not going to mash against this guy, but this Gators team isn't built to win off the home run. Probable Starters: Game 2 - Friday (6:30 p.m. ET) Team Pitcher Record ERA FLORIDA RHP Pierce Coppola 3-0 1.15 ALABAMA RHP Riley Quick 7-2 3.53 NOTES: Pierce Coppola being back in the rotation helps Florida's bullpen a lot, especially the guys who have been throwing multiple times a series the last couple of months. Coppola hasn't been able to avoid the injury bug at any point in his college career, but he's back in the fold for a postseason push similar to last year. Coppola is still ramping up, so expect him to go no more than four innings. His stuff has seemed the same, as far as generating swing and miss goes, but there's some hesitancy there that hasn't been addressed fully just yet. Still, he's a good option to get through the lineup once, maybe twice, before turning things over to the 'pen. Big strikeout numbers and a low ERA are never bad. Riley Quick missed all of last season with Tommy John, but he's been Alabama's most impressive starter in his return season. With a 3.53 ERA and 57 strikeouts to just 18 walks over 51 innings, Quick is going to be another tough starter to crack. His fastball runs up to 99 mph and sits 96-97 most of the time and his mid-80s slider can be a plus pitch when it's on. Quick also has a changeup that he's working on, but it's the slider that Florida should game plan for. There are some command concerns with Quick, so patience is another key for the Gators. Probable Starters: Game 3 - Saturday (4 p.m. ET) Team Pitcher Record ERA FLORIDA Aidan King 5-2 2.90 ALABAMA LHP Zane Adams 7-2 4.84 NOTES: Aidan King might have been at his best last weekend against Texas, or at least the best since his SEC debut against Tennessee. Nothing is guaranteed in the SEC, though. With Adams on the mound, Alabama is going to give it all to win the regular season finale at home. King just needs to stay away from the walks and he's golden. The strikeout stuff is usually there, and he's learning to go deeper in games. Zane Adams entered the year as Alabama's ace and held his own this season. Adams is down in walk rate (10.1% to 8.1%) and up in strikeout rate (21.8% to 17.5%). While hitters are batting slightly better against him than last year, his SIERA is down from 4.52 to 3.78 this year, which suggests improvement from the pitcher and implies worse luck, among other factors. Florida doesn't need to worry about velocity here. Adams is a 90-92 mph guy who can run it up to 94-95 early when the juice is flowing. He has a breaker that can come in slow and slurvy or low-to-mid-80s and more slidery, while also working in a changeup and cutter. Other Players to Watch It's not an Alabama preview without mentioning Justin Lebron, the 2024 SEC Freshman of the Year and early-season favorite for the 2025 Golden Spikes Award. Gators Wire got an early look at Lebron on the high school circuit in Broward County when he played for Archbishop McCarthy. He showed plenty of promise defensively and had 70 hits over two seasons on varsity, but he never showed the kind of power potential that would lead to a top-5 conference ranking in home runs (17). He only had one in high school. Besides avoiding the future first-round bat, there are at least two other Crimson Tide bats with an OPS over 1.000 — senior first baseman Will Hodo and senior outfielder Kade Snell. Hodo is second on the team with 13 home runs and has a penchant for getting hit with 17 plunks this year. Snell is the team's hit leader with 73, good for third in the SEC. Out of the bullpen, Carson Ozmer leads the way with a 2.10 ERA over 26 appearances and 34.1 innings. Florida will likely see him twice this weekend. There's also Braylon Myers with a 2.57 ERA and 49 strikeouts through 35.0 innings (18 appearances) to consider. Series History OVERALL 70-59 AT HOME 35-19 AWAY 25-31 NEUTRAL 10-9 Follow the Action THURSDAY (6:30 p.m. ET) FRIDAY (6:30 p.m. ET) SUNDAY (4 p.m. ET) * Watch links go directly to game feed Predictions GAME 1: Florida, 8-4 GAME 2: Florida, 6-5 GAME 3: Florida, 5-4 Series prediction: The Friday matchup is Florida's best with a former reliever on the mound for Alabama and Liam Peterson pitching for the Orange and Blue, but Friday and Saturday could go either way. Kevin O'Sullivan's crew is hot, though, so we're riding with a Gators sweep to close out the regular season. Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
USA Today
14-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Here is the latest SEC Availability Report ahead of Texas A&M vs. Alabama
Here is the latest SEC Availability Report ahead of Texas A&M vs. Alabama The initial SEC Student-Athlete Availability Report ahead of this weekend's baseball series between No. 19 Texas A&M and No. 17 Alabama at Blue Bell Park: — TexAgs (@TexAgs) March 14, 2025 No. 21 Texas A&M (10-6) will host one of the hottest teams in the SEC to begin conference play, as No. 16 Alabama (16-1) will head to Blue Bell Park for what is by far the most important series of the year for Aggie team that needs to start SEC play on the right foot. Throughout the season, Texas A&M's starting pitching has been the lone bright spot. It is led by ace Ryan Prager, along with Justin Lamkin and former Long Beach State veteran Myles Patton. Together, they have combined for 87 strikeouts, and Prager's 0.39 ERA is one of the best in the country thus far. However, the offense has looked pedestrian at times despite scoring 14 runs against Prairie View A&M, as former Penn star third baseman Wyatt Henseler looks like the best player of the team outside of Jace LaViolette, but don't forget about freshman outfielder Terrence Kiel Jr., who leads the team in hits (21), batting average (.421), on base percentage (.473) and stolen bases (6). Before facing the Crimson Tide, the latest SEC Availability report revealed that the Aggies could be down another starter. Wyatt Hensler is listed as probable. Alabama will be without infielder Garrett Staton. Also, Texas A&M reliever Josh Stewart likely won't make his return after being listed as doubtful. At the same time, the recent update regarding sophomore outfielder Caden Sorrell rings true, as he will not make his season debut against Alabama. Texas A&M will host Alabama starting Friday, March 14, at 6:00 p.m. CT. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+. Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Cameron on X: @CameronOhnysty.
USA Today
19-02-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Florida basketball releases SEC Availability Report ahead of matchup with Oklahoma
Florida basketball releases SEC Availability Report ahead of matchup with Oklahoma Florida basketball prepares to host the Oklahoma Sooners tonight at the O'Connell Center and according to the latest SEC availability report, the Gators will be without Sam Alexis and Alex Condon—both sidelined due to ankle injuries. Alexis and Condon both went down with ankle injuries against the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Feb. 11 and they are still not quite ready for game action. Alexis, a junior forward, has averaged 4.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per game off the bench this season. Condon, one of the focal pieces of this Florida team, has averaged 10.6 points and 7.8 rebounds in 24 games played this season. On the other side, the Sooners arrive in Gainesville with a clean bill of health. Everyone is available to play. The Gators have been able to rally without Alexis and Condon since they went down last week as Florida beat the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday, 88-67. The Gators look to make it a fifth-straight win tonight against Oklahoma. How to watch Florida-Oklahoma The Gators host the Oklahoma Sooners tonight at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2. Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
USA Today
08-02-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Florida basketball updates SEC Availability Report before clash with No. 1 Auburn
Florida basketball updates SEC Availability Report before clash with No. 1 Auburn Florida removed starting guard Walter Clayton Jr. from its mandatory SEC availability report Friday night ahead of Saturday's contest against top-ranked Auburn. Clayton is coming off a sprained ankle suffered last Saturday against the Tennessee Volunteers. He missed Tuesday's matchup with Vanderbilt, but head coach Todd Golden said he expected his top scorer to be "100%" for this top-10 meeting. Clayton doesn't have a questionable tag on him, which means he wasn't held back at all in practice Friday. Unfortunately, the jury is still out on FAU transfer and Florida's No. 2 scorer Alijah Martin, who suffered a hip pointer injury in the first half against Vanderbilt. He went to the locker room ahead of half time but finished the game, playing through pain. He's officially listed as questionable and could be a game-time decision against Auburn. The Tigers aren't dealing with any injuries right now and will have all their players available. Where to watch Florida at Auburn Florida at Auburn will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2 on Saturday, Feb. 8. Dan Shulman and Jay Bilas will call the game from the sideline inside Neville Arena, with Jess Sims reporting as well. How to watch Florida at Auburn Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
