Game Preview: Florida takes on Alabama in SEC Tournament elimination game

David Rosenberg
·3 min read

After managing just one hit against Texas A&M in the second round of the SEC Tournament, Florida baseball got back to business as usual and outscored the Arkansas Razorbacks, 7-5, on Friday. That sets up another loser-goes-home matchup with Alabama on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. EDT for the Gators.

Brandon Sproat, Brandon Neely and Nick Pogue have already pitched so the Gators are running thin on starting pitchers coming into the game. Garrett Milchin was an option, but Kevin O'Sullivan is going with freshman Anthony Ursitti on the bump Saturday. It’ll be the former Canterbury Cougar’s first start at the collegiate level after throwing 18 2/3 innings out of the bullpen over the regular season.

On offense, Sully’s switch-up of Jud Fabian and BT Riopelle in the lineup seems to be a winner. Fabian played longball for just the second time since hitting three out against USF on May 3, and Riopelle is just too hot to keep in the five-hole.

Colby Halter and Jac Caglianone have also been red-hot, with the latter driving in the first three runs of the day against Arkansas. Halter, of course, delivered the walk-off against South Carolina in round one and went deep on Friday.

If the bats don’t fall quiet as they did against Texas A&M, the Gators should be able to fight their way into the conference semifinals. That would be a huge boost to the résumé going into regional play regardless of the team’s finish in the SEC Tournament.

Projected Starting Lineup

C

[autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag]

1B

[autotag]Kendrick Calilao[/autotag]

2B

[autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag]

3B

[autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag]

SS

[autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag]

LF

[autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag]

CF

[autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag]

RF

[autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag]

DH

[autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag]

 

Probable Starters

Team

Pitcher

Record

ERA

ALABAMA

TBA

TBA

TBA

FLORIDA

Anthony Ursitti

TBA

TBA

NOTES: The Gators could have gone with Garrett Milchin, but it looks like it will be Anthony Ursitti on the mound for his first collegiate start. He made a strong case for a start during the regular season, allowing just six runs over 18 2/3 innings while striking out 23 and walking seven. He’s never gone four innings though, surpassing two twice against Tennessee and Mizzouri.

Gators Wire will provide updates as information becomes available.

Series History

OVERALL

66-58

AT HOME

33-18

AWAY

25-31

NEUTRAL

8-9

NOTES: The history here is good. Florida took two of three from Alabama during the regular season in Hoover and knocked the Tide out of the tournament last year on “neutral ground.” Everything looks to be in Florida’s favor, but the game is played on the field and not based on history.

Follow the Action

THURSDAY (10:30 a.m. EDT)

* Watch links go directly to game feed

Prediction

I went with the Gators yesterday and it paid off, so there’s no reason to change course now. Jud Fabian wasn’t the hero as was predicted yesterday, but he did hit a double and the homer that put the Gators up 6-2. Keep in mind that Arkansas rallied late to finish the game 7-5, so in a way, he was the hero scoring the decisive run for his team.

Moving Fabian to the five-hole was a good move and getting Riopelle in the three-spot is an even better one. Look for the catcher to be the guy today with runs likely to come in bunches against inexperience and/or tired arms.

Prediction: Florida wins, 8-4

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