Gators and No. 4 Seminoles Take Rivalry to Jacksonville
Tuesday night’s first pitch is set for 6 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.
With a victory on Tuesday night, Florida (18-8) would clinch its seventh season series over FSU (20-3) in the last eight, as UF has won nine of 15 season series since Head Coach Kevin O’Sullivan took over in 2008.
The Gators won the first meeting of the campaign, 7-2, in Tallahassee, Fla. on March 11 to improve to 23-7 vs. the Seminoles in the last 30 games in the series. Florida is 128-134-1 overall and 15-12 at neutral sites in the series, including 36-22 under O’Sullivan (8-10 neutral).
Pitching Matchup
SULLY SUPERLATIVES
Coming off the program’s 14th trip to the College World Series and second in as many seasons, O’Sullivan is in his 18th year at the helm. Since O’Sullivan’s 2008 arrival, Florida leads the nation with 290 SEC wins, 37 MLB debuts, 16 NCAA berths (T-1st), 10 top-eight seeds, nine College World Series trips, nine Super Regionals hosted and six SEC titles. The Gators have advanced to nine of the last 14 College World Series.
GATORS IN THE POLLS
Sitting at No. 13 last week, Florida dropped out of the D1Baseball Top 25 after going 2-3 against Jacksonville (W, 16-4), Florida A&M (W, 14-4) and then-No. 4 Georgia (L 8-7, L 17-2, L 15-4). The Gators are still ranked No. 19 nationally per Baseball America, falling 11 spots after being at No. 8 one week ago. Perfect Game and the USA Today Coaches Poll have the Gators at No. 22 and No. 23, respectively.
SCOUTING THE SEMINOLES
Florida State has kicked off their 2025 season with a 20-3 start, including losses to Florida and Miami. The Seminoles rank fifth in batting average nationally, slashing .336/.428/.551 while joining the Gators in the top 20 in home runs (41). On the mound, FSU has dealt opponents 266 strikeouts to 83 walks with a 2.94 ERA, limiting batters to a .201 batting average.
NON-CONFERENCE DOMINANCE
The Gators are 18-2 across their first 20 non-conference games of the season. Florida is slashing .341/.453/.583 with 33 home runs, two triples and 53 doubles as a team against non-conference competition, equating to 4.4 extra-base hits per game. Non-conference opponents have produced a meager .210/.297/.303 batting line with 10 home runs in that span, as UF pitching has worked to a 3.31 ERA, .210 batting average against and 233-to-55 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 163 innings.
MIDWEEK MAGIC
Florida has also excelled in midweek games this year to the tune of a 7-1 record. The Gators have outscored opponents, 67-36, in those eight matchups.
RUNNING THE STATE
In 11 games against in-state competition, Florida has gone 9-2 featuring wins against Jacksonville (two), Stetson, North Florida, Miami (two), Florida Atlantic, Florida State and Florida A&M.
NATIONAL RANKINGS
After 26 games, Florida is ranked inside the top-30 teams nationally across 10 statistical categories, headlined by the fifth-most strikeouts per nine innings (12.3) and sixth-best strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.26) in the country. The Gators also rank 12th in the nation in shutouts (three), 16th in hit-by-pitches (52), 18th in home runs (39), 19th in doubles (54), 21st in fielding percentage (.980), 24th in hits (257), 24th in runs (211) and 24th in slugging percentage (.527).
MURDERER’S ROW
Florida’s retooled lineup features as many as five hitters with an OPS above 1.000: catcher/designated hitter Brody Donay (1.251), infielder Cade Kurland (1.128), infielder Brendan Lawson (1.054), infielder Colby Shelton (1.051) and infielder Bobby Boser (1.009). The first four members of that contingent are all batting at least .333 on the season. 12 Gators have posted multi-hit games on the year while nine different UF players have logged three-hit games.
BELTIN’ SHELTON
Coming in with an SEC-leading 13 doubles (three more than any other player), Shelton has reached base safely in all 26 games to open the season, which stretches 29 contests dating back to the 2024 College World Series. Entering the Tuesday tilt vs. FSU, Shelton is slashing .382/.453/.598 with 25 runs scored, 23 RBI and five stolen bases. The junior has refined his approach this season, cutting his strikeout rate down to a minuscule 8.5% after fanning at a 26.4% clip one year ago. Shelton has drawn more combined walks (10) and hit-by-pitches (four) than strikeouts (10).
LAYING DOWN THE B-LAW
Lawson connected for his sixth homer of the season against Georgia and is now hitting .337/.473/.581 with a team-high 28 RBI. Starting all 26 games at either first or second base, Lawson has also tallied 23 runs and five steals while working 18 walks and six hit-by-pitches (24 total) against 22 strikeouts.
STEALING THE SHOW
The Gators have stolen 39 bases in 46 attempts (84.8%), equating to 1.5 steals per game. For reference, the Gators averaged 0.7 steals per game last season. After 26 contests, the Gators are already 88.4% of the way to reaching their 2024 steals total (43). Boser leads the team with six stolen bases in six attempts, while outfielders Blake Cyr and Hayden Yost are both 5-for-5. 11 different Gators have stolen a base this season.
RELENTLESS REPTILES
Florida has secured six come-from-behind victories in its 18-8 start. Last season, the Gators delivered 21 wins in comeback fashion, featuring 12 of the team’s 13 SEC wins. Florida trailed in six of its 2024 postseason victories and claimed five-straight NCAA Tournament elimination games to keep its season alive. Going back two seasons, 22 of the 2023 Gators’ program-record 54 victories came via comebacks.
ON DECK
Florida remains on the road, traveling to Oxford, Miss. For a three-game series against No. 15 Ole Miss. The series spans from Thursday, March 27 through Saturday, March 28 with Thursday’s opener set for 8 p.m. ET on ESPNU.
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