Previewing Florida baseball’s weekend series vs Ole Miss | Latest Sports News

Florida baseball is back in Gainesville for its first home weekend series in three weeks. The Gators host the Ole Miss Rebels, starting Thursday night.

The Orange and Blue have either swept or been swept in each weekend of conference play, and Kevin O’Sullivan’s club is hoping for the former despite being down a few players. Standout freshman right fielder Cash Strayer is out for the next few weeks, so Blake Cyr is moving over to right and Jacob Kendall is expected to start in left.

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Reliever Ricky Reeth has missed the past couple of weeks, but he’s listed as questionable this week. Colton Schwarz is also questionable after leaving a game early last weekend. Some combination of Sam Miller and Kolt Myers should hold down third base as long as Schwarz is hurt.

Everyone is on short rest with this being a Thursday-Saturday series, but Ole Miss is shaking up its rotation to keep Friday night starter Hunter Elliott on the same schedule. That gives Florida a chance to take Game 1 with Liam Peterson on the mound, but Aidan King will have to be at his best to match Elliott in Game 2. Russell Sanderfer is third in Florida’s rotation and is making his second weekend start on Saturday.

Here’s everything you need to know before the series begins.

Projected Starting Lineup: Florida Gators

Probable Starters: Game 1 – Thursday (6:30 p.m. ET)

NOTES: Liam Peterson allowed just one hit over four shutout innings last week, but he didn’t have great command, walking six batters. Early exits have been an issue for the Florida ace this year, but it’s hard to complain when he isn’t giving up runs. Some efficiency would be nice, but Peterson is going to work counts deep and win more than he loses. Getting through the sixth innings is always the goal, but he’s only done it once this year.

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Ole Miss is changing up its weekend rotation. The No. 2 and No. 3 spots are a bit of a toss-up, but Hunter Elliot has been good in Game 1’s for most of the year. The Rebels are keeping him in the Friday night slot this week, though, which means piecing something together on Thursday. Taylor Rabe gets the nod for just the second time this season, but he’s a bullpen regular with six appearances and 20 2/3 innings in relief.

Rabe went 2 2/3 innings in his only start of the season against Southern Miss. He didn’t allow a baserunner in that outing, but Ole Miss kept him at 24 pitches. Going through the order once makes sense here, so expect plenty of bullpen arms in this one. At 6-feet-5-inches and 200 pounds, Rabe gets good velocity on his fastball, touching up to 99 mph and sitting between 95-98 with good ride. He also has a cutter in the low 90s and is one of the SEC’s best relievers.

Probable Starters: Game 2 – Friday (6:30 p.m. ET)

NOTES: Aidan King started the year with five shutout performances, but he’s given up seven runs over a combined 8 2/3 innings against Alabama and Arkansas. The strikeouts are down, and the walks are up. This is a get-back-on-track game for him, but pitching opposite Elliott adds some pressure. If King can be the guy he was against South Carolina — six innings, nine strikeouts, one walk, two hits — Florida is in good shape heading into Saturday.

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Hunter Elliott is one of the top arms in the country and should be drafted within the first five rounds this summer. He took a no-hitter into the fifth inning against Mississippi State last weekend, but his numbers look worse thanks to a sloppy sixth. Florida’s job is to get his pitch count up early on Friday. Hopefully, Ole Miss uses enough bullpen arms on Thursday to make things difficult once its ace comes out of the game.

Elliott is a strike-thrower who has a career-high 32.7% strikeout rate this season. His home run numbers are up a bit this year, so the wind could push a few out, but he’s going to miss bats early. He has a low-90s mph fastball, a low-80s changeup, a short slider and a sweeper. There are also reports of a mid-70s curveball, but breaking balls can be a bit hard to pin down at this level. He’s also mixing in a new splitter, which was good against the Bulldogs last week.

Probable Starters: Game 3 – Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET)

NOTES: Russell Sandefer looked good against Arkansas last week, even though he gave up three runs on six hits. He didn’t walk anyone and looks more comfortable in the starter role than Cooper Walls did. He threw a season-high 83 pitches, which should mean he’s got the green light to go as long as he’s able to on Saturday. He’s not in much danger of losing his spot in the rotation, but being the newcomer should keep his adrenaline up in his second weekend start.

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Cade Townsend broke out as a freshman last year, and he’s been just as good in his sophomore year. He only allowed one run through 18 2/3 innings during non-conference play. His fastball is up to 96-97 mph, and he holds 95 through the fifth inning. He also has a power curve that sits in the mid-80s with 2800 RPM, an upper-80s cutter and an upper-80s changeup.

SEC play has been a bit rough on him, but only four of the seven runs he’s allowed are earned. He struck out eight against Mississippi State last weekend.

Other Players to Watch

The two bats that stand out the most for Ole Miss are outfielder Tristan Bissetta and third baseman Judd Utermark. Both have an OPS above 1.100 and 12 or more home runs. Bissette leads the team with 38 runs batted in, but he’s a bit more strikeout-prone with 41 on the year. Uttermark has 28 RBIs and walks (25) almost as much as he strikes out (33).

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There’s also designated hitter Collin Reuter to consider. He has a .927 OPS over 123 plate appearances. He’s not a big home run guy (24), but Reuter will double (10) often and drive in runs (24).

The Rebels are going to have to use their bullpen wisely this weekend, especially with Rabe starting Game 1. Two of the arms they used in relief last time Rabe started, Marko Sipila and Owen Kelly, are on the injured list, which leaves a couple of options. Kelly is questionable, so Florida could face him this weekend.

Landon Waters is the most frequent arm on the staff with 11 appearances, but he’s usually only good for an inning and his 0.77 ERA suggests he will close any game Ole Miss thinks it can win. Then there’s JP Robertson, who has a 3.31 ERA over 10 appearances (16.1 IP). He could get some middle-relief work in behind Rabe, but it’s another situational decision for the Rebels.

Walker Hooks is the top lefty for Ole Miss with a 2.91 ERA over nine appearances and 21 2/3 innings. He’s a strikeout machine, with 27 punchouts to just five walks on the year. Landon Koenig is another pseudo-closer, but his 4.91 ERA likely means he’s a second option to Waters. Freshman Grayson Gibson (3.86 ERA, 23.0) is another arm likely to pitch this weekend.

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Of course, there are the guys with starting experience who could eat multiple innings if Rabe is being used as an opener. Will Libbert (6.83 ERA, 23.2 IP) and Hudson Calhoun (4.30 ERA, 23.0 IP) fit that mold.

Series History

Notes: Florida hosts Ole Miss for the first time since 2021, having won four-straight home series vs. the Rebs since 2011 with a 10-2 record.

Follow the Action

THURSDAY (6:30 p.m. ET)

FRIDAY (6:30 p.m. ET)

SATURDAY (7:30 p.m. ET)

* Watch links go directly to game feed

Predictions

GAME 1: Florida, 6-4

GAME 2: Ole Miss, 4-3

GAME 3: Florida, 7-4

PREDICTION: Florida bounces back with a much-needed series win on the road. Liam Peterson looks good on Friday night and Sandefer impresses in his second weekend start.

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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida baseball vs. Ole Miss Rebels series preview