Florida mounted a massive three-run comeback in the 11th inning Wednesday night to beat Alabama in the second round of the SEC Tournament, and now the Gators have Vanderbilt on the schedule in the third round.
The intermediate rounds (2-4) are double elimination, so Florida will not play Friday if they win. A loss would mean a matchup with the game winner Alabama and Auburn.
Florida will throw Brandon Sproat, but he’ll likely be on a pitch count to keep his arm fresh for the NCAA Tournament. Vanderbilt is throwing an arm the Gators haven’t seen before, left-hander Hunter Owen.
The first pitch is scheduled for 30 minutes after the completion of Arkansas–LSU (around 8:30 p.m. EDT).
Projected Starting Lineup
|
pos. |
Player’s name |
AVERAGE |
OBP |
SLG |
AB |
R. |
h |
HOUR |
runs batted in |
|
C. |
BT Riopelle |
.263 |
.395 |
.508 |
179 |
43 |
47 |
10 |
fifty |
|
1 B |
jac caglianone |
.350 |
.408 |
.816 |
217 |
62 |
76 |
28 |
76 |
|
2B |
cade kurland |
.317 |
.417 |
.613 |
199 |
62 |
63 |
fifteen |
44 |
|
3B |
Halter Colby |
.235 |
.348 |
.404 |
136 |
26 |
32 |
3 |
25 |
|
H.H |
joseph rivera |
.361 |
.460 |
.629 |
194 |
56 |
70 |
14 |
58 |
|
LF |
wyatt langford |
.399 |
.527 |
.827 |
173 |
66 |
69 |
sixteen |
41 |
|
CF |
michael robertson |
.241 |
.370 |
.293 |
174 |
39 |
42 |
1 |
19 |
|
RF |
tyler nut |
.300 |
.381 |
.542 |
120 |
24 |
36 |
6 |
23 |
|
dh |
Lucas Heymann |
.336 |
.387 |
.603 |
131 |
24 |
44 |
9 |
33 |
probable initiators
|
Equipment |
Pitcher |
Record |
WAS |
|
FLORIDA |
RHP Brandon Sproat |
7-3 |
4.85 |
|
VANDERBILT |
L.Z. Hunter Owen |
4-0 |
3.16 |
GRADES: Florida has its ace, Brandon Sproat on the mound against Vanderbilt. Last time out against the Commodores, Sproat struck out five in six scoreless innings. He wasn’t perfect though, allowing five hits and three walks. Vanderbilt should have scoring opportunities at Sproat, but capitalizing can be tough against him.
Hunter Owen was cut from his regular season opener against Florida, and hasn’t pitched in the game since May 5. Like Jac Caglianone, he has upper 90 stuff, but he does best when he holds back and stays in the mid-90s. Short starts have been a problem, but he’s a raw talent with plenty of upsides. The curveball plays sometimes and the changeup can really throw off inexperienced hitters coming off the fastball.
Other players to follow
Enrique Bradfield Jr. might be the commodore to worry about the most. He’s a .300 hitter who converts singles to triples with his speed and an elite defender in center field. Then there’s RJ Schreck, who leads the team with a .325 average, 13 home runs and 55 RBIs. He’s been on a bit of a slump lately, but that’s what they said about BT Riopelle right before he hit a walk-off home run.
Nick Maldonado has been the elite of the bullpen with six saves and a 1.61 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 28.0 innings and 20 appearances.
Series history
|
IN GENERAL |
146-78-1 |
|
AT HOME |
84-24 |
|
FAR |
57-47-1 |
|
NEUTRAL |
5-7 |
follow the action
THURSDAY (~8:30 pm EDT)
Prediction
It’s hard to tell if Florida will ride the wave for the rest of the tournament after BT Riopelle’s shot or not. Having Sproat on the mound against Vandy’s Sunday man favors Florida, but anything can happen in Hoover.
Vanderbilt should put up a fight, but this is Florida’s game to lose considering the regular season sweep.
Prediction: Florida wins, 7-4
Read more
[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1369]
follow us @gatorswire on Twitter and like our page at Facebook to follow continuous coverage of Florida Gators news, features and opinions.
The story originally appeared on the Gators Wire
