The No. 5 Florida Gators baseball team wraps up its 13-game homestand this weekend against the Jacksonville Dolphins starting Friday night at 6:30 p.m. EST. Both teams are currently riding winning streaks into the series, with UF earning the W in its last five games while JU rides a three-game streak after a sweep of the Wofford Terriers last weekend.
For the season, however, Jacksonville has struggled losing its first eight games before turning things around against the Terriers. They were swept by the Miami Redhawks in three games to open their schedule, as well as the Troy Trojans in another three-game set, and dropped solo matches with the Pitt Panthers, College of Charleston Cougars and The Citadel.
Florida’s five-game stretch of success began with a sweep of the Florida A&M Rattlers last weekend and continued into the week with one-offs against the Georgia State Panthers and the Stetson Hatters. Things have been looking better for the Gators since their season-opening stumble against the then-No. 21 Miami Hurricanes, having only lost to the also-then-No. 21 Florida Atlantic Owls in a midweek solo game since.
UF holds a firm grip on the all-time series with a record of 61-33 since the two schools first met in 1963. The Gators took seven of the first ten meetings, and in the intervening years since have consistently held the upper hand, with a longest winning streak of seven games — which came from 1971 to 1974 — and only a three-game losing streak in 1995. Interestinly, a win on Friday night would tie the all-time high for consecutive wins.
Here is a look below at the starting pitchers lined up for the series as well as details on how to follow all three games, along with the projected starting lineup. Scroll down further for interesting excerpts from the media guide.