Game Preview: Gators looking to complete season sweep of UNF on Tuesday

Florida baseball is hitting its stride and UNF is next up on the schedule.

Florida baseball is enjoying a five-game winning streak after dropping the opening series of the season to Liberty. The Gators will head to Jacksonville on Tuesday to face the North Florida Ospreys as they hope to continue their winning ways.

UNF is a familiar opponent for Florida seeing as the two programs met up just under a week ago. The Ospreys kept things tight, but the Gators walked away victorious, 3-1. Middle infielder Coly Halter made the difference in that one with a two-run home run in the third inning.

Following the loss to Florida, UNF was swept by Connecticut over the weekend. Home-field advantage didn’t seem to make much of a difference against the Huskies, and the Gators are coming into Jacksonville with some swagger behind them. Of course, UF’s offense has been spotty at times early on in the season and midweek pitching can always be questionable.

Timmy Manning got the start last Tuesday in hope of giving him a confidence boost before returning to the weekend rotation. He only threw one inning against the Hatters, but it seemed to help a bit in his start on Sunday. Left-hander Brandon Sproat, who struck out a career-high eight batters against UNF last week, will get the Tuesday start this week.

The Gators should be able to make it six-in-a-row Tuesday night, especially if they keep up the near 10-run average they managed against Georgia State over the weekend.