Florida didn’t come away with the sweep over the weekend against Tennessee, but taking two games on the road against a top-15 team in the country is still a quality series win, even if the Gators got mercy ruled in the rain on Saturday.
The offense jumped all over Tennessee’s Chase Dollander and Chase Burns on Thursday and Friday, as [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] and [autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag] earned wins on the mound for Florida. Sproat was one out away from finishing off the sixth inning for a quality start, but he left with discomfort in his calf. The injury doesn’t appear to be serious, but it’s something to keep in mind moving forward.
The bullpen was strong in both wins, too. Although the ‘pen appeared to be Florida’s biggest problem early on, that’s no longer the case. There are viable arms from both sides, with lefty [autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] and right-handed closer [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] providing the perfect finishing combo for a must-win game.
Sunday was a different story. [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] continued to struggle on the mound, and he didn’t even make it out of the first. It was raining pretty hard all day, which isn’t really an excuse, but it helped lead to a lousy day all-around for the Florida pitching staff.
The Gators are now 27-6 overall and 9-3 in conference play. The SEC East is incredibly tough this season, and Florida is in the middle of the pack right now. Tennessee is the only division team UF has faced so far, but the Gators close out the season with five of their six final series against SEC East foes.
Georgia will be a bit of a tune-up series next weekend, but then it’s on to No. 6 South Carolina. Here’s what we learned about the team.