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Florida Baseball Series Preview: Gators must show dominance vs USF

By Benjamin Henderson

Florida left fielder Wyatt Langford (36) celebrates after hitting a home run during the SEC baseball tournament at the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Ala., on Saturday, May 28, 2022. Florida Gators defeated Alabama Crimson Tide 11-6.
Florida left fielder Wyatt Langford (36) celebrates after hitting a home run during the SEC baseball tournament at the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Ala., on Saturday, May 28, 2022. Florida Gators defeated Alabama Crimson Tide 11-6. /
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Generally speaking, the Florida Gators shouldn’t fear USF in any sport. The Bulls have never been able to drag themselves into national relevance after seeming ready to take the next step a decade ago. Historically, this has been a series Florida baseball has owned, holding a 25-4 all-time record against the Bulls.

However, Florida can attest to USF’s prowess if the Gators don’t bring their A game. USF knocked off Florida in the Gainesville Regional in 2021 in route to winning the region. And USF is coming off a weekend series where they were able to take a game off of 18th ranked Maryland.

With the two squads squaring off in a home-and-home today and tomorrow, it should provide a tougher test than what Charleston Southern provided.

Florida Baseball: Bulls on parade

USF’s top player coming out of their Maryland series was redshirt senior Travis Sankovich. A transfer from Marshall that hit .301 last season, Sankovich was 7-12 at the plate with three RBIs and two doubles against the Terrapins.

Sophomore Bobby Boser, a local product from Wiregrass Ranch High School, wasn’t very productive last season as he only hit .189. He is hoping his series against Maryland is a sign of things to come as he went 4-9 with three walks and two home runs.

Drew Brutcher is the top returning hitter for USF. The junior out of Lakeland hit .299 last season with 37 walks and 13 home runs. He was only 3-13 against Maryland but did have a three-run home run.

Where Florida baseball should have the advantage in this series will be pitching. It’s doubtful Florida rolls out any of their starters from Charleston Southern, but the depth in pitching should be enough. USF gave up seven, eight, and nine runs respectively in their three games vs Maryland. While tonight’s starters have yet to be announced as of this writing, one would assume that the mid-week starters for USF will have a tough time keeping Wyatt Langford and company at bay.

Last season Florida won this game 18-3, and while it would be greedy to expect the Gators to win by a similar margin this year it isn’t outside the realm of possibility if USF’s pitching depth gets exposed early on.

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