Florida Baseball is on the road tonight to take on FSU at 6 PM. The Gators are 15-2 and ranked 7th in the country while FSU is undefeated and ranked 5th. Kevin O'Sullivan has won 22 of the previous 27 matchups with FSU, but Florida was swept by the Seminoles last season.
To get a better idea of what to expect tonight, we reached out to our FSU Fansided sister site Chop Chat and spoke with their site expert Kelvin Hunt to get a pulse of how they are feeling in Tallahassee.
Hail Florida Hail:
Neither Florida nor FSU have great strength of schedules to this point. Florida is 158th while FSU 201st. How much of FSU's early success is going to have crossover sustainability once the level of competition ramps up?
Kelvin Hunt:
That's a great question. I think the pitching is sustainable, and they have much better depth than last year, but I'm curious how the hitting translates once they see better arms. FSU has some 2-3 freshmen playing significant innings, and the game will likely change for those guys once they enter conference play.
HFH:
Midweek games are always an adventure when it comes to pitching. How is FSU's pitching set up for this one game?
KH:
FSU has had a set rotation between the weekend starters and midweek. Evan Chrest has been the guy for midweek games. He has a 2.87 ERA, with 10 K's and four walks in 15.2 innings. He's gone at least five innings in all three starts. He's not overpowering and pitches to contact. I'd expect him to start Tuesday night.
HFH:
FSU is currently 75th in walks drawn. Is that just a byproduct of opponents leaving stuff over the plate to hit or is there a feeling the Seminoles could be more patient at the plate?
KH:
It's probably a little of both. FSU is batting .347 with an on-base percentage of .447. FSU has several free swingers and I mentioned having some young guys in the lineup still learning and gaining experience. The team is striking out in 22 percent of its ABs, and something I'd like to see get below 20 percent, considering they likely don't have the same firepower as last year.
HFH:
Alex Lodise is hitting .444 after hitting .281 last year. Was his jump expected or a surprise?
KH:
It's not a surprise. He batted .306 with 16 home runs and 63 RBI before transferring from North Florida. The experience he got was invaluable as he moved up against better competition last year. It's a natural progression and I expect his production to continue.
HFH:
What is your prediction for how this game plays out?
KH:
It usually comes down to whoever has the better pitching in the midweek. Which pitchers can avoid walks and traffic on the bases? Both teams can do damage at the plate in a lot of ways. Both teams can cause havoc on the bases with the run game and play solid defense.
I'll give the edge to FSU since it's a home game and FSU has played 13 of its 15 games at home. Florida will be motivated after losing three games last year and with the opportunity to give FSU its first loss. However, Florida is a large step up in competition from what FSU has played in any game thus far. It wouldn't shock me if they won.
We thank Kelvin for his time. You can check out his FSU coverage at Chop Chat.