Three observations on Florida Baseball after dropping first game of the season

Florida is 11-1 on the season
Jun 19, 2024; Omaha, NE, USA;  Florida Gators designated hitter Brody Donay (29) celebrates hitting a grand slam with right fielder Ashton Wilson (30) against the Kentucky Wildcats during the first inning at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images
Jun 19, 2024; Omaha, NE, USA; Florida Gators designated hitter Brody Donay (29) celebrates hitting a grand slam with right fielder Ashton Wilson (30) against the Kentucky Wildcats during the first inning at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images | Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

Florida Baseball dropped their first game of the season on Sunday as the Gators surrendered a 4-0 lead to eventually lose 13-7. The Gators still took the series from Miami and head into their last full week of non-conference play 11-1.

Florida is slated to take on UCF, FAU, and Harvard this week.

Pitching will be an adventure against UCF

The Knights are flying high themselves after back-to-back run-rule wins over their rival USF. The biggest consequence of the weekend is figuring out what arms are actually available for Tuesday's game.

After Pierce Coppola has to leave early on Saturday, it set off a domino effect that had Aidan King pitch extended innings. King did great, but when Jake Clemente ran into trouble on Sunday, Kevin O'Sullivan was forced to go to Billy Barlow for two innings.

So the real question is what will be Barlow's availability on Tuesday since he had been positioned as the mid-week starter.

Brody Donay continues to rake

After hitting four home runs in the first four games, Brody Donay obviously wasn't going to keep that crazy of a pace.

But he is still showcasing his power when needed and his two run home run in the 3rd inning put the Gators up 4-0. Donay now has six home runs on the season, is hitting .432, and has an OPS of 1.571.

Perhaps most important in his evolution this season is that he has eight walks to go with eight strikeouts.

Ty Evans might become the odd man out

Coming into 2025, Ty Evans was seen as the one proven bat the Gators had returning. He was the only returning Gator who hit over .300 in 2024.

But Florida has reloaded in their outfield, which has given O'Sullivan a lot of options to play with on any given day.

Evans has had to fight off a couple of minor injuries to start 2025, and while 18 at-bats isn't a great sample to judge someone on, Evans has just three hits and six strikeouts.

And given the depth of the outfield, Evans might not get as many opportunities as year's past to get back on track.

Schedule

Schedule