Florida Visits No. 9 Georgia in Regular-Season Finale

ATHENS, Ga. – The Florida Gators close out the regular season with a three-game series at the No. 9 Georgia Bulldogs spanning from Thursday through Saturday.

All three matchups in the series wil stream on SEC Network+, with games one and two scheduled for 6 p.m. ET on Thursday and Friday. The series finale is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday.

While the Gators (26-25, 11-16 SEC) have won 16 of the last 27 meetings dating back through 2014 including series wins in two of the previous three, the Bulldogs (38-12, 16-11 SEC) swept the last series in Athens back in 2022. Even so, Florida holds a commanding 193-115-2 lead in the all-time series and is 86-64-1 vs. Georgia on the road. The Gators are 30-17 in the series under head coach Kevin O’Sullivan, highlighted by an 11-10 mark in Athens.

 

Pitching Matchups

 
DIRT ON THE DAWGS
Georgia comes into this weekend’s regular-season series finale slashing .307/1.047/.607 with 133 homers. The Dawgs boast a record of 38-12 overall and are 16-11 in the SEC. Georgia’s pitching staff has combined for a 5.31 ERA and 1.50 WHIP in 423 1/3 innings of work. 

LAST TIME OUT

The Gators went 2-2 last week, defeating USF on Tuesday (W 4-1) before dropping two of three at home to No. 4 Kentucky (L 12-11, W 10-1, L 7-5). Both of Florida’s losses in the series were in 10 innings. Infielder Dale Thomas (5-for-9) and first baseman/left-handed pitcher Jac Caglianone (5-for-9) led the Gators at the plate while infielder Colby Shelton (3-for-12) and catcher Luke Heyman (3-for-14) blasted two home runs apiece. Caglianone (6.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K) and right-hander Liam Peterson (W, 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K) were both excellent on the bump, turning in Florida’s first set of back-to-back quality starts of the 2024 season in games two and three.

RELENTLESS REPTILES

Florida boasts 13 come-from-behind wins on the season, with nine of the team’s 10 SEC victories occurring in comeback fashion. The Gators wield three walk-off victories this year.

THE SEC’S FINEST

Across their last 80 conference tilts, the Gators have gone 48-32 vs. SEC opponents featuring a 40-29 regular-season mark.

WEEKEND WARRIORS

Despite the series loss to No. 4 Kentucky, the Gators have claimed 22 of their last 30 three-game, regular-season series dating back to the 2022 season including 15 of 23 in SEC play. The Gators are 49-29 in weekend series since the start of last season and 58-32 across the team’s previous 30 series.

NATIONAL…