Florida Gators host No. 1 Tennessee Volunteers in pivotal SEC matchup
The Florida Gators will host the No. 1 Tennessee Volunteers this weekend at Florida Ballpark. The park will be renamed this weekend in honor of Gary Condron.
The Volunteers have been an absolute steamroller of a club this season. They reeled off 12 straight wins to start SEC play before dropping one game against Alabama last week. The most notable thing to happen last weekend, other than Tennessee bleeding for the first time before responding, was manager Tony Vitello bumping an umpire. That caused Vitello to earn a four-game suspension, meaning he won’t be with his team in the dugout until Sunday.
The Vols rallied around their head coach, who turned the on-field folly into a giveback to the Wounded Warrior Project.
The Vols come to town as the best team in the country and the conference. Tennessee joined elite company with its 14-1 SEC start, becoming just the sixth team all-time to achieve that feat and the first since Vanderbilt in 2013. UT was actually the first program to reach that mark, doing so in 1951. That squad was the only one ever to start 16-1 in SEC play. The Gators are 6-9 and need wins now.
“My message to the team is this weekend is no different than any other. We’re in a position where we need to win games. Whether it be Tennesse, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi State or South Carolina left on our schedule. They’re all important,” Kevin O’Sullivan said. “I mean, I don’t want to put any more emphasis on this weekend than any other. We put ourselves in a position where we need to start winning some games in the league. That’s for sure.”
The Vols have embraced the bad boy role. They don faux fur coats and pink hats that say daddy when they hit home runs. They talk trash but they back it up.
How to watch, stream, and listen to the Gators vs Vols
Hunter Barco on the shelf
Barco will be out indefinitely with elbow discomfort. The news was first reported by Kendall Rogers, and confirmed by Gators Online.
Barco has been sensational for the Gators this season. The junior has posted a 2.50 ERA in 50 1/3 innings, giving up 34 hits and 11 walks against 69 strikeouts over nine starts. Barco’s last two starts weren’t up to par with how he had started the season.
Barco gave up seven hits and three earned runs over five innings against Georgia. It matched his shortest outing of the season and was his second loss. The following week he lasted just five innings again against Arkansas. Barco allowed three earned runs in another loss for the Gators. The projected first-round pick had dealt with strep throat prior to that start, something his manager Kevin O’Sullivan noted after the game.
Chase Dollander on the mend
The crux of Vitello’s ejection last Saturday was surrounding Dollander. The Vols thought Dollander had thrown strike three, it wasn’t called a strike. Two pitches later a liner connected with Dollander, knocking him out of the game.
Luckily, X-Rays showed no fractures for Dollander. The Saturday pitching role is listed as TBD.
Projected pitching matchups
| Friday (6:30 p.m) | Saturday (6:30 pm) | Sunday (Noon) | |
| Florida | RHP Ryan Slater (2-1, 3.52 ERA) | RHP Brandon Sproat (4-3, 4.91 ERA) | RHP Brandon Neely (1-0, 4.30 ERA) |
| Tennessee | RHP Chase Burns (6-1, 2.22 ERA) | TBD | RHP Drew Beam (8-0, 1.50 ERA) |
Projected Lineups
| Position | Florida | Tennessee |
| C | BT Riopelle | Evan Russell |
| 1B | Kendrick Calilao | Luc Lipcius |
| 2B | Colby Halter | Joel Ortega |
| 3B | Deric Fabian | Trey Lipscomb |
| SS | Josh Rivera | Cortland Lawson |
| LF | Wyatt Langford | Seth Stephenson |
| CF | Jud Fabian | Drew Gilbert |
| RF | Sterlin Thompson | Jordan Beck |
| DH | Mac Guscette | Jared Dickey |
