Napier, Singer, Zunino to headline No. 9 Gators baseball with First Pitch
Fans will get to see what kind of arm Billy Napier, a former All-State quarterback, has this Friday. The Florida Gators head football coach will open the baseball season by throwing out the honorary first pitch.
Napier is heading a trio of honorary first-pitch throwers. Former Gator, current Kansas City Royal, and All-American Brady Singer will throw out Saturday’s first pitch. Mike Zunino, who made his first All-Star game last season, will serve on Sunday.
Singer was the Friday night starter for two years, including the 2017 National Championship Gators. He attended Eustis High School and was a second-round pick in the 2015 MLB Draft. Singer elected to attend Florida, pitching for the Gators first in 2016. He appeared in 23 games and made one start. He finished the season 2–2 with a 4.95 ERA. As a sophomore in 2017 Singer was the Saturday starter and helped Florida to the College World Series. Singer struck out 12 LSU Tigers in the opening game of the championship series, a 4-3 win. Singer was named to the All-Tournament team. In 2018 Singer won the Dick Howser Award, given to the nation’s best player. He was selected 18th overall in the 2018 draft by the Kansas City Royals and made his MLB debut in 2020.
Zunino was a 29th round selection in the 2009 MLB Draft but elected to go to college. He was a key member of three teams that made it to the College World Series in 2010, 2011, and 2012. Zunino was a Baseball American All-American as a sophomore and was the SEC Player of the Year in 2011.
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Florida is set to open the 2022 season at home the weekend of Feb. 18-20 in the form of a three-game series against Liberty of the Atlantic Sun Conference. All three games of the season-opening series will stream live on SEC Network+.
Gators Opening weekend schedule with first pitches by Napier, Singer, Zunino
Friday, Feb. 18 @ 7 p.m. – Florida Head Football Coach Billy Napier
Saturday, Feb. 19 @ 4 p.m. – Kansas City Royals RHP Brady Singer
Sunday, Feb. 20 @ 12 p.m. – Tampa Bay Rays C Mike Zunino
