March 31, 2026, 2:51 p.m. ET

Florida baseball is coming off a 4-0 week against top-10 opponents, and the Gators are looking to keep things rolling with a midweek win against the Jacksonville Dolphins.

The Dolphins have a 12-16 overall record, so this shouldn’t be too difficult a game to win for the Gators. Florida will throw Shuyler Sandford for the first time in three weeks, and Jacksonville will throw left-hander Kyle Powers, who has an ERA north of 7.00 and hasn’t made a start this season. Kevin O’Sullivan would like his offense to stay hot and get the job done in seven innings, but it’s hard to run rule any team in this sport.

Florida will be without Cash Strayer, who will be out for the next three to four weeks with a fractured hand. Hayden Yost will take his place in right field.

Projected Starting Lineup: Florida GatorsPosNameAVGOBPSLGABRHHRRBICCole Stanford.264.418.4725314143111BEthan Surowiec.321.431.56010926355272BCade Kurland.246.362.333571414193BKolt Myers.229.302.2924881101SSBrendan Lawson.373.587.8678334311130LFBlake Cyr.352.436.571912332425CFKyle Jones.301.385.4601133134423RFHayden Yost.158.304.263193301DHKarson Bowen.287.393.460872125315Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!Probable StartersTeamPitcherRecordERAFLORIDARHP Schuyler Sandford1-03.00JACKSONVILLELHP Kyle Powers0-07.31

NOTES: Schuyler Sandford hasn’t pitched in three weeks since his start against Florida State, but the numbers aren’t bad. He’s given up four earned runs over 12 innings, and opponents are hitting just .171 against him. Still, the walks are a bit of a problem. Sandford’s 14.3% walk rate isn’t too high, but three of his seven came agaisnt FSU. Jacksonville is a good opponent to get back on his feet against.

Kyle Powers has thrown 16 innings for Jacksonville over eight appearances, but this will be his first start. He’s more than capable of giving the Dolphins 2-3 innings, but he isn’t too experienced against good lineups. He gave up three runs on as many hits and a walk against South Florida, recording just two outs. Florida could run him off early, which would be ideal.

Powers works in the zone, sporting a 71.6% strike rate through March 26. He has a four-pitch mix with his best pitches being a high-80s fastball and a low-70s curveball (58% whiff rate).

Other Players to Watch

Jacksonville has several hitters with an OPS above .900, but the two main bats to consider are outfielders Cade Walter (1.062) and designated hitter Derek Bermudez (.941). Walter leads the team with seven home runs and 27 RBIs, and Bermudez has six bombs with 24 driven in. Bermudez doesn’t play games ever, but he has 95 plate appearances on the season and walks (13) nearly as much as he strikes out (14).

Catcher Conner Spelman and outfielder Jonah Shields both have an OPS north of .950, but they only have 61 plate appearances apiece. There’s good contact in both bats, but not a ton of power.

Series HistoryOVERALL69-36AT HOME45-17AWAY24-19NEUTRAL0-0

Notes: Coming off a 4-0 week in four games vs. top-10 foes, Florida has won 14 of the last 17 matchups against JU.

Follow the Action

Tuesday (6:30 p.m. EDT)

Sean Kelley and Nick Belmonte will announce the television broadcast, and Jeff Cardozo and Steve Russell are on the radio.

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