{"id":140815,"date":"2026-02-02T16:57:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T16:57:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/140815\/"},"modified":"2026-02-02T16:57:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T16:57:19","slug":"three-takeways-from-florida-baseball-week-three-scrimmages-wruf-98-1-fm-850-am","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/140815\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Takeways from Florida Baseball Week Three Scrimmages – WRUF 98.1 FM | 850 AM"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gainesville\u2019s expectations for the Florida baseball team have yet to cool despite the winter storm this week bringing strong winds and a dip into freezing temperatures.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Florida, ranked No. 13 in D1 Baseball\u2019s preseason poll, took to the field to continue preparing for the season ahead, showcasing its strongest qualities \u2013 and glimpses of issues.<\/p>\n

Florida\u2019s pitchers \u2013 who dug them into the hole \u2013 and its quiet lineup \u2013 who couldn\u2019t dig them back out \u2013 created last season\u2019s lackluster end and the sting it left behind.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you have teams that don\u2019t end where you want them to end \u2013 and for us, it\u2019s Omaha \u2013 it\u2019s difficult,\u201d Florida coach Kevin O\u2019Sullivan said after the Eastern Carolina loss last season.<\/p>\n

So, Florida brought in some heavyweight transfers as a post-hangover cure to forget the burn at the back of their throats in how the season ended. The Gators will still have to rely on their previous pitchers and a lineup that struggled to hit SEC pitchers, however.<\/p>\n

With the February series against the University of Alabama at Birmingham looming, here are three observations from Week Three of the Gators preseason practices:<\/p>\n

\u200bNo. 1: Ethan Surowiec has power<\/p>\n

Surowiec looks like he did in the summer, and Florida couldn\u2019t be happier with that outcome. The team had bet on the freshman<\/a>, who took 16 at-bats in collegiate baseball, to look similar to when he won the Northwoods League MVP last year: slashing 385\/.472\/.792 over 221 at-bats.<\/p>\n

The Ole Miss transfer beat up on his fellow Gator pitchers on Wednesday, belting two home runs. It\u2019s clear Surowiec has power. You can hear the distinct crack of the metal bat long before the ball sails over the outfield fence.<\/p>\n

As Florida\u2019s projected third baseman, he will need to balance his defensive skills with his power in the box. Additionally, the Gators will need to watch his usage. As Surowiec adjusts to the league, so too does the league to him. His management of the midseason grind will dictate how the Gators will end their season.<\/p>\n

\u200bNo. 2: Luke McNeillie looked a bit shaky<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the thing: It\u2019s January\/early February baseball. Pitchers are developing their secondary pitches. And, if the number of blankets, shivering fans dotting the occasional seats and long-sleeve undershirts are any metric to measure by, it\u2019s cold. Baseballs are harder to grip and muscles are tighter. The Gators aren\u2019t looking to ruin any pitchers, so to write off McNeillie<\/a> entirely would be a fool\u2019s errand.<\/p>\n

To say he looked perfect would also be inaccurate. McNeillie, who ended his season with a 4.82 ERA, a 1.30 WHIP and a 5 \u2013 2 record across 52.1 innings, is one of the bigger variables in Florida\u2019s bullpen. His arsenal primarily builds around a slider and a fastball \u2013 a solid secondary pitch that can reach up to 98 mph.<\/p>\n

\u200bHowever, the command of both pitches has been an issue, and it certainly was in Wednesday\u2019s scrimmage, where the third inning was called before McNeillie could get three outs. Surowiec also slammed one of his two homers off the junior. If the righty gets strikeouts across multiple innings, he could prove to be a valuable weapon.<\/p>\n

\"Outfielder
\nOutfielder Ashton Wilson takes a swing on the box during Week Three scrimmages. (Anthony Herrera\/WRUF)<\/p>\n

No. 3: Cade Kurland seems strong after injury<\/p>\n

\u200bEven the arctic weather couldn\u2019t keep the heat off Cade Kurland, who\u2019s recovering from left shoulder surgery. He dislocated his shoulder making a play last season after just 11 games. Despite multiple attempts to return, Kurland was sidelined after 13 starts at second base. He slashed .316\/.490\/.605 across 38 at-bats.<\/p>\n

When Kurland was on the field for a scrimmage, he had quick hands, was confident in the box and had power behind every swing. Kurland didn\u2019t get any runs under his belt, but that shouldn\u2019t worry anyone. After missing the majority of last season, he comes in this year with something to prove. If he can stay healthy, he has the potential of being a key cornerstone for this squad.<\/p>\n

\u200bFlorida has two weeks to practice before its first series against UAB on Feb. 13 (and more than a month to a SEC series). Until then, the Gators are hoping the temperature heats up and the bats don\u2019t cool off.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe still have the same goal,\u201d McNeillie said after a fall doubleheader vs. Georgia Southern in early November. \u201cWe are still trying to get Omaha and win it all. Our team has definitely gotten closer. We have all come together and grown with all of the chaos outside of the locker room for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Category: Baseball<\/a>, College Baseball<\/a>, Feature Sports News<\/a>, Gators Baseball<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gainesville\u2019s expectations for the Florida baseball team have yet to cool despite the winter storm this week bringing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":140816,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[68404,28,30,29,5547,68405],"class_list":["post-140815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-ethan-suroweic","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-kevin-osullivan","tag-luke-mcnellie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140815"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140815\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}