{"id":198794,"date":"2026-03-20T05:56:20","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T05:56:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/198794\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T05:56:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T05:56:20","slug":"no-18-florida-hits-road-to-alabama-for-first-sec-road-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/198794\/","title":{"rendered":"No. 18 Florida Hits Road to Alabama for First SEC Road Test"},"content":{"rendered":"

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. \u2013 The No. 18 Florida Gators trek to Tuscaloosa, Ala. for a three-game series against the Crimson Tide in their first SEC road test of the campaign this weekend from March 20-22.
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\nThe first two games air on SEC Network+, with the series opener set for 7 p.m. ET on Friday night. Game two will begin on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET followed by Sunday’s finale at 1 p.m. ET, which will be carried on SEC Network.
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\nMaking their first trip to Tuscaloosa since 2022 (W 6-4, W 13-6, L 8-7), the Gators (19-3, 3-0 SEC) are riding a six-game win streak while the Crimson Tide (16-7, 0-3 SEC) have dropped four in a row. Florida has won 10-consecutive series against Alabama dating back to 2009, as Head Coach Kevin O’Sullivan<\/a>‘s lone series loss to the Tide came on the road during his inaugural 2008 season. Under his watch, the Gators have gone 31-8 overall and 11-4 in road games against the Tide, featuring wins in 18 of the last 21 and 25 of the last 29 matchups.
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\nLooking at the all-time series, Florida holds the lead at 72-60 while Alabama owns a slight 31-25 edge in Tuscaloosa. The Gators enter the weekend boasting victories in 36 of their last 44\u00a0regular-season games dating back to last season, and are 3-0 in away contests to begin the 2026 campaign.<\/p>\n

Pitching Matchups
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\nCHECKING OUR POLLS

\nPowered by a 4-0 week, the Gators moved up five spots to No. 18 in the D1Baseball Top 25 on Monday. Baseball America vaulted Florida eight spots to No. 17, which is also where the Orange & Blue comes in on Perfect Game’s list. The Gators’ highest ranking comes from the USA Today Coaches Poll (No. 14).
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\nTACKLING THE TIDE
\nDespite being losers of four-straight games, Alabama enters the series at 15-7 overall and 11-1 at home. The Crimson Tide were swept in their opening SEC series at Kentucky (L 7-4, L 8-7, L 6-4) before dropping a midweek matchup to South Alabama, but boast victories over No. 19 Oregon State (W 8-7) and Iowa (W 12-2). Through 22 games, Alabama is hitting .266\/.411\/.454 with 30 homers, but have lit up the basepaths for 47 stolen bases in 49 attempts. The pitching staff has worked to a 4.13 ERA, .247 batting average against and 196-to-69 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 185 1\/3 innings, which is backed by a .960 fielding percentage.<\/p>\n

WINNER, WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER

\nPosting their first 3-0 start to SEC play since 2021, Florida swept South Carolina in dominant fashion last weekend. Allowing just three runs in 26.0 innings pitched across the three-game series, the Gators outscored the Gamecocks, 17-3, and did not surrender a run until the second inning of Sunday’s finale (20 1\/3 scoreless IP). In games one and two, Florida\u00a0pitched back-to-back shutouts against an SEC opponent for the first time\u00a0in nearly 13 years \u2013 since March 30-31 vs. No. 11 Ole Miss (7-0, 4-0). The Gators fired a combined\u00a019.0 shutout innings with just four hits allowed, six walks and 26 strikeouts on Friday and Saturday to clinch the series.<\/p>\n

As a result, Florida swept South Carolina for the second-straight season and for the first time at home since 2015. It also marked the Gators’\u00a0first back-to-back series sweeps of the Gamecocks since the 1996-97 seasons.<\/p>\n

HOLD ON A SEC

\nFollowing the weekend sweep of the Gamecocks,\u00a0Florida has won seven-straight SEC series dating back to last season – three series longer than any other team in the conference. The Gators have three series sweeps in its seven-SEC-series win streak, during which they have delivered an absurd 17-4 record.\u00a0Across O’Sullivan’s 19-year tenure in Orange & Blue, the Gators pace the league with six SEC Championships and 308 SEC victories.

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\nMORE SEC TIDBITS

\nStarting conference play with a 1-11 record before rallying to finish 15-15 and securing a No. 2 Regional seed one year ago, Florida became the first-ever SEC team to reach the NCAA Tournament after starting league play 2-10 or worse since 1992 expansion. The Gators won 14 of their final 18 SEC tilts while claiming six-straight series victories. In the last 18 SEC games, Florida pitchers more than cut their ERA in half at an SEC-best 3.76 while producing a .228 batting average against and 197-to-71 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 153.0 frames. The offense exploded in that time, slashing .296\/.406\/.500 with 26 homers and 32 stolen bases.

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\nNATIONAL RANKINGS: STACKING SHUTOUTS

\nBy picking up two more shutouts in the series sweep of South Carolina, Florida is now tied for the most shutouts thrown in the country with five. The Gators are nearly halfway to the single-season program record of 11 shutouts set in 2011 with 33 regular-season games remaining. Looking at other statistical categories, Florida ranks third nationally in sacrifice flies (17), sixth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.67), ninth in ERA (3.00), 12th in doubles (50), 13th in walks allowed per nine (3.14), 14th in strikeouts per nine (11.5), 18th in WHIP (1.18), 28th in runs scored (180), 31st in hits (211), 32nd in hits allowed per nine (7.45), 38th in home runs (30) and 40th in slugging percentage (.508).

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\nMOUND MONSTERS

\nAs the nation’s leader in shutouts and a top-10 team in both strikeout-to-walk ratio and ERA, the Florida pitching staff has surrendered four combined runs in the last four games. On the season, the Gators have struck out double-digit batters in 16 of 22 games, and walked three or fewer batters 15 times.<\/p>\n

RELENTLESS REPTILES

\nFlorida has delivered eight come-from-behind victories through 22\u00a0games. In particular, the Gators’ five-run comeback on March 8 vs. High Point marked their largest since May 15 of last season against Alabama (five runs).

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\nRESPECT FOR THE LAW

\nStarting all four games at shortstop last week as the Gators went 4-0, sophomore Brendan Lawson<\/a> batted 4-for-8 with a .500\/.789\/1.375 slash line, 2.164 OPS, two homers, seven runs, three RBI and three steals. The Canadian sophomore even led the team with 11 total bases despite logging just eight at bats, as he drew 10 walks and was hit by a pitch. Drawing walks in seven-straight contests and in 15 matchups overall, Lawson has reached base safely in all 22 games and leads the SEC with the third-best on-base percentage in the country (.614). On pace to set the UF single-season record for OBP, Lawson also paces the SEC with the fourth-most walks (27) nationally. He sits fourth in the nation in slugging percentage (.985), 15th in home runs (10), 17th in total bases (65), 20th in runs scored (29) and 28th in RBI (29) while recording 12 more walks than strikeouts (15).

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\nTHE ONE-TWO PUNCH

\nAs perhaps the nation’s top starting pitching duo, right-handers Liam Peterson<\/a> and Aidan King<\/a> both pitched 6.0 scoreless innings as part of combined shutouts in their first SEC starts of the season against South Carolina last weekend. Peterson surrendered just one hit while King allowed two, teaming up for 19 strikeouts against three walks. On the season, Florida’s one-two punch has provided 48 2\/3 innings to the tune of a 4-1 record, 1.48 ERA, 31 hits allowed, 70 strikeouts, 17 walks and one homer against. King (three) and Peterson (one) have accounted for all four of Florida’s quality starts.

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\nFIT FOR A KING

\nStill yet to allow an earned run across 23 1\/3 innings, King is the only qualified NCAA Division I pitcher with a 0.00 ERA in addition to a team-best three quality starts and 26 strikeouts to three walks. The sophomore righty ranks third in the SEC in BB\/9 (1.16), fifth in K-to-BB ratio (8.67), eighth in wins (three) and 12th in WHIP (0.94). Across his last 10 starts dating back to last season, King is 7-2 with a 0.43 ERA and 55-to-13 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 62.0 innings pitched (three earned runs allowed).

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\nLIAM WIT IT, ROCK WIT IT

\nPeterson has been nearly as dominant, posting double-digit strikeouts in consecutive outings and in three of his last four starts (10, 11, 8, 12). During that stretch, he has fanned 41 batters against nine walks while allowing four runs on just nine hits in 22.0 frames for a 1.64 ERA. In fact, the UF ace has surrendered just 12 hits in 25 1\/3 innings on the season, ranking second in the SEC and 12th nationally with 4.26 hits allowed per nine. He has not allowed more than one hit through five innings in any of his last three starts. Peterson also sits second in the SEC and eighth in the country with 44 strikeouts, and third in the SEC and seventh nationally in K\/9 (15.6).

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\nWHRITE’S OUT

\nMaking two separate relief appearances in a 4-0 week for the Gators, redshirt sophomore Joshua Whritenour<\/a> earned his second-career save last Tuesday vs. No. 20 Florida State before earning his first-career win in the series-opening victory over South Carolina on Friday night. Whritenour opened the week with 1 2\/3 scoreless frames while fanning all five batters he faced to lock down the victory vs. the Seminoles, then fired 2 1\/3 shutout innings with five strikeouts to pick up the win vs. the Gamecocks. The righty did not surrender a hit in either outing, finishing with 4.0 shutout, no-hit frames on the week with eight strikeouts. He has opened his collegiate career with 11 1\/3-consecutive scoreless innings to go with a 0.88 WHIP, .108 batting average against and 18-to-six strikeout-to-walk ratio.

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\nOH, WHAT A RELIEF IT IS!

\nJoining Whritenour at the back-end of the bullpen, southpaw Ernesto Lugo-Canchola<\/a> and righty Jackson Barberi<\/a> help form a three-headed monster at the end of ballgames. Lugo-Canchola has made a team-high 11 appearances with a 0.56 ERA, .172 batting average against and 23-to-four strikeout-to-walk ratio in 16.0 innings. Barberi’s nine appearances rank second on the roster, as he has held opposing hitters to a .133 batting average on top of a 2.16 ERA and 23-to-seven strikeout-to-walk ratio in 16 2\/3 frames. Both Barberi and Lugo-Canchola have made three-consecutive scoreless appearances, trailing only Whritenour (eight) and Russell Sandefer<\/a> (five). Factoring in Whritenour, the trio has combined for 44.0 innings with a 1.03 ERA, 13.1 K\/9, 3.5 BB\/9 and 4.5 H\/9.

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\nMR. JONES (AND US)

\nIn 22 starts this season, center fielder Kyle Jones<\/a> has led off the game with a hit 10 times for a .476 batting average in his first plate appearance. Jones has led off 41 total innings and collected 20 leadoff hits (.488), but has still racked up 19 RBI to rank third on the team. Overall, the speedster is slashing .364\/.426\/.568 while pacing the Gators in at bats (88), runs (29), hits (32) doubles (10) and stolen bases (eight). Jones ranks 11th nationally in doubles, 20th in runs and 38th in hits, sitting top five in the SEC in all three categories.

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\nCASHIN’ STRAYS

\nBeginning with one of the walk-off variety in the 10th inning against South Carolina, rookie outfielder Cash Strayer<\/a> has produced a sacrifice fly in four-straight games entering the Alabama series opener. Strayer’s five sacrifice flies on the year rank second in the country and first in the SEC, powering him to 19 RBI in 21 games played. The true freshman has held his own in the early going, hitting .264\/.341\/.458 backed by seven extra-base hits and 17 runs scored.

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\nMURDERERS’ ROW

\nAlthough pitching remains the Gators’ calling card, four UF hitters boast an OPS above .950 led by Lawson’s unearthly 1.599 mark. Jones (.994), outfielder Blake Cyr<\/a> (.965) and corner infielder Ethan Surowiec<\/a> (.963) wield gaudy numbers as well, as the quartet has driven in 53.7% of Florida’s run production (88 of 164 RBI).<\/p>\n

DESTINATION OMAHA

\nComing off the program’s 17th-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, O’Sullivan is in his 19th campaign at the helm of the Gators. Since O’Sullivan’s 2008 arrival, Florida leads the sport with 308 SEC wins, 41 MLB debuts, 10 top-eight seeds, nine College World Series trips, nine Super Regionals hosted and six SEC titles. The Gators have advanced to nine of the last 15 College World Series overall \u2013 by far the most in the sport.<\/p>\n

ON DECK

\nThe Gators take on the Florida State Seminoles in the second of three-regular season meetings on Tuesday, March 24 in Jacksonville, Fla. The neutral-site showdown is set for 6 p.m. on SEC Network+ at Vystar Ballpark.<\/p>\n

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