{"id":230614,"date":"2026-04-14T02:32:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T02:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/230614\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T02:32:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T02:32:11","slug":"no-7-florida-jumpstarts-homestand-against-bethune-cookman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/230614\/","title":{"rendered":"No. 7 Florida Jumpstarts Homestand Against Bethune-Cookman"},"content":{"rendered":"

GAINESVILLE, Fla \u2013 The No. 7 Florida Gators baseball team returns to Condron Family Ballpark Tuesday to open an eight-game homestand on the heels of a seven-game road trip. The Gators (27-10, 9-6 SEC) will play host to the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (25-11, 12-3 SWAC), who are fresh off a SWAC series win over Mississippi Valley State.
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\nTuesday’s midweek matchup will air on SEC Network+ at 6:30 p.m. with radio coverage found at ESPN 98.1 FM\/850 AM WRUF or on the varsity sports app.
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\nFlorida enters Tuesday’s in-state contest boasting a 37-1 all-time record over the Wildcats, including a 17-1 series lead under Kevin O’Sullivan<\/a>. The Gators claimed the most recent meeting by a 9-2 tally on Feb. 28, 2024 to push their win streak to six games in the head-to-head series.
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\nThe Gators dominated a fourth-ranked Georgia squad in Athens this past weekend, taking their second-consecutive road\u00a0series against the Bulldogs. Florida’s pitching staff held UGA, the nation’s leader in home runs, without a long ball in the series while the UF bats propelled Florida to a nation-best 10-1 record against ranked opponents.<\/p>\n

Pitching Matchups
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\nCHECKING OUR POLLS
\nThanks to a 3-1 week in four games against top-five opponents, Florida vaulted from No. 21 to No. 7 in the Baseball America Top 25. Perfect Game moved the Gators up 11 spots to No. 11, while the USA Today Coaches Poll pushed UF up six positions to No. 18. Florida also returned to the D1Baseball Top 25 at No. 20 after a one-week absence.
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\nAN EARLY CASE FOR A TOP-EIGHT SEED
\nBy toppling No. 5 FSU on the road last Tuesday and taking two of three at No. 4 Georgia, the Gators now boast the nation’s best record against ranked opponents at 10-1 on top of the most Quad 1 wins in the country (11). Backed by a No. 4 RPI and No. 5 strength of schedule, Florida has gone a dominant 7-1 vs. top-10 foes featuring a 6-1 mark against the top five. Interestingly, all seven of UF’s top-10 victories have come away from home. Florida has taken care of business against lesser foes as well, as evidenced by a 13-1 record against Quad 3 and Quad 4 teams.
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\nWATCHING THE WILDCATS
\nBethune-Cookman travels to Gainesville owning a 25-11 record overall with a 12-3 record in SWAC play. At the plate, the Wildcats enter Tuesday’s game hitting .293 with a .867 OPS and a slugging percentage of .446. Bethune-Cookman hitters have hit 27 home runs on the season while posting 88 stolen bases on 108 attempts, good for the 18th-most in the nation. On the mound, the Wildcats’ pitching staff has delivered a 4.47 ERA coupled with a 1.52 WHIP, giving up 18 home runs on 296 hits. Their defense owns a .960 fielding percentage across 1,300 attempts.
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\nMIDWEEK MASTERS
\nWith three Tuesday tilts remaining on the schedule, Florida sits at a stellar 10-1 in midweek play this season. Dating back to the start of 2025, the Gators are 22-3 in midweek games and have lost just twice in 17 contests at home. Since the start of last season, Florida is outscoring midweek opponents by nearly 200% at 199-to-100.<\/p>\n

RUNNING THE STATE

\nHeadlined by a pair of wins at No. 17 Miami and season sweep of No. 20\/10\/5 FSU, the Gators are 12-1 this season vs. teams from the state of Florida. In 29 games against in-state foes since 2025, Florida is 24-5 featuring wins against Stetson (five), Florida State (five), Miami (four), FIU (two), Jacksonville (two), North Florida (two), Florida Atlantic (two) and Florida A&M (two).

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\nSTRAIGHT JONESIN’

\nCenter fielder Kyle Jones<\/a> started all four games in centerfield for the Gators last week as they went 3-1 across four top-five road matchups, defeating No. 5 FSU on Tuesday before winning a series at No. 4 Georgia. On the week, Jones went 8-for-14 with a .571\/.700\/.857 slash line, leading Florida in batting average, on-base percentage, hits, runs (six) and total bases (12) on top of one home run, one double, two RBI, three walks and three hit-by-pitches. In total, Jones reached base 14 times in four games while producing a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage over 15 chances in center field, including one outfield assist. Saving his biggest performance for the rubber match against No. 4 Georgia in his hometown of Athens, Jones went a perfect 5-for-5 with a career-high five hits, one homer, three runs and two RBI while reaching base in all six of his plate appearances.

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\nKING OF ATHENS

\nTaking a perfect game into the seventh inning, star sophomore Aidan King<\/a> retired the first 18 batters he faced in order while making his first-career Friday night start on the road against the nation’s top offense in No. 4 Georgia. Despite having his perfect game bid broken up with a leadoff single in the seventh, King pitched 7 2\/3 innings of two-run ball to earn the series-opening victory. King allowed just four total baserunners (two hits and two walks) while striking out six batters and holding the Bulldogs to a .080 batting average. Lowering his ERA to 1.82 on the season with his team-high fifth quality start of the campaign, King fired 73 of his career-high 107 pitches for strikes (68.2%) to take down No. 4 Georgia, 8-2.

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\nRELENTLESS REPTILES

\nFlorida boasts nine come-from-behind victories through 37 games. 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).<\/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 nation with 314 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 country.

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\nTICKET INFORMATION

\nSeason tickets<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0SEC Five-Pack Mini-Plans<\/a>\u00a0are currently on sale now in addition to\u00a0single-game tickets<\/a>. Tickets can be purchased\u00a0online<\/a>\u00a0or by contacting the Gator Ticket Office at (352) 375-4683.<\/p>\n

MOBILE TICKETING & FLORIDA GATORS APP

\nAs a reminder, mobile ticketing is required. There will be two ways to access your tickets:

\n1) through the\u00a0Florida Gators app<\/a>\u00a0from your mobile device or

\n2) through\u00a0FloridaGators.com\/myaccount<\/a>. Fans will also be able to transfer or donate their tickets easily within the app or online.<\/p>\n

PARKING\/SHUTTLES

\nFans are encouraged to park at the Fifield and IFAS lots during the weekend. An increased number of shuttles will be available for transportation to the ballpark each day.<\/p>\n

Click\u00a0HERE<\/a>\u00a0for a Parking map.
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\n\tGeneral Parking\u00a0is available in the west Condron Family\u00a0Ballpark baseball lot and the Fifield parking lot located directly across Hull Road.
\n\tDisabled parking\u00a0is available on a first-come, first-serve basis in the Condron Family\u00a0Ballpark west lot with a valid Disabled Placard.
\n\tFans can follow\u00a0this link<\/a>\u00a0to an interactive parking map.
\n\tRV Parking\u00a0is available in the Fifield Flat lot. \u00a0Reserved RV parking is not available for Florida baseball games. All motor home parking is on a first come, first-served basis.
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\n\t\tOn-board generators are permitted, however exterior or pull-along generators are prohibited at all times. For safety reasons, all motor homes\/RVs are required to utilize exhaust extensions or “smoke stacks” to channel exhaust fumes to the top of the motor home\/RV.
\n\t\tOvernight stays are only allowed on weekend series in the\u00a0Fifield\u00a0Flat\u00a0lot.\u00a0
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\n\tDo Not Park Illegally
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\n\t\tPark in designated parking spots (Do not park on\u00a0grass or in No Parking Zones).
\n\t\tVehicles are subject to towing if they block streets, sidewalks, service drives, or fire lanes, or if illegally parked in a disabled space.
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\nTRAFFIC PATTERNS ON GAME DAY
\nThose visiting Condron Family Ballpark on game day should be aware of updated traffic patterns surrounding the ballpark. Fans are advised to utilize Ballpark Way, which will serve as a connecting route to the ballpark from Archer Road. For departures, a postgame traffic flow pattern guide can be found\u00a0here.<\/a><\/p>\n

BALLPARK PURCHASES

\nCondron Family Ballpark food and beverage sales are fully cashless. For convenience and to improve speed of service, all concession stands will only accept credit cards, debit cards, or touchless payment with smartphones. Fans with cash can stop at the first\u00a0base Concession Stand to exchange cash for a Gift Card. Gift Cards can be used at any concession stand within Condron Family Ballpark.<\/p>\n

ON DECK

\nFlorida hosts Auburn at Condron Family Ballpark for a three-game, Thursday-Saturday series from April 16-18. All three matchups will air on linear television, beginning with Thursday night’s series opener at 7 p.m. on SEC Network. Game two follows on Friday at 5:30 p.m. on SEC Network while Saturday’s finale airs on ESPN at 12 p.m.<\/p>\n

Follow the Gators

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