Some experts speculate Boogie Fland will transfer to Florida (University of Arkansas photo) “Don’t blame it on the sunshine Don’t blame it on the moonlight Don’t blame it on the good times Blame it on the boogie” -- from “Blame It on the Boogie” by The Jacksons   When former 5-star recruit Boogie Fland announced Tuesday that he is withdrawing from the NBA Draft, all eyes turned to Todd Golden and the Florida Gators. Fland, who played his freshman season at Arkansas, is in the transfer portal and a number of college basketball experts project his landing spot will be in Gainesville.   Earlier in the week in an interview on The Sideline with Andy Katz, Golden said, “ Our goal is to add one more guy," said Golden. "I think if we can do that over the next couple weeks – and we're not trying to rush, we want to be picky – but if we can add another impact guard, I think this team has a chance to be really good next year."   That statement combined with Fland withdrawing from the NBA Draft led immediately to speculation that Fland is the impact guard Golden was talking about.   At the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, Fland measured 6-2 without shoes, weighed in at 172.4 pounds and had a 6-6 wingspan. In a season marred by a hand injury that cost him 15 games, Fland averaged 13.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. He shot 34 percent on his 3-pointers and 83 percent from the foul line.   Coming out of Archbishop Stepanic High School in White Plains, New York, Fland was the No. 17 recruit in the country. He originally signed a letter of intent with Kentucky, but when John Calipari left UK and took the Arkansas job, Fland followed.   If Fland were to transfer to Florida he would combine with Princeton transfer Xaivian Lee (6-4, 180) to give the Gators two outstanding ball handlers and passers. Combine those two with Ohio U transfer AJ Brown (6-4, 200) and the Gators would project one of the best – if not the best – backcourt in the country. At Princeton, Lee averaged 16.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game. At Ohio, Brown averaged 13.2 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. Florida also returns Urban Klavzar (6-1, 195) and Isaiah Brown (6-5, 200) from the 2025 NCAA championship team, but UF signed 4-star guards CJ Ingram (6-6, 200) and Alex Lloyd (6-4, 175).   Alex Condon is working out at the NBA Combine while Rueben Chinyelu is at the G-League Combine. Both have retained the right to return to college. Most NBA mock drafts project Condon (measured 6-11, 224) as a second rounder. In the second round there are no guaranteed contracts so Condon would be wise to come back to Florida, gain another year of experience and add another 10 pounds of muscle. If he did that, Condon would almost certainly be a first rounder and quite possibly a lottery pick. Chinyelu (6-10, 260) is almost a lock to be back. G-League salaries are low and he would probably be taking a pay cut if he left UF. He needs another year to work on his offensive skills.   If Condon and Chinyelu return to a front court that also returns Tommy Haugh (6-9, 215) and Micah Handlogten (7-1, 255) from the regular rotation and redshirt freshman Viktor Mikic (6-11, 250), who the UF staff thinks has outstanding potential, the Gators will have the best returning frontcourt in the nation. Add in preferred walk-on Olivier Rioux (7-9, 305), who is expected to go on scholarship but needs another year to develop, and the Gators will likely have the tallest team in the country.   In the too early top 25 rankings, Florida ranges anywhere from a No. 2 projection for next season at The Athletic to a No. 19 at ESPN. If Golden can convince Fland that this is the place and both Condon and Chinyelu announce they’re returning for another season of college basketball, the Gators will almost certainly rank in everybody’s preseason top 10.

Friday night starter Liam Peterson is 8-2 with 85 strikeouts (UAA Photo) It wasn’t all that long ago that the only thing missing from Florida baseball was to call in a priest to administer last rites. A 1-11 start in the Southeastern Conference will do that for you.   Well, reports of Florida’s impending demise might have been a teensy bit premature because there isn’t a team in the SEC that wants to play the Gators right now. The Gators are 35-18 overall, winners of five consecutive SEC series including takedowns of then No. 5 Arkansas and then No. 1 Texas. Heading into the final weekend of the regular season with a home showdown with No. 18 Alabama (39-13, 15-12 SEC), the Gators are not only very much alive, but perhaps a sweep away from hosting an NCAA regional.   Who would have ever thought the Gators would even make the NCAA Tournament much less hosting back when the Gators were contending for a last place finish in the toughest conference in the country? Starting with a win over now 2nd-ranked Florida State that clinched the season series with the Seminoles, the Gators are 15-4 overall, 12-3 in the SEC.   So where will the Gators end up when the NCAA announces its field of 64 teams at the conclusion of next week’s conference tournaments? D1Baseball’s latest projection is the Gators will go to Raleigh as the No. 2 seed in a regional hosted by North Carolina State. Others in the Raleigh regional are No. 3 UConn and No. 4 High Point. Baseball America projects the Gators as a No. 2 seed in the Chapel Hill regional hosted by North Carolina. Also in the regional are No. 3 seed Cincinnati and No. 4 SIU-Edwardsville.   Of course, those projections for Florida could take a dramatic turn after the weekend if the Gators are able to win their series with Alabama. D1Baseball has Alabama as a regional host while Baseball America projects Alabama as a No. 2. Should the Gators get a sweep of Alabama they could easily project as a No. 1 and host. There is also the SEC Tournament. A couple of wins there could also enhance the Gators’ chances to host.   ***   What has keyed the turnaround is the strike zone, as in Florida’s pitchers have been throwing strikes. In last weekend’s series win over Texas, starting pitchers Pierce Coppola, Liam Peterson and freshman Aidan King were a combined 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA, 15 strikeouts and only five walks. Coppola (3-0), who is coming back from an injury suffered March 1 against Miami, threw two quality innings for the Friday night win. The 6-8 lefty has a nasty slider to go with a fast ball that tops out at 94. If the Gators can get him back to where he can go four or five innings in the post season it could help carry Florida a long way.   Peterson (8-2) had a shutout going until the Saturday rain delay. He went four innings, allowing only two hits while striking out three. During Florida’s surge, Peterson has struck out 31 while walking 14 in 24-1/3 innings. Peterson has 85 strikeouts in 59 innings.   King (5-2, 2.90 ERA) clinched the series with seven dominant innings on Sunday. He gave up two hits, walked three and struck out nine. In 59 innings this season, King has walked only 19 batters while striking out 64.   In the Friday night win, the Gators got four 2-hit innings out of the bullpen from Billy Barlow. If he can take on the role of long relief and spot starter, the Gators will be in good shape for tournament play.   The closer is Jake Clemente (2-1, 6 saves), who can make any game an adventure if his mid-to-high 90s fast ball takes on a mind of its own, but he got the Gators through the final two innings to preserve King’s win.   Although the Gators don’t have one single hitter who scares the bejabbers out of every pitcher in the country, they have taken on a hitting by committee approach that is working quite well. During the 19 games of the surge, the Gators have outscored opponents 152-77, led by catcher Luke Heyman (.301, 13 HR, 41 RBI). During the surge, Heyman has hit seven home runs and driven in 24.   Just as Coppola’s injury hurt the pitching staff prior to the surge, injuries have plagued the offense, too. Cade Kurland, who hit 31 home runs in his first two seasons, was hitting .316 with three homers and 15 RBI before suffering a dislocated shoulder while making a diving stop defensively against Florida State in game 14, has not only hurt the offense but it’s forced O’Sullivan to shuffle things defensively until Justin Nadeau settled in as the regular second baseman. Colby Shelton was hitting .377 with seven homers and 35 RBI when he was injured in the second game of the Arkansas series. Getting him back would allow O’Sullivan to move Bobby Boser (.319, 14 HR, 51 RBI) back to third base, freshman Brendan Lawson (.316, 9 HR, 54 RBI) back to first base and Brody Donay (.303, 14 HR, 31 RBI) back to DH.   Ty Evans, who has missed chunks of the season with injuries, has made his presence felt since coming back nine games ago. He’s 9-31 since returning with three doubles, three homers and nine RBI. Hayden Yost (.283, 3 HR, 33 RBI) took over center field with the injury to Kyle Jones. In his last seven games he is 10-22 with two homers and 11 RBI.   ***   The hot streak has the Gators climbing in all the polls. Three games away from the end of the regular season and Florida is No. 13 in the Baseball America top 25 poll, No. 21 in the USA Today Coaches poll, No. 23 in the D1Baseball poll and No. 25 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll.   Baseball America top 25: 1. LSU 40-12; 2. Auburn 36-15; 3. North Carolina 37-11; 4. Georgia 40-13; 5. Florida State 36-11; 6. Texas 40-10; 7. Arkansas 41-11; 8. Coastal Carolina 41-11; 9. Oregon 38-13; 10. Vanderbilt 36-16; 11. Oregon State 37-12-1; 12. UC-Irvine 38-11; 13. FLORIDA 35-18; 14. Troy 37-16; 15. Dallas Baptist 36-13; 16. Alabama 39-13; 17. Clemson 38-15; 18. Tennessee 39-13; 19. West Virginia 40-10; 20. UCLA 37-14; 21. North Carolina State 32-16; 22. Ole Miss 34-17; 23. Louisville 34-17; 24. Southern Miss 38-13; 25. UT-San Antonio 39-11   USA Today Coaches top 25: 1. LSU 40-12; 2. Florida State 36-11; 3. Texas 40-10; 4. North Carolina 37-11; 5. Arkansas 41-11; 6. Auburn 36-15; 7. Oregon 38-13; 8. Georgia 40-13; 9. Vanderbilt 36-16; 10. Oregon State 37-12-1; 11. Coastal Carolina 41-11; 12. UC-Irvine 38-11; 13. Clemson 38-15; 14. Tennessee 39-13; 15. UCLA 37-14; 16. Alabama 39-13; 17. West Virginia 40-10; 18. North Carolina State 32-16; 19. Southern Miss 38-13; 20. Troy 37-16; 21. FLORIDA 35-18; 22. Dallas Baptist 36-13; 23. Louisville 34-17; 24. Duke 35-16; 25. Ole Miss 34-17   D1Baseball top 25: 1. LSU 40-12; 2. Florida State 36-11; 3. Texas 40-10; 4. North Carolina 37-11; 5. Oregon 38-13; 6. Auburn 36-15; 7. Oregon State 37-12-1; 8. Arkansas 41-11; 9. Vanderbilt 36-16; 10. Georgia 40-13; 11. Coastal Carolina 41-11; 12. UC-Irvine 38-11; 13. North Carolina State 32-16; 14. UCLA 37-14; 15. Clemson 38-15; 16. West Virginia 40-10; 17. Tennessee 39-13; 18. Alabama 39-13; 19. Southern Miss 38-13; 20. Duke 35-16; 21. Louisville 34-17; 22. Troy 37-16; 23. FLORIDA 35-18; 24. Dallas Baptist 36-13; 25. Northeastern 41-9   NCBWA top 25: 1. LSU 40-12; 2. Texas 40-10; 3. Florida State 36-11; 4. North Carolina 37-11; 5. Arkansas 41-11; 6. Georgia 40-13; 7. Oregon 38-13; 8. Auburn 36-15; 9. Clemson 38-15; 10. Oregon State 37-12-1; 11. Vanderbilt 36-16; 12. Tennessee 39-13; 13. UC-Irvine 38-11; 14. West Virginia 40-10; 15. Coastal Carolina 41-11; 16. Oklahoma 32-17; 17. Troy 37-16; 18. UCLA 37-14; 19. Southern Miss 38-13; 20. Alabama 39-13; 21. North Carolina State 32-16; 22. Louisville 34-17; 23. Dallas Baptist 36-13; 24. Arizona 34-17; FLORIDA 35-18   Further proof of Florida’s meteoric rise is Jacob Rudner’s SEC power rankings at Baseball America: 1. LSU 40-12; 2. Georgia 40-13; 3. Auburn 36-15; 4. Vanderbilt 36-16; 5. Arkansas 41-11; 6. Texas 40-10; 7. FLORIDA 35-18; 8. Alabama 39-13; 9. Tennessee 39-13; 10. Ole Miss 34-17; 11. Oklahoma 32-17; 12. Mississippi State 31-20; 13. Kentucky 28-20; 14. Texas A&M 27-23; 15. South Carolina 26-26; 16. Missouri 16-35

Names like Harvin, Ismail, and Walker have been lost to names such as Pickett, Austin, and Skattebo.

Top 8 seeds host regionals and the next round of super regionals. Winner advances on to Oklahoma City.

Aidan King gave up 2 hits in 7 shutout innings against No. 1 Texas (UAA Photo by Spencer Gnauck) Call them Team Lazarus because the Florida Gators have indeed risen from the dead. Sunday afternoon, behind seven brilliant shutout innings from freshman Aidan King, the Gators won their fifth consecutive Southeastern Conference series by taking game three from No. 1 Texas, 4-1, at Disch-Falk Field.   From a 1-11 start in SEC play, the Gators are now 13-14 (35-18 overall) with only a 3-game home series with Alabama (39-13, 15-12 SEC) remaining in the regular season. The Gators have won 15 of their last 19 games, along the way with SEC series wins over Missouri, Mississippi State, No. 5 Arkansas, South Carolina and now, No. 1 Texas.   Florida has gone from a team certain to miss the NCAA Tournament altogether to a team that could very well be a top 16 seed and regional host. After taking two of three from the Longhorns, the Gators moved up to No. 14 nationally in RPI. If they are able to win next weekend’s series with Alabama the Gators will certainly be in contention to host a regional. Should the Gators get a sweep it might take all the guesswork out of hosting for the selection committee.   Sunday was all about King, who improved to 5-2 while lowering his ERA to 2.90. King gave up two walks in the first inning a walk in the third and a single to center field and an infield single in the fourth. He struck out nine, induced six ground outs and six fly ball outs, only four of which reached the outfield.   “I don't remember a freshman pitching on the road like this and pitching as well as he {King] did, and if it has happened, it hasn't happened in a long time,” Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “We talked about it before the game, what Aidan is able to bring to the table is his ability to throw the fastball on both sides of the plate. That was just a totally different look for them and their hitters to see today. After a little bit of a shaky start, he walked the first two guys, he just collected himself and was nothing short of outstanding today."   It looked like a short outing for King in the first inning when he walked the first two batters, but he settled down to work his way out of trouble without allowing a run. King induced a ground out that moved runners into scoring position, but got a called strike three and a lazy fly ball to left field to snuff out the Longhorns.     The only other trouble inning for King was the fourth, Adrian Rodriguez broke up the no-hitter with a one-out single to center field. After a fly out to center field, Will Gasparino legged out an infield hit, but King got a first pitch pop up to shortstop by Jonah Williams to work his way out of the inning.   King was dominating during his final three innings of work, setting down the Longhorns 1-2-3 in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. During his seven innings on the mound, King threw an efficient 110 pitches, 70 for strikes.     The Gators scored single runs in the second, third, sixth and seventh innings. They could have and should have scored more but for baserunning mistakes. Bobby Boser was hit by a pitch to lead off the game and two outs later moved to third on a Ty Evans single to right field. On an attempted double steal, Boser was thrown out at the plate on the relay from shortstop. In the seventh, Ashton Wilson was caught stealing. One out later Boser doubled off the wall, which would have scored Wilson easily.   The Gators took a 1-0 lead in the second on walks to Blake Cyr and Brody Donay, a sacrifice bunt by Hayden Yost and an infield ground out by Wilson. In the third, Boser was hit by a pitch and Luke Heyman singled him to third. With two out, Blake Cyr singled up the middle to drive home Boser for a 2-0 lead.   The Gators increased the lead to 3-0 in the sixth when Donay hit an opposite field homer to right on an 0-2 count. It was Donay’s 14th homer of the season, tying him with Boser for the team lead.   The Gators added a run in the seventh, an inning in which they could have and should have put up big numbers. Wilson led off with an infield single but was called out trying to steal second. Replay seemed to indicate he was safe, but the booth ruled it inconclusive, therefore out. One out later, Boser doubled to center field and Brendan Lawson reached on an error with Boser making it all the way to third. Heyman delivered a single up the middle to drive home Boser, after which Evans was hit by a pitch to load the bases. The threat ended without further damage, however, when Cyr’s hot grounder was grabbed up by pitcher Max Grubbs.   “They had a shift on him [Heyman] and he hit a ball back up the middle,” O’Sullivan said. “And that was a huge at bat and, you know, tacked on another run with two outs."   With a 4-0 lead, it should have been a comfortable finish for the Gators. Emphasis on should have. Jake Clemente came in for King and made the final two innings an adventure.   In the eighth, Clemente gave up a one-out single to Ethan Mendoza. After striking out Rylan Galvan for the second out, he proceeded to walk Jalin Flores, Kimble Schuessner and Adrian Rodriguez, plating Mendoza. Clemente worked his way out of a big inning by striking out Casey Borba on three pitches for the third out.   Then came the ninth. After a leadoff strikeout, Clemente allowed a single by Jonah Williams and a walk to Tommy Farmer IV. Mendoza went down swinging on three straight pitches and then Galvan bounced to third where Lawson stepped on the base to end the game.   GAME NOTES: This was Florida’s first series win over a No. 1 ranked team since the Gators swept Texas A&M in 2016 … Donay’s home run was the only homer the Gators hit all weekend.   SEC BASEBALL FLORIDA (35-18, 13-14 SEC) 4, No. 1 Texas (40-9, 20-6 SEC) 1 #7 Arkansas (41-11, 18-9 SEC) 7, #3 LSU (40-12, 17-10 SEC ) 4 #11 Vanderbilt (36-16, 16-11 SEC) 7, #15 Tennessee (39-13, 15-12 SEC) 5 #23 Alabama (39-13, 15-12 SEC) 9-5, No. 6 Georgia (40-13, 16-11 SEC) 3-4 Kentucky (28-20, 13-14) 7, No. 17 Oklahoma (32-17, 13-14) 2 Missouri (16-35, 3-24 SEC) 10, Texas A&M (27-23, 10-17 SEC) 1

Billy Barlow pitched four outstanding innings in relief against Texas (UAA photo by Spencer Gnauff) The surge continues!   A 6-run first inning followed by nine quality innings from a pitch by committee approach earned Florida’s red hot Gators (34-17, 12-13 SEC) an 8-2 win over No. 1 Texas (38-10, 19-6 SEC) Friday night in Austin. It was Florida’s 11th SEC win in the last 13 games as the Gators have gone from dead in the water to a team that could actually host an NCAA regional if the hot streak continues in the final five SEC games.   The Gators and Longhorns will face off in game two of their 3-game series Saturday at 2 p.m. Florida will be sending Liam Peterson (8-2, 4.09 ERA; 82 strikeouts in 55 innings) to the mound. With a win the Gators will secure their fifth consecutive SEC series win.   Friday night was all about that fast start.  It was 4-0 before the Disch-Falk Field crowd of 7,149 could catch their collective breath. Bobby Boser walked, stole second and moved to third on a Luke Heyman single. Ty Evans doubled in Boser to make it a 1-0 game. Heyman scored on a wild pitch with Evans moving to third. Walks to Blake Cyr and Brody Donay loaded the bases for Hayden Yost, who drove in two runs with a single through the right side of the infield.   After a walk to Ashton Wilson, Justin Nadeau singled to left driving home Cyr and Donay for a 6-0 lead from which Texas never recovered.   Given six runs to play with Pierce Coppola went to work. Coppola hit the first batter he faced and gave up two hits, but he struck out two and left the bases loaded when he got Will Gasparino to foul out to third to end the inning. Coppola hit a batter in the second inning, but that was the only damage. In two innings, Coppola gave up two hits and struck out three on a short pitch count. Coppola, whose ERA dipped to 1.15, threw 43 pitches, 26 for strikes as he improved to 3-0 on the season.     That began a succession of four pitchers out of the Florida bullpen. In seven innings they gave up five hits, one earned run and three walks while striking out 13 Longhorns.   “It was great to get Pierce back out there again and I thought Billy Barlow was outstanding in his four innings,” Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “Overall, I think we struck out 16 and walked three. When you do that, you give yourself a chance to win every night. The one stat that sticks out is we threw 72 percent first-pitch strikes tonight. They kept pounding the zone.”   Barlow went innings three through six, allowing two hits and one run while walking one and striking out six in one of his best outings of the season.   Barlow was followed by freshman Jackson Barberi in the seventh. A leadoff single and a one-out walk brought on Luke McNeillie, who got out of the inning with a strikeout and a ground out.   McNeillie, who gave up a hit, walked one and struck out three in 1-2/3 innings gave up an unearned run in the eighth, turning the game over to Christian Rodriguez who gave up a hit in the ninth, but struck out the side.   Beside the big first inning, the Gators added single runs in the third and fourth. In the third, Yost doubled to right field to lead off the inning, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Wilson and scored on a Nadeau double down the right field line.   In the fourth, Evans hit a one-out double down the left field line and moved to third on a ground out. After Donay was hit by a pitch, Yost singled up the middle to score Evans with Florida’s final run.   Since being swept by Vanderbilt, the Gators have turned the season around. It started with a non-conference win over No. 9 Florida State in a midweek game that was followed by a sweep of Missouri. The Gators are 14-3, 11-2 in Southeastern Conference play.   The Gators entered Friday night with the No. 18 RPI nationally. D1Baseball, which predicts 14 SEC teams making the NCAA field of 64 teams, has the Gators going to Conway, South Carolina, a regional hosted by 11th-seed Coastal Carolina. Baseball America, which ranked the Gators No. 22 in their most recent poll, has the Gators going to Chapel Hill as the No. 2 seed in the regional hosted by No. 8 seed North Carolina. Baseball America predicts 13 SEC teams will make the NCAA field.   GAME NOTES: In his last six games, Hayden Yost is 10-20 with 12 RBI. Yost has back-to-back 3-hit games and has three RBI in three of Florida’s last four games … Since returning from an extended absence due to injury, Ty Evans is 8-24 with three doubles, three homers and 10 RBI … In the 15-2/3 innings Coppola has thrown this season, he has allowed only six hits while striking out 28 … The four innings turned in by Billy Barlow were his longest stint on the mound since March 5 against Florida Atlantic. The six strikeouts were a season high … Florida’s six first inning runs were the most Texas has allowed in any inning this season. The six runs were the most the Gators have scored in the first inning since Missouri on April 11.     SEC SCORES FLORIDA (33-17, 12-13 SEC) 8, No. 1 Texas (38-10, 19-6 SEC) 2 No. 7 Arkansas 3, No. 3 LSU 2 through 6 No. 6 Georgia (40-11, 16-9 SEC) 19, No. 23 Alabama (37-13, 13-12 SEC) 3 Game two: Alabama 6, Georgia 2, suspended in 5th inning due to rain No. 8 Auburn (36-15, 16-11 SEC) 11-11, South Carolina (26-26, 5-22 SEC) 3-10 No. 15 Tennessee (39-11, 15-10 SEC) 3, No. 11 Vanderbilt (34-16, 14-11 SEC) 2 Kentucky (26-20, 11-14 SEC) 4, No. 17 Oklahoma (32-15, 13-12 SEC) 3 No. 24 Ole Miss (34-16, 14-12 SEC) 10-1, Mississippi State (30-20, 11-15 SEC) 4-4 Missouri (14-35, 1-24 SEC) 9, Texas A&M (27-21, 10-15 SEC) 6

A great start by Pierce Coppola could give the Gators weekend momentum for the Texas series (UAA photo) He will be on a pitch count that severely limits his innings but Pierce Coppola getting the Friday night start when surging Florida (33-17, 11-13 SEC) travels to Austin to take on No. 1 Texas (38-9, 19-5 SEC) could hold the key to a successful weekend for the Gators. Getting off to a fast start in Austin is critical and if Coppola is throwing strikes the Longhorns will discover he’s very tough to hit.   Texas is already assured of a top eight seed which will mean a regional host and a super regional if the Longhorns win the regional. Florida, meanwhile, is fighting back from near disaster. With another win or two, the Gators will almost certainly lock up an NCAA bid. If they could win the series in Austin and follow that up with a win in the regular season ending series with Alabama, perhaps the Gators could be hosting. It’s a longshot, but stranger things have happened.   For Florida, it all starts Friday night and that’s where Coppola comes in. After nearly three years of injury-forced inactivity, Coppola was Florida’s most dominant pitcher through his first two starts before another injury sidelined him. A week ago he made a comeback which earned him the Friday night start against Texas.   A 6-8 lefty with wicked stuff when healthy, Coppola returned to the mound last weekend for an inning against South Carolina, his first outing since leaving in the third inning against Miami back on March 1. Prior to the injury against Miami, Coppola posted a 2-0 record with a 1.32 ERA in 13-2/3 innings. He gave up only four hits, walked four and struck out 23. In his one inning against South Carolina, Coppola walked two but struck out two.   Coppola’s absence for two months forced head coach Kevin O’Sullivan to shuffle his pitching rotation in an attempt to find a third quality weekend starter. Liam Peterson (8-2, 4.09 ERA, 82 strikeouts in 55 innings) and freshman Aidan King (4-2, 3.19 ERA, 55 strikeouts in 52 innings) have done their part but O’Sullivan hasn’t come up with a consistent third starter.   Coppola throws a nasty slider and his fast ball gets plenty of movement. If he could shut down Texas for two or three innings Friday night it might be just what the Gators need to continue the momentum that has carried the Gators to four consecutive SEC series wins and a 10-2 record in SEC play. Florida has gone from a dismal 1-11 start to the possibility of a break-even finish.   During the 1-11 start in SEC play, the Gators had a 110-75 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a team ERA of 9.63. Making matters worse, the Gators were hitting just .244 in league play. Since sweeping Missouri, Florida pitchers have a 124-44 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a 4.14 ERA. Florida hitters have hit .313 during the surge while belting 21 home runs.   The Gators have been able to overcome a wrist injury that has sidelined shortstop Colby Shelton (.377, 7 HR, 35 RBI). Without Shelton, O’Sullivan has shifted around his infield, moving freshman Brendan Lawson (.333, 9 HR, 54 RBI) from first base to third and third baseman Bobby Boser (.325, 14 HR, 51 RBI) to shortstop. Catcher Luke Heyman (.302, 13 HR, 43 RBI) has caught fire at the plate. He hit three homers during the sweep of South Carolina. Against South Carolina Hayden Yost (.282, 3 HR, 30 RBI) went 5-10 with a homer and eight RBI. In four SEC games since returning from injury, Ty Evans is 6-16 with three homers and nine RBI.     The Gators come into the Texas series having taken down Arkansas two out of three and then sweeping South Carolina on the road. Last weekend Arkansas swept Texas. All this points to an opportunity weekend for the Gators, who are as hot if not hotter than any team in the SEC.   The recent surge has taken much of the guesswork out of Florida’s post season chances. When the Gators were 1-11 in SEC play making the NCAA Tournament seemed a longshot, but the hot streak has all but assured UF of making the field of 64. The big question now is can the Gators finish strong enough to stay in the hunt to host an NCAA regional in the final two weekends of league play before the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama.   Texas is obviously the big obstacle for the Gators, who will finish the regular season hosting Alabama. The Longhorns not only rank No. 1 in the latest D1Baseball poll, but they have the No. 1 RPI in the country as well. The Gators aren’t ranked in the D1 poll, but they are No. 22 at Baseball America and they’re No. 18 in RPI.

Heyman is hitting .322 and has 27 RBI against SEC pitching. His overall stats are .303/13/43.   Sitting Down On The Job? Nope. Just an unintended slipup by Hayden Yost, but not many by this hot hitting team (UAA Photo) By EDDIE GILLEY GatorBaitMedia.com   The Gators have won 10 of their last 12 SEC games. Pitching has been solid, but the real stars have been the hitters. The Gator bats have come alive this year. One of the biggest questions to be answered was “Who will replace Jac Caglianone?” The answer is no one! However, The Gator offense has been the catalyst for the second half surge that has the Gators not only talking about the post season, but now in the conversation to host a regional. Bobby Boser in the leadoff spot is batting .332 with 14 HR and 51 RBI. In conference play, he’s hitting .337 with only 2 HR and 17 RBI but has also scored 21 times. Brendan Lawson is hitting .333 for the season with 9 HR and a team-leading 54 RBI. 20 of those RBI have come in conference games. Using this past Friday’s lineup as a guide, Luke Heyman hit third. The Gator catcher has 10 home runs in conference play to lead the team. He also is hitting .322 and has 27 RBI against SEC pitching. His overall stats are .303/13/43. His hitting in conference games is the biggest reason the Gators have been able to crawl back in the national picture after a sluggish start for Heyman. Blake Cyr was the cleanup hitter Friday. His conference hitting stats are not as good as some others. His average dips to .207 from the overall .264. However almost half of his HRs and RBI are in conference games. Brody Donay has hit 13 HRs on the year, that ties him for second on the team with Heyman, trailing Boser by 1 for the team lead. He is hitting 50 points lower in conference play with only 4 HRs and 10 RBI. That compares to 13 and 43 overall. Clearly SEC pitching is better than the non-conference foes. Landon Stripling moved to first base after the injury to Colby Shelton forced Coach O’Sullivan to move Boser to SS and Lawon to 3B. That move means the Gator offense trades a .360 hitter in SEC play with a .182 hitter. Stripling went 2-4 in two games this weekend where he saw action. Ty Evans, Hayden Yost, Ashton Wilson and Justin Nadeau all are hitting under .265 in league play. But the quartet have 9 of the 35 Gator HRs against SEC foes. They also have 40 of the 146 RBI in those same games, proving that in today’s game, average isn’t everything. The Gators faced a gauntlet early in the SEC schedule and their offensive numbers reflected that and in wins and losses. The season is long in baseball. That’s the reason stats are kept as averages. There is still more work to be done. Hopefully, all of these numbers will continue to rise in the remaining weeks of the regular season and post-season. As the saying goes, “It’s hard to lose if you outscore the opponent in every inning!”

With a nation-leading strength of schedule and number two in RPI Florida will host both rounds.

Florida faces Ole Miss on Wednesday.