Florida Gators

VIDEO
Gator Players Discuss the Upcoming Series
Logan Shore & JJ Schwarz
Buddy Reed & Dalton Guthrie
 
PARKING FOR FRIDAY'S BASEBALL GAME

• Flavet Field: Opens at 3 p.m.
• FREE Shuttle from the Commuter parking lot on Lemerand Drive - starts at 3:30 p.m. and has a stop near the RF gate at baseball (in front of the Lemerand Center). 
• Detailed parking related to the Orange & Blue Debut information can be found on FloridaGators.com
• The O'Connell Center parking garage is first-come, first-served, until full starting at 3:30 p.m. and fans must enter off of SW 2nd Avenue

 
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 1 Florida (28-3) entertains No. 10 Mississippi State (21-8-1) in a key SEC series at McKethan Stadium. The Gators are 7-2 (.778) in league play, tied with No. 7 South Carolina (25-5/7-2 SEC), while the Bulldogs lead the West with a 6-3 (.667) mark.
 
Junior right-hander Logan Shore (5-0, 2.59) will face Bulldog junior right-hander Dakota Hudson (4-1, 0.92) in Friday's opener at 5:30 p.m., sophomore right-hander Alex Faedo (6-0, 2.53) will oppose Mississippi State junior right-hander Austin Sexton (3-1, 2.98) in game two of the series on Saturday at 7 p.m. and Gator junior left-hander A.J. Puk (1-2, 3.38) will meet an MSU pitcher to be announced in Sunday's finale at 4 p.m. 
 
All three games of the weekend series can be heard through FloridaGators.com and on the Gator IMG Sports Network with the combination of Jeff Cardozo, Mick Hubert and Steve Russell. The series opener will be streamed on SEC Network+, Saturday will be shown on SEC Network+ and Sunday's finale will be carried on the SEC Network with Nick Belmonte and Mike Morgan. Live stats for each game will be available on FloridaGators.com and fans can also follow updates of each game on @GatorsBB, the official Twitter account of the Gator baseball team.
 
QUICK HITS ABOUT THE GATORS

• Florida returned to the No. 1 spot in all of the college baseball polls on Monday after a 4-0 stretch against top-8 opponents.
• UF downed No. 8 Florida State in Jacksonville, 3-2, to clinch the Sunshine State rivals' regular-season series, and then swept then-No. 1 Texas A&M at home by scores of 7-4, 7-2 and 10-7.
• The NCAA debuted its first Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) of the season this week and the Gators occupy the No. 1 position.
• The Orange & Blue is riding a school-record 28-game winning streak at McKethan Stadium. The series attendance of 15,360 fans last weekend was the second-highest total at the park for a weekend series behind 16,388 for LSU's visit in 2012.
• Head coach Kevin O'Sullivan improved to 8-1 (.889) in his career against the nation's top-ranked squad.
• Florida is 8-1 (.889) against ranked teams this season, 6-1 (.857) against top-10 clubs.
• After No. 10 Mississippi State visits, UF still has home series remaining against SEC East rivals Georgia and No. 3 Vanderbilt.
• Over the three games with the Aggies, the Gators batted .360 (36-for-100), with 36 hits, 24 runs, 20 doubles, seven walks and two homers.
• Junior 1B Peter Alonso (.361, 33 RBI) powered the offense by going 8-for-12 (.667) with five RBI, four runs and two homers, while freshman 3B Jonathan India (.330, 19 RBI) was 5-for-9 (.556) and sophomore OF Jeremy Vasquez (.302, 12 RBI) was 5-for-11 (.455).
• Vasquez enters the MSU series on a season-best five-game hitting streak in which he is 8-for-17 (.471), with four runs, three doubles and three RBI.
• Florida's starting pitchers are 18-2 this year, with a 2.67 ERA and 202 strikeouts in 158.2 innings, while its relievers are 10-1 with 12 saves and a 3.01 ERA and 134 strikeouts in 122.2 innings.
• Sophomore RHP Alex Faedo (6-0, 2.53) has 60 strikeouts to tie for the SEC lead, while junior RHP Shaun Anderson (3-0, 1.31) is tied for second in the league with six saves and has 29 strikeouts and zero walks in 20.2 innings.
• Junior RHP Logan Shore (5-0, 2.59) has registered 49 strikeouts and yielded eight walks in 41.2 innings and junior LHP Kirby Snead (3-0, 0.89) defeated No. 1 Texas A&M last Friday and Sunday. Shore has claimed his last 10 decisions since a 4-1 setback to Auburn on May 14, 2015.
• The Gators are 18-1 (.947) when out-hitting their opponent, 6-2 (.750) when out-hit and have an unblemished 4-0 mark when hits are tied.
• Florida has a 6-1 (.857) record in one-run games, is 4-1 (.800) in two-run affairs and is 2-1 (.667) in extra innings.

 
SERIES NUGGETS
Florida holds a 62-44 (.585) advantage in the all-time series, and the Gators have a 30-18 (.625) edge in Gainesville. Head coach Kevin O'Sullivan is 15-5 (.750) against Mississippi State, 7-2 (.778) in Gainesville, 6-3 (.667) in Starkville and 2-0 (1.000) at the SEC Tournament. This will be the first weekend set between the Gators and Bulldogs in Gainesville since the 2012 season, when UF claimed two of the three matchups (4-1, 0-2, 2-1).
 
WEEKEND PROMOTIONS
Friday, April 8, 5:30 p.m.

• Presenting Sponsor: Sunniland
• Pepsi Family Night
  Families can purchase four (4) General Admission tickets, four (4) hot dogs, and four (4) sodas for only $20.
• Gator Booster Night
  All Gator Booster members with valid ID can purchase 2-for-1 reserved bleacher seats.
• Mascot Race
  Don't miss the action, including a fun mascot race featuring Albert and various other partners.

Saturday, April 9, 7 p.m.

• Presenting Sponsor: Florida Farm Bureau
• Albert Baseball T-shirt Giveaway
  The first 500 fans in attendance will receive an Albert Baseball t-shirt.
• Rowdy Reptile Check-In
  Check in on your Rowdy Reptile app or at the marketing table to earn points toward great prizes.
• Student Pizza Giveaway
  The first 100 students in attendance will receive a free slice of pizza from Domino's on Dizney Plaza.
• Seniors Night
  Fans 55 and older with valid ID can purchase 2-for-1 reserved bleacher seats.
• Military/First Responder Appreciation Night
  Military members, veterans, and first responders with valid ID can purchase 2-for-1 reserved bleacher seats.
• Gator Baseball Hosts
  Allison and Lillian will be back at McKethan Stadium to interact with fans and host promotions throughout the night

 
Sunday, April 10, 4 p.m.

• Presenting Sponsor: Sunniland and The Alligator
• Kids Club Takes Over the Mac
  Kids Club members will have the opportunity to participate in various game day tasks at the Mac.
• Family Sunday's
  All general admission tickets are $1, and get popcorn and 12 oz. sodas for $1 each as well.
• Community National Anthem
  All kids 12 and under are invited to join the team on the field for the National Anthem.
• Kids Korner
  All kids are welcome to enjoy fun games and activities on the concourse throughout the game.
• The 10th Inning
  Immediately following the game, Gator players will sign autographs in Autograph Alley.

 
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