No. 23 Baseball To Host No. 8 Louisville In Opening Series
Wednesday, February 18, 2009 | Baseball
The University of Florida baseball team will raise the curtain on its 95th season at 6:30 p.m. on Friday when it hosts eighth-ranked Louisville in the opener of a three-game series at McKethan Stadium. The Gators and Cardinals will also meet at 1 p.m. on Saturday and at noon on Sunday. All three matchups will be carried live on GatorVision Online.
Kevin O'Sullivan will begin his second season at the helm this weekend as UF will be starting its 56-game regular season at McKethan Stadium for the ninth-consecutive season and the 21st time in 23 years. In his debut as a collegiate head coach, O'Sullivan guided UF to a 34-24 overall mark for the squad's first winning season since 2005. In addition, the Gators returned to the NCAA Tournament after a two-year absence, were the runner-up in the SEC's Eastern Division and finished third in the league overall after being picked 11th.
Louisville was tabbed as the unanimous favorite to win the 2009 Big East Conference title by the league's head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own teams. After winning the 2008 Big East Tournament title and earning a second-straight NCAA Regional appearance, the Cards return eight of nine position starters for 2009, as well as a deep and talented stable of pitchers. UL was 41-21 overall last year and placed fourth in the Big East regular-season standings with a 16-11 mark.
Senior right-hander Patrick Keating (Harrisburg, Ill.), who went 8-1 last year with a 4.16 earned run average and garnered first-team All-South Region and first-team All-SEC recognition, will start the opener for the Orange and Blue. He will be opposed by Louisville junior left-hander Justin Marks, the Big East's Preseason Pitcher of the Year, who was 9-2 with a 2.37 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 91 innings of work last year.
Gator freshman left-handers, Alex Panteliodis (Tampa, Fla.) and Nick Maronde (Lexington, Ky.), are slated to make their collegiate debuts on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Louisville will counter with sophomore lefty Dean Kiekhefer (1-1, 4.88 ERA in '08) and junior right-hander Matt Lea (5-0, 2.72 ERA in '08).
The last freshman pitcher to start on the first weekend of action was RHP Tommy Toledo (Tampa, Fla.) in the finale of Florida's series with Siena on Feb. 24, 2008. Toledo picked up the win after working five innings, with five strikeouts, two runs (both earned) and two walks.
The most recent freshman southpaw to start for UF was current junior Tony Davis (Cooper City, Fla.), who faced South Carolina in an elimination game of the 2007 SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala. Davis yielded one hit over 2.1 innings without allowing any runs but was not involved in the decision, a 5-3 win for the Gamecocks.
The last freshman lefty to start the Gators' opening series occurred on Feb. 12, 2006, when J.K. LaCoste drew the nod against Cincinnati. He tossed three scoreless frames in the hosts' 20-4 shellacking of the Bearcats, with two hits and two strikeouts.
The last UF rookie left-hander to make his starting debut against a ranked opponent was Stephen Porter at No. 2 Miami on Valentine's Day in 2004. Although he held the Hurricanes to two hits over 4.1 innings, he was charged with the defeat. Porter retired the first seven batters he faced and permitted three earned runs in a 4-1 setback in Coral Gables.
Despite the loss of starting shortstop Cole Figueroa, who signed professionally with the San Diego Padres, Florida returns six position starters, highlighted by 2008 All-SEC recipients third baseman Josh Adams (Jacksonville, Fla.) (.330, 51 RBI, 17 2B, 8 HR), left fielder Avery Barnes (High Springs, Fla.) (.360, 65 R, 26 SB) and center fielder Matt den Dekker (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) (.333, 48 RBI, 20 SB, 8 HR).
Brandon McArthur (Seffner, Fla.) (.337, 44 RBI, 12 2B) made 45 starts at first base, Jonathan Pigott (Ormond Beach, Fla.) (.220, 16 RBI) was in right field for 39 starts and the trio of Teddy Foster (Jacksonville, Fla.) (.264, 8 R), Buddy Munroe (Miami, Fla.) (.237, 17 RBI) and Hampton Tignor (Sarasota, Fla.) (.304, 9 RBI) shared the duties behind the plate last spring. Florida welcomes back a total of 17 letterwinners and boasts 14 newcomers, including 11 freshmen.
Junior RHP Jeff Barfield (Perry, Ga.) earned second-team All-Mid-Florida Conference recognition at Lake City C.C. last spring and projects to be the Gators' closer. Junior Mike Mooney (Loxahatchee, Fla.), a two-time Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Year at Palm Beach C.C., is in the mix for a starting berth in the infield. Other newcomers to watch include right-handers Anthony DeSclafani (Freehold, N.J.), Will Jolin (Guilford, Conn.), Greg Larson (Longwood, Fla.) and Justin Poovey (Granite Falls, N.C.), catcher Ben McMahan (Windermere, Fla.), outfielder Tyler Thompson (Tequesta, Fla.), first baseman Preston Tucker (Tampa, Fla.), infielder Jerico Weitzel (Ridgway, Pa.)
This weekend marks the first time that the Gators and Cardinals have met on the diamond since a mid-week set on March 7-8, 2000. In the initial meeting between the clubs, Louisville overcame a 4-2 deficit with six runs in the fourth and banged out 17 hits en route to an 11-7 triumph at McKethan Stadium. The following night, UF's Aaron Sobieraj belted a home run in his first collegiate at bat in the bottom of the 10th to lift the hosts to 13-12 decision. The Cardinals had forced extra innings with a six-run outburst in the ninth after the Gators had climbed out of a 6-0 hole with 12 straight runs.
Florida has compiled a 59-25 (.702) record against the 12 schools in the Big East and has never faced Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Rutgers or Seton Hall. The Gators hold a 45-22 (.672) advantage over their most frequent foe, USF, and have also posted winning marks against Cincinnati (3-0), Connecticut (2-0), Notre Dame (4-1), St. John's (1-0), Villanova (2-1) and West Virginia (1-0). As mentioned, UF and Louisville have split two encounters.
UF sports a 53-40-1 (.569) record in its previous 94 opening day contests, including a 33-20-1 (.620) record at home. The Gators have claimed 20 of their last 26 lid-lifters and 14 of their last 17 season debuts in Gainesville. UF has started the year on its own turf in 11 of the past 12 seasons, with the lone exception a 12-6 victory at Hawaii on Jan. 20, 2000.
Florida will christen the new campaign with an opening stretch in which 12 of its first 13 games are at home, the lone exception being a trip to face Stetson on March 3. The Gators' first weekend road excursion will be to face Arkansas in Fayetteville to kick off SEC play over March 13-15.
After a 17-17 showing at McKethan Stadium in 2007, the only time since the facility opened in 1988 that the Gators have failed to post a winning record at home, UF rebounded with a 27-6 (.818) mark last year. O'Sullivan's club sported a 9-1 series mark on its own turf, was 11-4 (.733) against SEC foes and 16-2 (.889) versus non-conference opponents.
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