GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Gators face Auburn in an elimination game this afternoon at the SEC Tournament. (Link to watch WatchESPN).
The teams got here in similar fashion.
Florida owned a three-run lead entering the seventh inning on Wednesday night against Arkansas, but the Razorbacks rallied with a run in the seventh and three runs in the ninth for a 7-6 win. Meanwhile, Auburn scored five runs in the first inning against No. 1-ranked LSU but watched as the Tigers came back for a 9-8 victory.
Holding a lead will be premium this afternoon as the loser goes home.
The teams got to know each other well last weekend at McKethan Stadium in the final series of the regular season. After dropping the first game, the Gators won the final two games of the series to earn the No. 4 seed in this week's conference tournament.
Auburn is the No. 9 seed and had to beat Kentucky in the first round Monday to advance.
Let's take a look at the Florida-Auburn matchup scheduled to start at approximately 2 p.m. ET after the Missouri-Alabama game. The games at Hoover (Ala.) Metropolitan Stadium are live on the SEC Network:
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PLAYER TO WATCH: Florida freshman JJ Schwarz had a pair of doubles and three RBIs in Wednesday's loss. A second-team All-SEC selection, Schwarz finished 3-for-4 and scored a run.
One of three Gators to start every game this season – shortstop Richie Martin and second baseman Dalton Guthrie are the others – Schwarz is hitting .296 with a team-leading 14 home runs and 57 RBIs.
In last weekend's three-game series against the Tigers, Schwarz went 1-for-11. The Gators hope his bat stays awake today after his three hits against the Razorbacks.
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PITCHING MATCHUP: Florida sophomore right-hander Logan Shore (6-6, 2.83 ERA) faces Auburn junior right-hander Dalton Rentz (3-3, 2.10 ERA).
Shore opened the season as Florida's ace and has been very good at times and inconsistent at others. He'll need to be sharp today to help out a bullpen that used four pitchers on Wednesday after starter Dane Dunning lasted just 1 1/3 innings.
Shore limited Auburn to two hits and two runs over seven innings in a 4-1 loss to the Tigers seven days ago.
As for Rentz, he has split time between the rotation and the bullpen, making seven starts and 15 relief appearances. In the Gators' 3-1 win over Auburn on Saturday, Rentz pitched three innings in relief and suffered the loss (3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO).
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COACH CHATTER
Florida's Kevin O'Sullivan: “It was a tough loss, but we've got no other choice but to bounce back. It's a quick turnaround but it is what it is. We've just got to be ready to play.”
Auburn's Sunny Golloway: “The things that are important at this point of the season: Make sure your starting pitchers are doing a good job, feel good about them going into next weekend. Sure, you want to win the SEC Tournament, you want to stay in the winners' bracket, but what's truly important is to train a program and get a program to Omaha, is to make sure you're in tournaments like this that your starting pitching does a good job, the offense is clicking, the defense is playing well.”
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NOTABLES: Gators senior 3B Josh Tobias' 12-game hitting streak was snapped Wednesday. Tobias' homer off Auburn reliever Izaac Yarbrough was the game-winning hit on Saturday … Auburn CF Anfernee Grier's diving catch against LSU on Wednesday earned top spot on SportsCenter's Top 10 plays … Auburn's eight runs against LSU were its most in the SEC Tournament since 1998 when the Tigers claimed their last title … In the last meeting between the schools in the SEC Tournament, Florida won 6-1 in 2012.
