Gators Homestand Continues with Winthrop Series

Friday, March 1

Gainesville, FL

6:30 PM

Florida Gators

Winthrop

Tickets

Freshman Cory Acton has reached base in nine-straight plate appearances entering this weekend's series.

Gators Homestand Continues with Winthrop Series

Thursday, February 28, 2019 | Baseball

By: Daniel Apple

GAINESVILLE, Fla.--The Florida (6-4) baseball team hosts Winthrop (3-3) this weekend for three games at McKethan Stadium beginning Friday night.

The series opener is Friday at 6:30 p.m. All three games this weekend will stream live on SEC Network+ via the WatchESPN app.

PITCHING MATCHUPS

	Friday \| 6:30 p.m. (SEC Network+)	Saturday \| 4:00 p.m. (SEC Network+)	Sunday \| 1 p.m. (SEC Network+)
UF	RHP Tyler Dyson (0-0, 3.68 ERA)	RHP Tommy Mace (2-0, 3.21 ERA)	RHP Jack Leftwich (2-0, 1.64 ERA)
WINTHROP	LHP Thad Harris (0-0, 3.00 ERA)	RHP Zach Peek (1-0, 1.50 ERA)	RHP Nate Pawelczyk (2-0, 1.50 ERA)

SERIES HISTORY

Overall: Florida leads 8-3 (all meetings in Gainesville)

Florida has hosted Winthrop five times in previous years with an 8-3 mark against the Eagles. Under O'Sullivan, the Gators swept the Eagles in a pair of midweek contests in 2011 (W 22-5, W 10-0).

QUICK HITS

Home Sweet Home: The Gators are in the midst of a 14-game homestand. It's the longest homestand for UF in 16 years, since Florida had a 19-game stretch at home in 2005. UF went 15-4 in those 19 games.
Acton Surging: Freshman Cory Acton has found a groove in the past four games. After going 2-for-18 to start the year, he has a four-game hitting streak and is 6-for-12 with six walks in that span. He also has an active streak of reaching base nine times in a row entering Friday's game (three singles, six walks).
Breakout Weekend: Kendrick Calilao earned SEC Co-Freshman of the Week honors following a breakout performance over the weekend. He went 7-for-12 (.583) against Miami with five extra-base hits and six RBI. At one point, he record a RBI in four-straight at bats.
Super Sophs: Sophomores Tommy Mace and Jack Leftwich have been stellar through two weeks. Mace has gone 7.0 innings in each of his first two starts of the season. Mace is the first Gators' pitcher to do so since 2006 when Bryan Augenstein pitched 8.0 innings against Cincinnati and 7.0 against Miami. Leftwich meanwhile has a 1.64 earned run average through 11.0 innings with 12 strikeouts and just two walks. He limited Miami to just one run -- a solo homer -- in five innings on Saturday.
Early Impact: Early enrollee Nolan Crisp is making a name for himself out of the Gators' bullpen. Taking over for school record holder Michael Byrne as the closer, Crisp already has five saves in five opportunities and has yet to allow a run through six innings of work. Fellow early enrollee Jud Fabian has started every game in center field and hit Florida's first home run of the season last Tuesday at USF. He also had a game-winning RBI double in the Gators' extra-inning win at Jacksonville. He enters Friday on a four-game hitting streak (5-for-15). Overall, the Gators have had 15 players make their debut over the first eight games, including 11 true freshmen.
Coaching Staff Consistency: Florida's full-time coaching staff of head coach Kevin O'Sullivan and assistants Craig Bell and Brad Weitzel enter their 12th season together at Florida. They are the longest tenured trio in the SEC.
COMPLETE GAME NOTES

PARKING INFORMATION

On Saturday, Florida basketball hosts Georgia at 8:30 p.m. The following options are available for fans attending baseball at McKethan Stadium.

First-come, first-serve in O'Connell Center Garage
A FREE shuttle service is provided from Garage IX at the Intersection of Gale Lemerand Drive and Archer Road. The shuttle begins 2 hours prior to the start of the earliest scheduled event, and will end approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the last event. (map)
James G. Pressly Stadium
Law School
Frat Row, along Fraternity Drive
Please DO NOT park along any roads or in the grass and only use parking lots or garages.

PROMOTIONS

Friday, March 1 vs. Winthrop

Food Truck Friday – Local food trucks Cilantro Tacos and Mayflower Cellars will be set up along the left field line by maintenance area.
Pepsi Family Night – Families can purchase 4 GA tickets, 4 hotdogs and 4 sodas for only $24.
Gator Booster Night – All Gator Booster members with valid ID receive 2-for-1 reserved bleacher.

Saturday, March 2 vs. Winthrop

Seniors Nights—Senior citizens, ages 55 and older, can purchase 2-for-1 reserved bleacher seating
Military/First Responders Nights—All military members and first responders, active and retired, can purchase 2-for-1 reserved bleacher seating

Sunday, March 3 vs. Winthrop

Family Sundays – GA tickets, small popcorn and 10oz. sodas are only $1 each.
Community National Anthem – Prior to the game, kids 12 and under, can line the field for the National Anthem
Kids Korner – Fun and games set up on the concourse for kids 12 and under!
Allison Ables Real Estate Circle the Bases – Kids, 12-and-under can circle the bases with Albert following non-conference Sunday games.
Autograph Alley – Immediately following conference Sunday games, Gator players will be available to sign autographs in Autograph Alley down the 3rd base line.