Florida vs. Vanderbilt: 2023 SEC Baseball series preview, prediction

One of two ranked-vs-ranked series’ in SEC baseball this upcoming weekend, Florida is set to host Vanderbilt in Gainesville for what will be a highly-anticipated three-game set between the top two teams in the SEC East.

Florida vs. Vanderbilt: 2023 SEC Baseball series preview, prediction

When:

• Friday, May 12 at 5:30 PM ET on SEC Network
• Saturday, May 13 at 6:30 PM ET on SEC Network+
• Sunday, May 14 at 1:00 PM ET on SEC Network+

Where: Condon Family Ballpark, Gainesville, FL

Led by head coach Kevin O’Sullivan, Florida enters the weekend ranked as the nation’s No. 7 team, currently sitting at 37-12 overall for the year, as well as 15-9 in SEC baseball play. The Gators are also coming off a 2-1 series loss last weekend at Texas A&M, a pair of results that snapped what was previously a six-game winning streak for Florida dating back to April 25.

Batting for a combined .303 AVG as a team this season, the Gators are led by one of the SEC’s top overall players in two-way standout Jac Caglianone, who has hit 27 HR with 69 RBI this season, as well as owning a 4.91 ERA across 47.2 IP on the mound. The Gators also have other .300+ hitters such as Wyatt Langford, Josh Rivera, Cade Kurland, Luke Heyman, and Tyler Shelnut, while catcher BT Riopelle is another noteworthy name to know, batting for a .259 AVG with nine HR and 42 RBI.

Alongside Caglianone, the Gators weekend rotation also features right-hander’s Brandon Sproat and Hurston Waldrep, a duo that has combined for 190 strikeouts so far this season. The Gators pitching staff also owns a combined 5.21 ERA this season, with Florida’s bullpen also containing names such as Brandon Neely, Ryan Slater, Cade Fisher, and Nick Ficarrotta, among others.

Led by head coach Tim Corbin, Vanderbilt comes to Gainesville ranked as the nation’s No. 5 team sitting at 35-13 overall, as well as 17-7 in SEC baseball play, which is tied with Arkansas for the highest win total in conference play of any SEC team. The Commodores are also coming off a 2-1 series’ loss last weekend at Alabama, which snapped what was previously a four-game winning streak, as well as a 12-8 road win at Louisville on Tuesday night.

The Commodores enter the weekend batting for a combined .280 AVG this season, led by RJ Schreck at a .349 AVG with 13 HR and 54 RBI. Both of Davis Diaz and Parker Noland are prominent power hitters for the Commodores, while Chris Maldonado and Enrique Bradfield Jr. both own a .300+ AVG as well, with Bradfield one of the SEC’s best at stolen bases sitting at 31-for-36 on the year.

As for Vanderbilt’s pitching, the Commodores own a combined 4.03 ERA as a team, led by the rotation trio of Devin Futrell, Hunter Owen, and Carter Holton. The Commodores also have one of the SEC’s top relief pitchers in right-hander Nick Maldonado, and have others such as Ryan Ginther, Greyson Carter, Patrick Reilly, and Thomas Schultz among the additional names to know in the bullpen.

As mentioned previously, this is a series between two of the SEC’s top teams, one that could very easily be the best in the conference this weekend. On who wins, I’ll say that Florida’s home field advantage plays a role, and the Gators take two-of-three from the Commodores this weekend.

Series Prediction: Florida wins two games, Vanderbilt wins one