Florida Baseball: 2023 Gainesville Regional preview, prediction
By Matt Melton
Florida A&M Rattlers
The final team in the 2023 Gainesville Regional also happens to be the second of the four to come from the state of Florida in the No. 4 seed, Florida A&M Rattlers.
Led by head coach Jamey Shouppe, the Rattlers enter the postseason at 29-28 overall, a record that also included an 18-12 mark in SWAC play. Florida A&M is also coming off winning the SWAC Tournament, and is a team that has struggled at times on the road as well, owning an 8-12 record in away games this season.
The Rattlers come into this weekend batting for a combined .296 AVG as a team, and have a total of six players hitting .300+ in Ty Jackson, Ty Hanchey, Janmikell Bastardo, Jared Weber, Joseph Pierini, and Adam Haidermota. In addition to that group, Sebastian Greico is also a key name to know for the Rattlers, leading Florida A&M with 17 HR and 68 RBI this season.
Florida A&M’s pitching staff however has struggled overall this season owning a combined 6.95 ERA for the year, and are led by right-hander Hunter Viets, who owns a 3.12 ERA and 78:17 K:BB ratio across 86.2 IP. The Rattlers other names to know on the mound also include Caleb Granger, Zach Morea, Raylan Wagner, Grant Harrison, and more.
As mentioned previously, Florida A&M will begin play Friday night against top-seeded Florida, an opponent whom the Rattlers previously lost to earlier this season.