Miami and Florida will meet Saturday night in the winner's bracket of the Gainesville Regional, with the winner moving one victory away from a Super Regional berth.
The Gators enter as the No. 8 national seed and the host team, but Friday's opener against Rider was not easy. Florida beat Rider 8-7 on a walk-off home run from Brendan Lawson after the Broncs scored six runs in the eighth inning and another in the ninth.
To get a better idea of Florida's baseball team, we reached out to our FanSided sister site Hail Florida Hail and spoke with site expert Benjamin Henderson to see what Miami fans need to keep an eye on tonight.
Miami takes on Florida in the NCAA Tournament
Canes Warning: Florida came into the NCAA Tournament as the No. 8 national seed and one of the best teams in the country. Do you think this team is built like a real Omaha contender, or did the Rider game expose some concerns?
Hail Florida Hail: Coincidentally the issues with the Rider game weren't the issues many had concerns with heading into the game. The big story was Florida "pitching off" with Russell Sandefer, but he did his job. The main concern I had beyond Sandefer was the fact that Rider was a high contact team and Florida's defense earlier this season looked like a U10 team in the Bronze bracket of a Dothan, AL tournament. Last year ECU played small ball and it's ultimately what ended their season. So ultimately Rider making things difficult for Florida were due to a couple of bullpen arms who had been steadily getting rocked. Looking ahead though, Florida still has Liam Peterson and Aidan King to start, who can both go seven innings if they are locked in.
Canes Warning: The Gators' bullpen had a rough finish against Rider. Is late-game pitching Florida's biggest question right now? Â
Hail Florida Hail: Expanding on the first point, Jackson Barberi was the guy who gave up the grand slam. He had been a very solid arm out of the bullpen and had started to be an innings eater, but then he got hurt. He came back and had a solid enough outing in the SEC Tournament against Georgia, so it was disappointing to see him get touched up. The bigger concern is that Joshua Whritenour has now been tagged in two straight outings. He had been lights out but he came in after Barberi gave up two home runs of his own. The Gators still have a couple of other arms who can eat up innings, including Luke McNeillie. So the hope for Florida is that King can go seven innings and McNeillie can hold the fort for the last two.
Canes Warning: Brendan Lawson has been Florida’s most dangerous hitter. What makes him such a tough matchup, and how careful does Miami have to be with him? Â
Hail Florida Hail: He has been way more patient at the plate this year and that has enabled him to really hammer the ball when a mistake does come his way. His overall batting average is lower than last year, but his walks are way up (20 more walks already than last year) and as a result his on base percentage is north of .500. He literally has more runs scored than hits this season. So it really is a case of picking your poison. If someone is on second and first base is open, pitch away and see if he chases but live with the walk.
Canes Warning: What would you classify as Florida's biggest weakness?
Hail Florida Hail: Like Miami, it's defense. I hammered Florida in the early part of the season and suggested they needed to watch the Tom Emanski defensive drills videos because they were just that bad. It wouldn't be the worst idea in the world to lay down a bunt or two towards first base and see what happens.
Canes Warning: Final prediction for Florida vs. Miami?
Hail Florida Hail: Florida is the most unpredictable team in the country and there is no prediction I could make that I would have any real faith in. On paper, Aidan King could go seven innings and shut everything down to a 5-1 win. He's also been a bit vulnerable in his past couple of starts. Florida's bats could explode for ten runs or could fall silent and get no hit. I'm going to lean towards Florida winning this 6-3 just because all season long they have seemed to respond in the type of high pressure and chippy games that tonight's showdown is bound to be.
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