Florida baseball looking to get first SEC win as Gators host Georgia Bulldogs
Florida bounced back from a sweep last weekend with two midweek wins, but now it's time to get in the win column against an SEC program in the visiting Georgia Bulldogs.
Florida continues to deal with injuries. Left-handers Pierce Coppola and Frank Menendez remain out, the latter is done for the year with Tommy John surgery, and outfielder Kyle Jones is also out for the season. Cade Kurland is questionable to return to action this weekend after rejoining the lineup on Tuesday but leaving the game early, and the most notable injury is Liam Peterson being questionable with "general soreness."
As a result of Peterson's status, freshman Aidan King is the Friday night starter, Jake Clemente will go on Sunday and Saturday is to be determined.
Here's what to expect this weekend as Florida takes on conference rival Georgia at Condron Family Ballpark.
Projected Starting Lineup: Florida Gators
| Pos. | Player Name | AVG | OBP | SLG | AB | R | H | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Luke Heyman | .246 | .384 | .351 | 57 | 12 | 14 | 2 | 10 |
| 1B/2B | Brendan Lawson | .351 | .480 | .584 | 77 | 22 | 27 | 5 | 26 |
| 2B/OF | Justin Nadeau | .375 | .531 | .521 | 48 | 14 | 18 | 1 | 10 |
| 3B | Bobby Boser | .291 | .410 | .605 | 86 | 29 | 25 | 7 | 25 |
| SS | Colby Shelton | .407 | .471 | .615 | 91 | 23 | 37 | 2 | 20 |
| LF | Blake Cyr | .373 | .469 | .612 | 67 | 20 | 25 | 4 | 15 |
| CF | Hayden Yost | .268 | .325 | .380 | 71 | 14 | 19 | 0 | 16 |
| RF | Ty Evans | .267 | .333 | .400 | 45 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 13 |
| DH/C/1B | Brody Donay | .373 | .500 | .800 | 75 | 24 | 28 | 8 | 20 |
| DH/1B | Landon Stripling | .275 | .406 | .431 | 51 | 14 | 14 | 2 | 12 |
Probable Starters: Game 1 - Friday (6:30 p.m. EDT)
| Team | Pitcher | Record | ERA |
| FLORIDA | RHP Aidan King | 3-1 | 0.81 |
| GEORGIA | LHP Charlie Goldstein | 0-0 | 7.36 |
NOTES: Aidan King gave up one run over six innings in his SEC debut last week against Tennessee. That's more than you can ask for from any freshman, and the Gators blew his start with a nine-run inning as soon as King came out of the game. King has already entered the conversation for a first-round draft pick when he's eligible in 2027, but there's a lot of baseball to be played until that time comes.
The No. 1 factor for King right now is staying healthy, but Florida is going to lean on him this season with all the injuries its pitching staff is dealing with. Secondarily, King could stand to develop his offspeed and breaking stuff a bit more. There's nothing bad in his arsenal, but the fastball is a plus-pitch that's going to play at the Major League level. Hopefully, King can earn his first SEC win this weekend.
Georgia left-hander Charlie Goldstein is no stranger to SEC ball. He's in his sixth year as a Bulldog, thanks to a COVID-season freebie and redshirt in 2022. However, Goldstein has only faced Florida once over the past five years as he made midweek starts early in his career and battled injury in 2024. His lone outing against the Gators came in April 2023, when he took the loss despite giving up just one run over five innings.
Goldstein's strikeout rate is at a career-high 30% coming into the weekend, but his walk rate is also inflated from 8.9% last year to 16.7% so far in 2025. A 7.36 ERA is also eye-popping, but opposing bats are only hitting .083 off him over 7 1/3 innings. Things didn't go well for him last week against Kentucky, though. Goldstein was pulled after five batters in the top of the first. Georgia's weak point is its pitching staff, and Florida will try to jump on Goldstein early.
Probable Starters: Game 2 - Saturday (Noon EDT)
| Team | Pitcher | Record | ERA |
| FLORIDA | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| GEORGIA | RHP Brian Curley | 1-0 | 3.29 |
NOTES: Before reports came out on Peterson, sources told Gators Wire that the Florida ace is "fine" and simply "getting an extra day of rest." At this point, the expectation is for Peterson to miss this weekend entirely, but there's a world where he takes the mound Saturday. If Friday night goes smoothly, there's no need to push it. Peterson's long-term health is far more important than winning one game in March. Look for Billy Barlow to take the mound, or a bullpen day from the Gators, if Peterson is out.
VCU transfer Brian Curley is getting his first start with Georgia on Saturday as the Bulldogs look for answers in the weekend rotation. He's made seven appearances out of the bullpen this year and has posted a 3.29 ERA over 13 2/3 innings while striking out 18 and walking seven. Another low batting average against (.068) means there's hope, but don't expect him to go long with just three career starts under his belt. He's a top relief arm in the country and a draft prospect.
Curley has serious heat, ramping it up to 100 mph this season, and features two legitimate out pitches in a power slider and gyro changeup. He doesn't give up many line drives (11.1%) and could be an elite closer on a team that doesn't need him to start.
Probable Starters: Game 3 - Sunday (1 p.m. EDT)
| Team | Pitcher | Record | ERA |
| FLORIDA | Jake Clemente | 1-0 | 4.24 |
| GEORGIA | TBA | TBA | TBA |
NOTES: Jake Clemente looked solid in his return to action last Sunday. He handled the Tennessee lineup through three frames and lost command in the fourth. Figuring out how to go deep in games is the next step for Clemente, and a Sunday start against Georgia feels like a good opportunity to push things. A quality start is the goal, but Sully will have a short leash if he has depth in his bullpen remaining after the first two games.
Georgia has removed Leighton Finley from the weekend rotation after posting a 7.71 ERA and walking 11 batters over 16 1/3 innings. Finley was supposed to anchor the rotation along with Kolten Smith, but neither has performed well this year, the latter coming out of the bullpen. It wouldn't be odd to see Smith get his second start of the year, but a combination of bullpen arms with sub-2.00 ERAs — Tyler McLoughlin, DJ Radtke and Jordan Stephens — also fit the bill.
Other Players to Watch
While Georgia's pitching staff has struggled, there are plenty of quality bats on the roster performing at or above expectations. The graduate student duo of second baseman Robbie Burnett (.414/.620/.986) and designated hitter Ryland Zaborowski (.444/.568/1.079) both have an OPS above 1.600 and are hammering the ball with 11 and 12 homers, respectively. Burnett has an elite eye with 22 walks and just 12 strikeouts, and Zaborowski has a similar ratio with 14 walks and 10 strikeouts.
Senior third baseman Slate Alford is another threat with 30 runs batted in and six homers. His OPS is just above 1.000, which is still elite. Senior catcher Henry Hunter has the same amount of homers and half as many RBIs with a slightly higher OPS. This won't be an easy lineup to navigate.
Series History
| OVERALL | 195-116-2 |
| AT HOME | 102-45-1 |
| AWAY | 88-65-1 |
| NEUTRAL | 5-6 |
Follow the Action
FRIDAY (6:30 p.m. EDT)
- Watch: SEC Network+
- Listen: ESPN 98.1FM/850AM WRUF
- Live Stream: fuboTV (try it free)
SATURDAY (Noon EDT)
- Watch: SEC Network
- Listen: ESPN 98.1FM/850AM WRUF
- Live Stream: fuboTV (try it free)
SUNDAY (1 p.m. EDT)
- Watch: SEC Network+
- Listen: ESPN 98.1FM/850AM WRUF
- Live Stream: fuboTV (try it free)
* Watch links go directly to game feed
Predictions
GAME 1: Florida, 12-2
GAME 2: Florida, 8-6
GAME 3: Florida, 9-5
Last week, we picked Florida to win the series against Tennessee. While the Gators got swept, there were opportunities to win each game. Now in desperate need of a series win to stay afloat in SEC play, we still like Florida to take the series, and it could be a sweep in favor of the Orange and Blue this time around. Aidan King gives Florida a huge upper hand on Friday, but Saturday and Sunday could both be toss ups.
Series prediction: King shoves on Friday, the bullpen pulls through on Saturday and Clemente delivers a quality start to complete the 3-0 sweep over Georgia.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida Gators baseball vs Georgia Bulldogs series preview
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