If earning the team's first Southeastern Conference road victory against Vanderbilt was learning to walk, then a series win in Auburn this weekend will be learning to run for UF.
After a pair of midweek home wins against Bethune-Cookman and Central Florida, the Gators (21-11, 7-5 SEC) will take its 1-5 conference road record into Plainsman Park to take on the Tigers (22-10, 6-6 SEC) in a three-game set.
"Any SEC weekend is big," senior Avery Barnes said. "And we have a little bit of making up to do after last weekend."
The Gators are 3-7 away from Gainesville this season, including a 3-0 loss to North Florida in Jacksonville, but Auburn may be just the place to get on track.
The Tigers are 16-6 at home, including two losses to Elon, and only two of those 16 wins have come against SEC opponents.
"I don't want it to be any more important this weekend then the next," UF coach Kevin O'Sullivan said in an SEC teleconference on Thursday. "They're all important. At some point this season, we have to learn to play on the road."
The biggest challenge for UF will be holding Auburn's high-powered offense in check. Five hitters on the Tigers' roster have eight or more home runs, and no starter has less than three bombs on the season.
By comparison, freshman Preston Tucker leads the Gators with seven round-trippers, and six of those came in his last three games. UF's offense, which has averaged 9 runs in the last nine games, has been nothing to scoff at lately and is lead by a potent top of the order.
The No. 1 through 5 batters are hitting .337 for the season and have a combined on-base percentage of just over .430.
The task of holding down the Tigers' offense falls as much on the infield defense as it does on the pitching staff. The Gators team ERA is 3.82, but they are allowing 5 runs per game because so many of the opposing teams' scores have been unearned. UF has made 52 errors on the season, and all but two of them have come in the infield.
O'Sullivan said he plans to continue shuffling Adams, Mike Mooney, Jerico Weitzel and Clayton Pisani in the two middle-infield positions until he finds a fit he likes. The foursome has combined for 33 of the teams miscues.
"We got to catch the ball better," O'Sullivan said. "If we don't play better defense, unfortunately, I can assure you that it's going to be up and down."
The more extra outs UF gives opponents, the harder it is for the Gators' pitchers.
O'Sullivan has named Jeff Barfield tonight's starter and plans to use either Stephen Locke or Nick Maronde, both lefties, on Saturday. One of his main concerns was the number of productive left-handed hitters on Auburn's roster, and he will probably trot out whichever pitcher doesn't start Game 2 on Sunday.
