On paper, the matchup looks great.
No. 1 Florida (7-1) is in Coral Gables to begin a three-game series with No. 12 Miami (8-0) tonight at 7. The Hurricanes have largely controlled the series when played at Mark Light Field.
The Gators are 40 games under .500 (37-77) when playing at the home of the four-time national champions. With the rivalry in mind, Florida is saying all the right things.
“It’s going to be a huge challenge for us,” UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “It’ll give us a barometer of where we’re at right now; it’s not going to be easy, it never is.”
But in reality, this weekend is more of a barometer for Miami than for Florida.
It’s the Hurricanes who have faced little resistance romping their way into the weekend with an undefeated record. Miami has won its eight games by an average of 5.63 runs, while Florida has marched through its seven victories with an average margin of 3.71.
The difference is competition. Miami’s two weekend series wins have come against Rutgers and Albany, both unranked teams.
In 2011, the Hurricanes finished the season batting .275, good for No. 181 in the nation. So far this season, they are hitting .307 and have eight players batting .308 or better, including senior catcher Peter O’Brien, who is hitting .500 with three homers and 10 RBIs.
To contrast Miami’s slate, Florida has already faced two top-25 teams in No. 20 Cal State Fullerton and No. 19 UCF, going 3-1 in those contests. Through eight games, Florida’s team batting average is actually slightly below where it was last season when the Gators were No. 24 in the nation in the category.
“All the teams we’ve played so far have been good competition,” UF Friday night starting pitcher Hudson Randall said. “We’re not playing anybody that has a weak, weak team.”
Miami’s greatest strength coming in will be its weekend pitching rotation.
Friday night ace Eric Erickson has thrown 13 innings in his two starts this season, striking out 16 without allowing a run. However, tonight will be his first real challenge in nearly two years after missing most of 2010 and all of 2011 because of his second reconstructive elbow surgery.
Eric Whaley and Bryan Radziewski — both solid pitchers in their own right — will follow on Saturday and Sunday, but it’s safe to say neither has seen bats remotely close to those of Preston Tucker and Mike Zunino since getting eliminated from last season’s regionals by the Gators.
“Nothing’s going to surprise us,” Tucker said. “We’ve played Miami a ton of times in the past few years. We know what we’re going to get.”
Long-term history aside, Florida has taken ownership of the rivalry in recent years. The Gators have won the past eight games in the series, including knocking the Hurricanes out of both the 2011 NCAA Regionals and the 2010 Super Regionals. Florida has won 11 of the last 12 against Miami.
“The numbers are in our favor, but this is a new year,” Randall said. “I’m looking forward to going down there.”
