Baseball is officially back.
The 2019 campaign for Florida’s baseball team gets underway tonight, as UF matches up with Long Beach State to begin a three-game weekend series at McKethan Stadium at 6:30.
The Gators are 6-3 all-time against the self-proclaimed Dirtbags of the Big West Conference, having last faced off in 1993. LBSU had a rough season a year ago, finishing an injury-plagued spring/summer under .500 for the first time since 2010.
Despite the struggle, the program has a rich postseason history and returns a lot of experience from last season’s squad, highlighted by junior pitcher/center fielder Clayton Andrews.
Andrews led the team in ERA (1.99), innings pitched (99.2) and strikeouts (118), earning the 2018 Big West Pitcher of the Year award.
Injection of youth meshes with Florida’s veterans
If you compare this season’s roster to last season’s for Florida, you’ll notice a number of its best players are no longer listed.
Shortstop Deacon Liput, first baseman/catcher JJ Schwarz and third baseman Jonathan India — players who helped anchor 2018’s College World Series-appearing team — now have their eyes centered towards the MLB.
Not every contributor is gone, however, as UF returns a quartet of players who were mainstays in last season’s lineup. That group (junior left fielder Austin Langworthy, senior second baseman Blake Reese, senior designated hitter Nelson Maldonado and junior right fielder Wil Dalton) will be surrounded by fresh faces with as many as three freshmen (third baseman Cory Acton, center fielder Jud Fabian and first baseman Kendrick Calilao) potentially being listed on the lineup card this evening.
Sophomore standout Brady McConnell is expected to get the job at shortstop after minimal playing time last season, and Brady Smith — another sophomore — looks to have won the job behind the plate at catcher.
Dyson gets opening-night nod for Gators on the mound
O’Sullivan elected to give Tyler Dyson, his most-experienced pitcher, the opportunity to start Friday night against Long Beach State. Dyson, a junior righty, started 11 games last year, primarily on Sundays. He compiled a 5-3 record in his sophomore season and struck out 51 batters in 50.1 innings.
Sophomore RHP Tommy Mace will take the mound to start Saturday night. Mace went 5-0 last season, starting six times and throwing 62.2 innings, the fourth-most on the team.
Jack Leftwich will close out the weekend on Sunday. Leftwich, a sophomore RHP, threw 81.1 innings, the most of any of the returning pitchers. He put together a 5-5 record in 12 starts.
The first pitcher out of the bullpen on Friday, according to O’Sullivan, will be sophomore southpaw Jordan Butler. Because the team lacks lefties – only three listed on the entire pitching staff – Butler will be getting a lot of work in relief once again.
One of the other lefties is Devin Hemenway, a sophomore transfer from Santa Fe College. Sophomore RHP Hunter McMullen is another arm to watch in the bullpen. O’Sullivan lauded McMullen’s offseason improvement.
Alligator Sports writer Kyle Wood contributed to the story.
Follow Evan Lepak on Twitter @evanmplepak and contact him at elepak@alligator.org.
Pitcher Tyler Dyson will get the start for the Gators on Friday night against Long Beach State
