Three Takeaways from Florida’s series vs. Ole Miss
Hector
Hector
The Florida Gators were on the road for their latest SEC series against the Ole Miss Rebels. While Florida lost in the series, the Gators finally earned their first SEC win of the season in the series finale on Friday night.
Florida’s pitching continues to struggle, but the offense showed some signs of life against the Rebels, especially junior catcher Luke Heyman. Here are three takeaways from the Florida-Ole Miss series.
Florida earns first SEC win of the season
The Florida Gators have struggled in the SEC play and went into the second game of Friday’s doubleheader winless in conference play. The Gators’ offense had a huge ninth inning that gave Florida the lead and secured their first SEC win of the season.
While it’s disappointing that it has taken this long for Florida to win an SEC game, it’s a step in the right direction. Florida could have won another two or three SEC if it wasn’t for base-running mistakes or poor pitching late in games.
The next six SEC games will be huge for the Gators. Florida is home for the next two weeks and will host Vanderbilt and Missouri. If Florida can win the series over Vanderbilt and sweep Missouri, that’ll put them at 6-9 in SEC play, which is much more manageable than their current situation. It’ll also help them gain confidence for the rest of the season against other top-tier SEC programs.
2. Florida’s pitching struggles continue
The Florida pitching staff had another bad performance in their weekend series versus Ole Miss. One of their biggest issues has been their inability to get ahead in counts and give up free passes.
In the series opener, Florida walked thirteen batters, which played a huge role in Florida’s 7-5 loss in the series opener. The Gators did better with limiting free passes in the doubleheader on Friday, but Florida’s pitching did struggle to get ahead in counts.
Florida’s pitching staff has gotten healthier with the return of their ace, Liam Peterson. If Coppola can return from the injury in the next couple of weeks, it’ll give Florida’s pitching staff a huge boost and make their bullpen much better as well.
3. Luke Heyman’s breakout series
Junior catcher Luke Heyman had a huge weekend series against the Ole Miss pitching staff. This was Heyman’s first big weekend series of the season after a slow start to his junior season.
In the Ole Miss series, Heyman went 8-for-13 (.615 batting average) with two doubles, three home runs, six RBIs, and six runs scored. Heyman could be a candidate for SEC Hitter of the Week after a strong showing this weekend.
As a team, the Gators had a much better showing at the plate than their previous two SEC series versus Tennessee and Georgia. It’s great to see a hitter like Luke Heyman produce at the plate, which lengths Florida’s lineup. On the season, Heyman is slashing .298/402/.560 with 25 hits, two doubles, six home runs, eleven walks, and a .962 OPS.
