The Florida Gators have another home-and-home series this week, and this time its the Jacksonville University Dolphins that the Gators have to deal with.

Last week, Florida split a home-and-home series with USF after an epic ninth-inning collapse led to the Gators’ first and only loss of the season so far. Jacksonville should be a significantly weaker opponent for Florida than USF or Cincinnati, though. The Dolphins aren’t picked to finish in the top half of the ASUN, and the Gators are marching their way to a top-five ranking.

The big question will be how Florida manages its pitching staff. Things fell apart last week when the bullpen was asked to work five innings each day, and Kevin O’Sullivan is already making changes to the pitching rotation to combat that problem. Ryan Slater is set to get the midweek start for Florida, and the Wednesday arm is yet to be determined.

Florida will probably let some of its younger players get in the lineup too, which could cause the offense to slow down a bit from its 13 runs per game average over the weekend. Regardless, this should be another series where Florida is heavily favored and able to deliver on the expectations.

UF will be down center fielder Michael Robertson for at least the first game of the series, though. He got shaken up after colliding with the wall over the weekend and hasn’t played since the first inning on Friday. Sully says the team won’t rush him back, so it’ll be Wyatt Langford in center field and Richie Schiekofer in left field for now. Cade Kurland has already seamlessly stepped into the leadoff role in the lineup and has a firm hold on the starting second base spot.

Projected Starting Lineup

Probable Starters: Tuesday (6 p.m. EST)

NOTES: Ryan Slater might have had the best outing of his career against Jacksonville in 2022. He earned his first-career win on March 8 in a five-inning shutout performance out of the bullpen that saw Jacksonville collect just one hit. Slater didn’t walk anyone and struck out two as well. This will be Slater’s fourth-career start, and Sully is giving him a good opponent for it.

So far, through 2023, the redshirt sophomore has made just two appearances. He struck out four through three innings against South Florida last Tuesday and got 2 2/3 innings in against Cincinnati that didn’t go as well (three earned runs, four walks and a hit batter).

The Dolphins are throwing redshirt junior right-hander Bryce Fisher on Tuesday. Fisher spent two years at St. Petersburg College before transferring to JU and was dominant in 2021. He struck out 56 through 55 2/3 innings and pitched to a .201 opposing batting average.

He was strong for the Dolphins a year ago out of the bullpen and is now getting a chance to start some games. He lasted three innings against Florida State last Tuesday, giving up eight runs (seven earned) on 10 hits. The Gators should be able to get to him early.

Probable Starters: Wednesday (6 p.m. EST)

NOTES: Florida has a few options here. O’Sullivan could turn to one of his freshmen again, but [autotag]Cade Fisher[/autotag] did throw 40 pitches on Sunday. He should be rested enough to get the start, but there’s always [autotag]Yoel Tejeda Jr[/autotag]. too. If Sully doesn’t want to use the freshmen arms as starters this week, he could turn to [autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] instead.

Sophomore Richard Long is getting the start for Jacksonville. He appeared in 11 games last season as a true freshman, striking out 13 over 16 2/3 innings. The Dolphins didn’t have a second midweek game last week, so this will be his first start. He came out of the bullpen on February 18 against Kent State and gave up three runs in 2 1/3 innings, and he also pitched 1 1/3 innings in relief of Bryce Fisher last Tuesday. Florida should be able to knock him out of the game early.

Other Players to Watch

Gary Cosby Jr.-The Tuscaloosa News

Jacksonville’s most experienced player is none other than former Gator infielder [autotag]Kris Armstrong[/autotag]. D1Baseball named Armstrong the Dolphins’ top draft prospect in the upcoming cycle, and he’s hitting in the heart of the lineup as the team’s everyday third baseman.

Florida’s staff is obviously familiar with Armstrong, so they should know what pitches to call to keep him limited. He’s currently leading the team with 10 runs batted in, but he has struck out a team-high 13 times as well.

Another name to look for is right fielder Blake DeLamielleure, who was the other Jacksonville player to make D1Baseball’s draft prospects list. He’s hitting .286 and leads the team with a .536 slugging percentage.

Designated hitter Chandler Howard is also a scary bat. He leads Jacksonville with a .300 batting average, nine hits, two home runs and 16 total bases.

Series History

NOTES: Florida has dominated the series historically, but Jacksonville isn’t always an easy win for the Gators. The Dolphins have won three of the last 10 games in the series and they nearly took the last game on their own turf in 2021. Florida is the better team here, but there has already been one midweek implosion this season. Another wouldn’t be shocking.

Follow the Action

TUESDAY (6 p.m. EST)

• Watch: JUDolphins.com

• Listen: ESPN 98.1FM/850AM WRUF

• Live Stream: fuboTV (try it free)

WEDNESDAY (6 p.m. EST)

• Watch: SEC Network+ (no link yet)

• Listen: ESPN 98.1FM/850AM WRUF

• Live Stream: fuboTV (try it free)

* Watch links go directly to game feed

Predictions

GAME 1: Florida, 13-3

GAME 2: Florida, 15-2

SERIES: This should be a one-sided series that could see things get out of hand even if there is a mercy rule. Kevin O’Sullivan won’t forget what it was like to watch his team meltdown last Wednesday, and neither will the players.

Both of these games should be convincing wins for Florida. Gators take the series, 2-0.

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Read more

Check out Gators Wire’s other position previews for the 2023 season:

• Catchers

• First Basemen

• Second Basemen

• Third Basemen

• Shortstops

• Otufielders

• Starting Pitchers

• Relief Pitchers

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Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Story originally appeared on Gators Wire