How to Watch: Florida baseball vs Jacksonville Dolphins on Wednesday

Florida baseball gets set to host the Jacksonville Dolphins on the road on Wednesday, March 1, in the second of a midweek home-and-home series between the two in-state schools at Confron Family Ballpark in Gainesville, Florida, and if you’re wondering how you can watch the action live, you’ve come to the right place.

The Gators started the season with a three-game sweep of the visiting Charleston Southern Buccaneers but split a home-and-home with the South Florida Bulls that saw both teams win the away game during the week. The Orange and Blue bounced back from the USF loss with a sweep of the visiting Cincinnati Bearcats last weekend and took the first game of this series, 18-8, in Jacksonville on Tuesday night.

How to Watch

WEDNESDAY (6 p.m. EST)

• Watch: SEC Network+

• Listen: ESPN 98.1FM/850AM WRUF

• Live Stream: fuboTV (try it free)

Projected Starting Pitchers

Pitcher Notes

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

Florida's Projected Starting Lineup

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. — Rosenberg

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. — Rosenberg

Prediction

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. — Rosenberg

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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Story originally appeared on Gators Wire