Bubble Watch: Gators still have work to do to reach the NCAA tournament

Bubble Watch: Gators still have work to do to reach the NCAA tournament by Andrew Schutte

The Gators enter the 2016 season with plenty of hype — ranked No. 1 in the nation and the overwhelming favorites to win the SEC.

The top-ranked Florida Gators — led by ninth-year head coach Kevin O’Sullivan — opens their 2016 baseball campaign later today by hosting in-state foe Florida Gulf Coast of the Atlantic Sun Conference in a weekend series in Gainesville.

The series begins tonight at 7 PM, extending through Saturday at 4 PM and ending on Sunday at one o’clock in the afternoon.

For the Gators, this will be the 16th consecutive season — and the 28th time in the last 30 years — that they will start their 56-game regular season at McKethan Stadium.

Pitching for the Gators tonight is junior right-hander Logan Shore; he’ll face Florida Gulf Coast’s redshirt senior right-hander Brady Anderson. On Saturday (game two of the series), junior left-hander A.J. Puk will take the mound for Florida as will FGCU right-hander Sterling Koerner. And lastly, Gator sophomore right-hander Alex Faedo will oppose the Eagles’ redshirt sophomore right-hander Mario Leon in Sunday’s finale.

Radio coverage for all three games of the weekend series against the Eagles can be heard through FloridaGators.com and on the Gator IMG Sports Network.

Additionally, the entire series will be available to watch on SEC Network+ and through WatchESPN via livestream. Live stats for each game will also be readily available through both FloridaGators.com and ESPN.com.

Baseball makes its return this evening and it’ll be exciting to see just how talented this No. 1-ranked Florida Gators squad is this year.