Florida baseball continues to struggle this season — particularly against Southeastern Conference opponents — having now lost three-straight series dating back to a sweep at the hands of the Missouri Tigers that marked the moment when uncertainty turned to calamity.
The Gators had shown some cracks in their armor earlier dropping midweek games they should have won, but since the floodgates were opened, Kevin O’Sullivan’s team is struggling to stay afloat above the .500 mark. They travel to Fayetteville this weekend to face the second-ranked Arkansas Razorback, so things will not be getting any easier for the Orange and Blue.
Below is a look at the betting odds and other information you need for the opening game of the series on Friday night.
Betting Odds
Arkansas is favored by 2.5 runs over Florida according to Draft Kings. Here are the full odds as of 2:30 p.m. Friday.
| TEAM | SPREAD | OVER/UNDER | MONEY LINE |
| Florida | +2.5 -130 |
O 10 -115 |
+200 |
| Arkansas | -2.5 +100 |
U 10 -115 |
-270 |
Probable Starters
| TEAM | PLAYER | RECORD | ERA |
| Florida | LHP Pierce Coppola | 0-2 | 18.00 |
| Arkansas | LHP Hagen Smith | 8-0 | 1.53 |
Pierce Coppola is moving into the Friday night slot after just two Saturday night starts. It’s unclear what that means for Brandon Neely, who replaced Cade Fisher in the rotation. Coppola has only made it into the second in each of his starts. He’s on a pitch count that should increase with each start, but it’s far from what Florida is used to trotting out there to open important series. Liam Peterson should follow Coppola out of the bullpen.
Hagen Smith might be the best left-hander in college baseball. He’s a projected top-10 pick in the upcoming draft featuring a mid-to-upper-90s fastball, a plus slider with a chance to be special and a changeup with good movement. He hasn’t lost a game this season and rarely gives up runs. Smith has an absurd strikeout rate of 48.3% while just walking 10.6% of batters he faces. — David Rosenberg
How to Watch
FRIDAY (7 p.m. ET)
- Watch: SEC Network
- Listen: ESPN 98.1FM/850AM WRUF
- Live Stream: fuboTV (try it free)
Series History
| OVERALL | 35-36 |
| HOME | 20-13 |
| ROAD | 11-16 |
| NEUTRAL | 4-7 |
Prediction
Game 1: Florida 7, Arkansas 6
Florida is a massive underdog Friday night against Arkansas and its ace, Hagen Smith, but I’m picking the Gators to hand Smith his first loss of the season. Caglianone loves hitting lefties and he’s most of his homers against pitchers from the same side. Cags will also deliver on Sunday, shutting down the Razorbacks offense through five.
Prediction: Massive series win for Florida, 2-1.
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