South Carolina is behind Florida in the SEC standings right now -- the Gamecocks are 11-10, the Gators 12-9 -- so even if the SEC East crown ends up being a dream, this could be an important series in terms of seeding for the SEC tournatment. And impressing those who decide who hosts regionals and such things in another tournament.
Game times are 7 p.m. Friday, 4 p.m. Saturday and 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Sunday's game is on CSS; Friday's is on Sun Sports, which might or might not be available in your area.
THREE FOR THE GAMECOCKS
- Justin Smoak. He continues to be red-hot, hitting .443 over the last twenty games. He's now got 57 home runs, which still doesn't impress Ron Morris because Smoak didn't opt to use a wooden bat.
- The long ball. The Gamecocks have hit 82 in 45 games, good for the SEC lead. Of those, 38 have come in the last 17 games.
- History. In recent years, South Carolina has dominated Florida. In baseball. Which, when you look at football, is just payback.
TWO FOR THE GATORS
- A sense of direction. These teams moved in opposite directions last week. South Carolina got swept by formerly unimpressive LSU, while Florida took a series from Georgia -- the first SEC series the spelling-challenged Dawgs have lost all year. That put Florida back in the thick of the division race, somewhere South Carolina can now only hope to be.
- The rotation. Two of Florida's starting three for the series have an ERA that's more than a full run better than South Carolina's starter for that day. The other one has a 0.83 advantage.