Previewing Florida baseball’s weekend series with Auburn Tigers

The Florida Gators are at home this weekend for a three-game series against the Auburn Tigers, starting on Thursday.

Kevin O’Sullivan has to be pleased with Aidan King and Liam Peterson after both went seven innings without allowing more than two runs last week. Russell Sandefer wasn’t as good, but Florida’s bats came to life in the series finale against Georgia. A midweek loss to Bethune-Cookman humbled the Gators a bit, but Florida has played to its level of competition this year, often to a fault.

As the second half of SEC play begins, Florida needs to find some consistency. It starts this weekend against the Tigers. The Gators are mostly healthy, missing outfielder Cash Strayer and reliever Jackson Barberi. Infielder Colton Schwarz is questionable once again.

Projected Starting Lineup: Florida Gators

Probable Starters: Game 1 – Thursday (7 p.m. ET)

NOTES: Aidan King was lights out in his first Friday night start, carrying a perfect game into the seventh before allowing a leadoff base hit. He walked a pair that ended up scoring on a triple made possible by some defensive confusion. Two runs over 7 2/3 innings isn’t bad by any measure, but King was still somehow better than his numbers suggested last week.

Andreas Alvarez broke out last year during the playoffs, and he’s established himself as the ace of Auburn’s pitching staff this season. His 6-1 record and 1.24 ERA speak for themselves. Avarez has held opposing hitters to a .197 batting average and has struck out 60 while walking just 15 for a 4-to-1 ratio. His fastball will sit in the mid-to-high 90s fastball that has run up to 97.0 this season. He’ll mix in two different breaking balls and a low-80s changeup that draws a ton of swing-and-miss.

Probable Starters: Game 2 – Friday (5:30 p.m. ET)

NOTES: Liam Peterson took the rotation shakeup in stride, too. He went a career-best seven innings, allowing one earned run on eight hits and no walks. Working around those baserunners is a big positive for Peterson, and pitching to contact allowed him to get deeper in a game. His strikeouts were down to four, but Georgia is a good-hitting team. It’s worth the strikeout dip if Peterson can get the quality start.

Virginia Tech transfer Jake Marciano is the No. 2 on Auburn’s staff, and he’s settled in nicely after a rough second half of 2025 led to a 6.08 ERA. This is a guy who does not walk batters. He’s given up seven this season for a 3.4% walk rate, but he has hit nine batters. Opposing hitters have a .179 average against him, and Marciano’s 71 strikeouts match his season total from a year ago.

Marciano is a sinker-slurve guy that doesn’t rely on velocity. His sinking fastball will only touch the low 90s, and his cutter is in the low-to-mid-80s. He’s got a slower 75-78 mph slider and a 78-79 mph changeup. Still, he misses bats and has full command of his arsenal.

Probable Starters: Game 3 – Saturday (12 p.m. ET)

NOTES: Russell Sandefer really struggled on Sunday, but Florida’s offense had his back. The goal for Sandefer is to get back on track this week. He didn’t make it through the second and gave up five runs a week after going seven shutout innings. That’s two ends of the spectrum in as many weeks, so no judgments should be made either way yet.

Alex Petrovic has been a nice surprise this year for Auburn. He made five starts last year before missing most of the season with an injury. Like the other Tigers starters, Petrovic has a low batting average against (.201) and good strikeout-to-walk numbers (53 K, 9 BB).

Other Players to Watch

The three bats Florida has to worry about the most are catcher Chase Fralick (1,033 OPS), third baseman Eric Guevara (.959 OPS) and center fielder Bristol Carter (.927). Fralick leads the program with six home runs and 26 runs batted in. He walks (20) almost as much as he strikes out (24), and he’s nearing the 40-hit mark.

Guevara is second on the team with five home runs and is tied with two other players — second baseman Christopher Rembert and right fielder Mason McCraine — with 23 RBIs. Carter is a speedster with 22 stolen bases on the year, and McCraine has more walks (20) than strikeouts (19).

Out of the bullpen, Jett Johnston (4.19 ERA) and Garrett Brewer (5.56 ERA) each have 10 appearances and figure to be the top righty and lefty options, respectively. Johnston is tied for the team lead in strikeouts among non-starters with freshman LJ Cormier, both of whom have 23 on the season.

Series History

Notes: The series between Florida and Auburn dates back to 1913 in Gainesville. The Gators have won 31 of the last 45 meetings.

Follow the Action

THURSDAY (7 p.m. ET)

• Watch: SEC Network
• Listen: ESPN 98.1FM/850AM WRUF
• Live Stream: Fubo (with free trial)

FRIDAY (5:30 p.m. ET)

• Watch: SEC Network
• Listen: ESPN 98.1FM/850AM WRUF
• Live Stream: Fubo (with free trial)

SATURDAY (12 p.m. ET)

• Watch: ESPN2
• Listen: ESPN 98.1FM/850AM WRUF
• Live Stream: Fubo (with free trial)

* Watch links go directly to game feed

Predictions

GAME 1: Florida, 7-1

GAME 2: Florida, 9-4

GAME 3: Florida, 8-7

PREDICTION: King and Peterson are coming off an elite weekend on the road, so there’s no reason to doubt them at home. Sandefer is up in the air, but he should be good enough to get the win, especially if the other starters save the bullpen. Florida’s offense should be ready to go after falling to Bethune-Cookman during the week. I expect a good number of runs.

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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida baseball vs. Auburn Tigers series preview