TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – No. 13 Florida State (26-12) returns home after a tough weekend series in South Bend, Ind., to face No. 7 Florida (28-9) on Tuesday in the rubber game between these two intra-state rivals. First pitch for the third and final game of the ‘Share A Little Sunshine Showdown’ regular season series is set for 6:00 p.m. and will air live on ESPN3.
The Gators defeated the Seminoles 14-8 in Gainesville in the first match-up this year, before FSU evened the series with an 8-3 victory at the Baseball Grounds in Jacksonville.
In the first meeting in Gainesville, the Gators outhit the Seminoles 16-9, while FSU tied a season-high committing five errors. The 14 runs by Florida were the most scored by the Gators in the series since plating 16 against the Seminoles in Jacksonville on April 3, 2007. It also marked the most combined runs by the two teams since a 17-11 victory by Florida State in an NCAA Regional elimination game on May 31, 2008.
In Jacksonville on March 31, the Seminoles got 5.0 strong innings from Bryant Holtmann, while Dylan Silva worked the final 4.0 innings to earn the save. FSU outhit UF 13-6 on the night led by John Sansone’s career-high 4-for-4 performance at the plate.
Holtmann will make his second straight start against the Gators on Tuesday night. In seven career appearances, six in relief against UF, Holtmann is 1-0 with a 2.03 ERA. He has allowed three runs, 13 hits, four walks and 10 strikeouts in 13.1 innings. The senior southpaw is 1-0 with a 2.35 ERA in 7.2 innings against the Gators in 2015.