Previewing Florida baseball's midweek matchup with Bethune-Cookman

Florida baseball is back at Condron Family Ballpark on Tuesday night for a midweek matchup with the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats.

Bethune-Cookman recently beat LSU, so Florida can't afford to play down to its competition. Still, Kevin O'Sullivan is giving freshman left-hander Jackson Hoyt a chance to start and has Brendan Lawson listed at designated hitter on the projected starting lineup. Florida also has Landon Stripling listed at first base. Stripling is a lefty and normally wouldn't start against a left-handed pitcher. Official lineups don't always end up the same as the projections, though.

Hayden Yost has taken over the left field spot from Jacob Kendall after smashing a pair of home runs on Sunday against Georgia. He's better defensively and has a hotter bat, so this makes sense.

Projected Starting Lineup: Florida Gators

Probable Starters

NOTES: Jackson Hoyt will make his first career start on Tuesday. Bethune-Cookman is a good team for him to get his feet wet against, but don't expect Hoyt to go deep in the game. He's never thrown more than 28 pitches and has yet to complete two full innings. Hoyt's ERA is elevated because of eight runs over his first three appearances, but he's recorded 11 outs without giving up a run since.

Dawson Turner gets his second start for the Wildcats. He's a JUCO/Division II product who played at Polk State College and St. Leo before getting to Bethune-Cookman. He hasn't fared well over seven appearances this year. Opposing hitters are batting .314 against him over 7 1/3 innings. He's struck out eight, hit four batters and walked six. He's a heavy ground-ball pitcher, drawing 69.2% of batted balls on the ground.

Turner throws an 89-91 mph fastball that can run up to 92, a 79-81 mph slider and a changeup.

Other Players to Watch

Bethune-Cookman has four players with an OPS of .900 or higher. Sophomore right fielder Michael Rodriguez leads the team with a 1.157 OPS and a .564 OBP over 118 plate appearances. He walks (23) more than he strikes out (13) and has 11 stolen bases on the year. Senior designated hitter Chris Watson has only had 73 plate appearances, but he has a 1.056 OPS with more walks (12) than strikeouts (11).

Second baseman Jeter Polledo (.942) is one of two players with 40 hits on the team. He has a knack for getting hit by pitches, leading the team with 13. His 35 runs batted in also lead the team. Shortstop Erick Almonte (.887) has 41 hits, and Jose Fernandez has a . 907 OPS.

Series History

Notes: The Gators enter with a nation-best, 10-1 record vs. ranked foes while playing to a 17-9 mark against unranked teams.

Follow the Action

Tuesday (6:30 p.m. ET)

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

Jeff Cardozo and Nick Belmonte will call the game for television, and Steve Russell & Eric Castaldo are on the radio.

* Watch links go directly to game feed

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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida baseball vs. Bethune-Cookman Wildcats game preview