ATHENS — The Georgia Bulldogs baseball team will face the Florida Gators on Friday in Jacksonville in a planned 10-inning exhibition at 121 Financial Ball Park.
First pitch is at 6:32 p.m., and a fireworks show is planned after the game.
Georgia will be the home team against Florida this year, and both teams will feature a 10-batter lineup. Tickets are $15 and for sale online via Ticketmaster at this link:
“I am excited to see how we look offensively against a very talented Florida team,” said Georgia’s Ike Cousins head baseball coach Scott Stricklin. “It will be good to get our freshman the experience of going on the road, playing in a different stadium with a big crowd and facing an SEC team. I like our depth and our defense has been good this fall. We have a chance to feature a deep pitching staff. We have a lot of young arms with tremendous upside to complement our veterans.”
Georgia plans to get at least nine pitchers action Friday with junior left-hander Jaden Woods slated to start. He made his fall debut last Saturday during an intrasquad game. He pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings and allowed two hits, a walk and struck out four. In 2022, Woods went 1-1 with a 4.80 ERA and three saves in 25 appearances.
The Bulldogs return 24 lettermen who helped the team register a 36-23 (15-15 SEC) mark last year. They fell to No. 11 North Carolina in an NCAA Regional in Chapel Hill. Florida, under the direction of Kevin O’Sullivan, went 42-24 (15-15 SEC) last season, played host to an NCAA Regional and were eliminated by No. 9 Oklahoma.
A total of 32 Bulldogs played in last year’s exhibition against the Gators. This will be the third time these teams meet for an exhibition in the home of the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, the Triple A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. The series is tied 1-1 with Georgia winning last year 8-5, and the Gators posting a 5-3 decision in 2019. There was no game held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the 2022 regular season, Georgia swept a three-game series from then No. 16 ranked Florida in Athens.
Earlier this month, Georgia defeated UAB 18-6 in a planned 14-inning exhibition in Athens. The Bulldogs will conclude fall workouts with Friday’s exhibition against the Gators. Then, they will attend the Georgia-Florida football game Saturday before returning home.
Georgia’s 2023 schedule along with season ticket information will be released later this year.
