Previewing Florida baseball's weekend series vs Ole Miss

Florida baseball is back in Gainesville for its first home weekend series in three weeks. The Gators host the Ole Miss Rebels, starting Thursday night. The Orange and Blue have either swept or been swept in each weekend of conference play, and Kevin O'Sullivan's club is hoping for the former despite being down a few players.

Standout freshman right fielder Cash Strayer is out for the next few weeks, so Blake Cyr is moving over to right and Jacob Kendall is expected to start in left. Reliever Ricky Reeth has missed the past couple of weeks, but he's listed as questionable this week. Colton Schwarz is also questionable after leaving a game early last weekend.

Some combination of Sam Miller and Kolt Myers should hold down third base as long as Schwarz is hurt. Everyone is on short rest with this being a Thursday-Saturday series, but Ole Miss is shaking up its rotation to keep Friday night starter Hunter Elliott on the same schedule. That gives Florida a chance to take Game 1 with Liam Peterson on the mound, but Aidan King will have to be at his best to match Elliott in Game 2.

Russell Sanderfer is third in Florida's rotation and is making his second weekend start on Saturday. Here's everything you need to know before the series begins. Projected Starting Lineup: Florida Gators Pos Name AVG OBP SLG AB R H HR RBI C Karson Bowen .