Preview: Florida State Seminoles at Florida Gators

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Interstat) — A top-10 Sunshine State showdown is set for Tuesday afternoon when the Florida State Seminoles visit the Florida Gators at 121 Financial Ballpark.

First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. EDT under clear skies with a game-time temperature near 77 degrees.

The rivalry matchup features two of the nation’s hottest teams. Florida State (19-4) enters having won 15 of its last 17 games, including a 15-5 rout of North Carolina State on Sunday. The Gators (19-6) had a 10-game win streak snapped last weekend, dropping two of three at Alabama.

The Seminoles will look for revenge after falling 6-3 to the Gators in Gainesville on March 10. In that game, Florida broke a 3-3 tie with a three-run eighth inning.

A key player to watch for Florida State is designated hitter Kelvyn Paulino Jr., who is riding a wave of power. He went 2 for 4 with a home run and four RBIs in Sunday’s win and has driven in 11 runs over his last 10 games.

For Florida, right-hander Cooper Walls is expected to play a pivotal role out of the bullpen. The reliever has been effective lately, most notably tossing 4 1/3 innings of hitless relief with four strikeouts in the series finale at Alabama.

According to Interstat, the Seminoles are a narrow favorite. Their game simulator projects an 8-6 Florida State victory, while their ELO rating system gives the Seminoles a 52.4% probability to win.

Both teams face challenging Southeastern Conference series this weekend, with Florida State hosting Duke and Florida traveling to face Arkansas.