Play Ball!

Baseball season begins in Jacksonville this month with a classic rivalry, renewed. The annual series between the University of Florida and Florida State University generally includes three games, with each team hosting one game. That second game takes place at 121 Financial Ballpark, home of our Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (aka the Honey Drippers), on Tuesday night, March 25, with the first pitch scheduled for 6pm.

This year’s game is doubly notable for being the official opening of the ballpark, which had undergone extensive renovations, $32 million worth, over the past year. “The renovations are part of a multi-year renovation dubbed Project NEXT that actually began prior to the 2024 season,” says Noel Blaha, VP for Marketing and Media with the Jumbo Shrimp. “The renovations were part of a city funded renovation plan that not only improves the fan experience but also keeps the team within Major League Baseball compliance.”

The renovations are just the first of what will be years of new construction in and around the downtown entertainment district, a district in which the ballpark will figure prominently, and not just for baseball. “The renovations aren’t about expanding seating but rather improving the fan experience and, as we’ve seen across sports and entertainment, expanding the opportunity for events outside of the traditional baseball season”, says Blaha. “The new multi level building in right field will include new team offices and a ground level souvenir store that is nearly 2.5 times larger than the existing store and will allow for easy access to Shrimp gear year-round. But, the renovations also include a complete concourse refresh and updated concessions stands with new food offerings. New seats have been installed in premium areas with the full seating bowl planned to be replaced prior to the 2026 season. It truly will be a new experience.”

This game gives the college players a rare opportunity to play ball in a legitimate professional ballpark, one that also happens to be one of the best in the minor leagues. Given the extensive roster of major leaguers who’ve played in Jacksonville at the start of their careers, including over a dozen Hall of Famers, the UF and FSU players have surely been steeping in local lore all week. UF has at least four players from Northeast Florida on their roster, including freshman infielder Kolt Myers (St. Johns Country Day) and junior utility man Justin Nadeau (Bartram Trail), as well as freshman righties Aidan King (Bishop Snyder) and the towering six-foot-six Schuyler Sandford (St. Johns Country Day).

FSU has at least five, including freshman catcher Hunter Carns (First Coast), redshift freshman outfielder Brody DeLamielleure (Bartram Trail), freshman lefty Matt Hoag (Ponte Vedra), redshift senior pitcher Connor Hults (Creekside) and junior infielder Alex Lodise (Bartram Trail).

Granted, the rivalry between the two baseball teams hasn’t been nearly as dramatic or carried nearly as high as their football counterparts, whose clashes have occasionally had national title implications. But baseball has its own special intensity, and these teams have used each other to make their own history on countless occasions.

UF’s first baseball team took the field in 1912. FSU didn’t start until 1948, but they have traditionally been the more dominant team, at least in terms of national rankings. UF has won a single NCAA Division I title in 2017, having made it to the College World Series three additional times. But the overall series is surprisingly close, with FSU winning 134 of the 263 games played to date, beginning with their first meeting on April 9, 1956. Out of those 263 games, only one has ended in a tie: game #71, on May 17, 1974.

Duval joined the party fairly late, hosting game #204 on April 3, 2007, with Gator Bowl Sports taking over the production in 2017. “Anytime we can activate the ballpark we welcome it,” says Blaha. “The City of Jacksonville, ASM Global, and Gator Bowl Sports are great to work with, and we really do benefit from any folks who come through who may not have ever been, but would now consider returning for a Jumbo Shrimp game.”

This will be the 17th game we’ve had here, and UF currently holds a 9-8 advantage in that little series-within-a-series. The Gators beat the Seminoles by a score of 7-2 in their previous meeting in Tallahassee on March 11. Nobody likes losing at home, especially to any in-state rival, so one might expect FSU to come out swinging, literally, hoping to draw first blood against a UF team that, on paper, should not have beaten them last time. But this is baseball, where chaos is a ladder, and only God knows what’s gonna happen next, sometimes.

With over 300 players drafted over the years, between the two teams (including stars like Pete Alonso, Buster Posey and Deion Sanders), this series always provides a little glimpse into the future of the game.

Invariably, several of these young men are destined to play major league ball, but it will be years before we know who. Either way, the players from this community, and their families, are sure to share in a uniquely moving experience that none of them will ever forget, no matter how far their careers take them. These local boys have already made good, and the best is yet to come.