Gators Down Multiple Key Players Vs. Tennessee

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.-- When the Florida Gators baseball team step foot on the diamond this weekend against the Tennessee Volunteers, they’ll be without four key players.

Outfielder Kyle Jones, infielder Cade Kurland, left-handed pitcher Pierce Coppola and left-handed pitcher Frank Menendez were all listed as “out” on the initial availability report released for this matchup.

While the other three were expected to be on this list in some capacity, Menendez is more of a surprise. It is unclear what his injury is at the moment.

As for Jones, Gators head coach Kevin O'Sullivan already confirmed recently that he’ll be out for the remainder of the season. Meanwhile, Kurland and Coppola are still on unknown timelines after both exited the team's win over Miami on March 1 with early injuries.

Kurland, Florida's starting second baseman, went down early in the second contest of the weekend series against Miami. He made a diving play on a ground ball and landed on his shoulder awkwardly. He would make the throw for the out, but would remain laying down on the grass after.

Following the game, it was revealed that his shoulder popped out and back in.

O’Sullivan said that right now it’s hard to know when he’ll be back in the lineup and that it’s all about how quickly he recovers.

“...Cade, he’s doing PT right now and you know there’s really no timeline,” O’Sullivan said. It’s a matter of how quickly he can strengthen his shoulder and stabilize that joint. It could be as short as 10 days, two weeks, or it could be longer than that, I really don’t know. He’ll get out there as soon as he possibly can. It’s just going to take some time.”

After moving up to become Florida's Saturday starter, Coppola went down with an undisclosed injury in that same game as Kurland. After easing through the first eight batters, he struggled with two after that. This caused the Gators head coach to leave the dugout with a trainer and eventually led to the lefty’s exit.

This will be his second consecutive start that he’s missed.

“ No,” O’Sullivan said when asked about a timeline for Coppola back in the first week of March. “They’re still meeting with doctors, getting second opinions and those types of things. It’s a little premature for all that.”

On the other side, Tennessee will be without two players. The Vols will be missing right-hander AJ Russell and infielder Alberto Osuna.

Osuna is out due to his battle with the NCAA about his remaining eligibility. He has yet to play for Tennessee this season after transferring from Division II Tampa.

Russell did make an appearance this season near the end of February against North Alabama. However, he was coming off of Tommy John surgery, and he returned quicker than expected, which has led to a slow-play approach from the Volunteers.

“I think it is kind of take a deep breath, and kind of start a new throwing program to prepare him more to be a starter opposed to he came in the other day and just got three outs,” Volunteers head coach Tony Vitello told Knoxville News Sentinel’s Mike Wilson.

The first game of this series will take place on Friday, March 14. First pitch is expected to be around 6:30 pm. It will be streamed via SEC Network+.