Former Alonso standout Alex Panteliodis will be on the mound tonight when the No. 8 Gators (18-6, 4-2 SEC) open a three-game SEC series against No. 17 Vanderbilt (23-4, 4-2) beginning at 6:30 at McKethan Stadium.

This will be Florida's first of five series against an SEC East opponent, part of a 10-week SEC grind that has already included SEC West teams Mississippi State and Ole Miss.

Panteliodis (5-1, 2.03) will oppose Vanderbilt sophomore right-hander Sonny Gray (4-2, 2.25) to begin the series. Panteliodis has worked at least seven innings in his last three starts and is 2-1 with a 2.08 earned run average. He threw seven scoreless innings against Charleston Southern on March 12, with five strikeouts, five hits and a walk. The left-hander won the Gators’ league opener versus Mississippi State on March 19 (7.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 K, 2 BB) and had his first loss at Ole Miss on March 26 (7.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 8 K, 0 BB).

Ten of the last 13 series between Florida and Vanderbilt series have resulted in sweeps The Gators are 7-3 during that span.

Former Gator Steve Messler, a 2010 Winter Olympic Gold Medalist, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Saturday’s game at 4 p.m. and Sunday's finale at 1 p.m. will be televised live on Sun Sports.contest will be at 4 p.m. and Sunday’s finale will be at 1 p.m. The final two meetings between the Gators and Commodores will be televised live on Sun Sports.