Ashton Wilson’s career day puts Florida over Nebraska in regional opener

Liam Peterson shoves, Ashton Wilson explodes for four extra-base hits and Florida advances to the region’s winner’s bracket. Pretty good way to close out the week for the Orange and Blue.

Florida rode the bat of sophomore outfielder Ashton Wilson to a 5-2 win over Nebraska on Friday, putting the Gators in the winner’s bracket of the Stillwater Regional in the NCAA Baseball Tournament.

Wilson doubled three times and homered in the ninth for a big insurance run. His 10 total bases on the day more than double his season total (9) coming into the game.

“(My confidence level) wasn’t the highest thing in the world (coming into the game),” Wilson said after the game. “I was trying to pass it to the next guy, keep the train moving.”

After 10 total bases on Friday, “it’s definitely higher, no doubt about it.”

Three of Florida’s five runs can be tied directly back to Wilson, but the other two scored off the bat of sophomore second baseman Cade Kurland. He set the tone early with a leadoff home run and delivered again in the eighth to extend a one-run lead.

[autotag]Liam Peterson[/autotag]’s ability to pitch in a big game might have been under question coming into this one, but the freshman right-hander answered any doubts by coming just two outs shy of a quality start — six full innings and three or fewer earned runs.

Peterson started the game with some jitters, which is reasonable for a 19-year-old who celebrated a high school state championship around this time last year. He gave up a run in the first inning but settled down until the sixth after that.

The fastball-changeup mix played well for Peterson all night. He froze several Huskers with his heater, which ran up to 97 mph early on. Nebraska finally knocked him out of the game in the sixth with a solo home run to pull things within one run, but 5 1/3 innings is good work from the first-year Gator.

Peterson didn’t get a ton of run support from Florida. A leadoff home run from Cade Kurland made the first-inning mistakes more palatable, and a two-run double from Wilson in the third gave UF the lead right back.

Fisher Jameson was first out of the bullpen and allowed a two-out single in the sixth after a quick punchout. Luke Heyman erased that base knock with a rifle down to second to catch the runner stealing, a pivotal moment in the game.

Jameson got the first two outs of the seventh. Then, Kevin O’Sullivan turned to his closer, Brandon Neely, for a seven-out save.

Neely got the final out of the seventh with three pitches, but the eighth was a nightmare for him. A pair of groundballs through the right side put the go-ahead run at the plate with just one out, and a close call on a full-count slider at the top of the strike zone loaded the bases.

A line out to center field came in shallow enough to hold the runner at third, and Neely escaped the jam by blowing an elevated, 96-mph fastball by Dylan Carey.

Risking the double play could have been disastrous for Nebraska, especially while needing two runs to tie it, but ending the inning without any runs made holding the runner at third the wrong call in hindsight.

Kurland gave Florida an insurance run to work with in the eighth, singling in  Dale Thomas, and Wilson added to his monster day with a towering home run to left field. The ball hit the scoreboard, just missing Wilson’s name.

Neely returned for the ninth and got through it with just seven pitches. A quick fly out to center field for out No. 1, and a 6-4-3 double play to end it after a one-out single. It took a lengthy review — the third of the day — but a confirmation only meant that Florida got to celebrate the win twice.

On Saturday, Florida will play the winner of the Oklahoma State-Niagara matchup that begins at 7 p.m. ET Friday night.

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