Florida finishes off doubleheader sweep of Ole Miss

Florida put up a dozen en route to beating Ole Miss for the second time on Saturday. The Gators play for the sweep on Sunday at 2:30!

After taking down Ole Miss in comeback fashion in the first game of a Saturday doubleheader, the Florida Gators got out to a fast start in Game 2 and never looked back en route to a 12-8 victory.

[autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] was the offensive leader of the day. He drove in three runs and hit for the two hardest legs of the cycle. Riopelle was a First Team All-SEC catcher in 2022, but somehow he’s fallen out of the spotlight for Florida as other bats in the lineup continue to thrive. Not tonight, though.

He was a key piece of Florida’s four-run third inning, homering with [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] on base and putting Florida up 5-0. [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] also homered in that inning after driving in a run in the first. Riopelle tripled in Rivera during his next at-bat in the fifth, and he showed off his wheels by scoring on a passed ball.

His final plate appearance of the night came in the ninth and called for a sacrifice bunt. Riopelle got the job done without issue. Both runners ended up scoring later in the inning on an error put in play by [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag], making the sacrifice more than worth it in the end.

Caglianone, Halter, [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag], Riopelle and Rivera all finished with two hits, and [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] was the only starter to end the night without a base knock. [autotag]Richie Schiekofer[/autotag] replaced him in the ninth for a pinch hit.

Langford homered for the first time since coming back to the lineup and avoided a two-game hitless streak after missing almost two weeks of action. [autotag]Matt Prevesk[/autotag], who started both games in left as Langford played designated hitter, also drove in a pair of runs.

[autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag] got the start in this one and looked fairly strong despite a five-run third inning. Kevin O’Sullivan let Waldrep miss and miss and miss until he got out of it, which cut Florida’s six-run lead down to just one.

Waldrep has ace stuff, but he hasn’t quite shown the consistency some thought he might, especially against the SEC. He has time to figure all that out and still struck out nine on a bad day by his standards, but Waldrep hasn’t been at his best since the Miami series.

Making it through the fifth earned Waldrep a win, and then freshman left-hander Cade Fisher came in to get through the seventh. He’d make it through 1 2/3 innings, striking out two and allowing two hits. Nick Ficarrotta closed things out through the final 2 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on a home run in the ninth.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway of this doubleheader is that Florida’s bullpen seems to be headed in the right direction, but it is hard to ignore the offense.

Jac Caglianone is back. He blasted three homers over the two games today and seems a lot more comfortable with Wyatt Langford hitting in front of him again. He’ll have to learn to perform without that safety cushion in the lineup before next year, but this was a good rebound day for him.

Florida is now 21-4 overall and 4-1 in SEC play. It doesn’t get much better than that, but the Gators can’t afford to get complacent on Sunday. Caglianone did not have a great start last weekend, also pitching the back half of a doubleheader, and he needs to bounce back on the mound just as strong as he did at the plate.

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