Florida and Florida State have provided some must-see matchups over the last couple of seasons, and Gators outfielder [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] etched his name in the record books of this historic rivalry as the catalyst behind a 5-3 Tuesday night win.
Evans didn’t even start the game for Florida. Kevin O’Sullivan gave [autotag]Matt Prevesk[/autotag] a chance to start in right field after Evans continued to struggle against SEC pitching. The result was an 0-for-2 night for Prevesk, and [autotag]Dale Thomas[/autotag] pinch-hit for him in the seventh, further implying that Evans wasn’t the man Florida wanted at the plate.
Finally, Evans entered the game as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning, and luck would put him at the plate in a two-out situation with a pair of runners on base.
He missed badly on a slider to start the at-bat, but Evans wouldn’t miss it when FSU right-hander Doug Kirkland threw the pitch again. Evans, who has a flare for the dramatic, smashed a no-doubt home run to left field, putting the Gators up by two.
๐๐๐ฝ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐๐#GoGators // ๐บ https://t.co/NNkGUMfib5 pic.twitter.com/UA6UHlTgoY
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) April 12, 2023
It was Evans’ fourth home run on the year and one that Gators fans aren’t likely to forget the next time questions arise over whether he should be the everyday right fielder at UF or not.
[autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] struck out the side to close the door on his SEC-leading seventh save of the season. The right-handed sophomore has transitioned from a fringe weekend starter to an elite closer masterfully, and there was never really any doubt about the win once Evans hit the home run.
Not to be forgotten are the performances turned in by start [autotag]Ryan Slater[/autotag] and left-handed freshman [autotag]Cade Fisher[/autotag] in relief. Slater went six innings for the first time, even if he did run into some trouble in the last frame. He left the game in line for the loss, but Fisher kept things close with two innings of baserunner-free work and earned the win.
Slater isn’t going to deliver a double-digit strikeout game anytime soon, but he’s a strong option to go on Sundays moving forward if [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] can’t get things together on the mound. This was Slater’s audition of sorts, and he passed with flying colors.
๐๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฌ: go-ahead tank ๐ pic.twitter.com/h9hP9ogWcv
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) April 12, 2023
Speaking of Caglianone, the nation’s home run leader has hit another mini-slump and is now on a 0-for-10 stretch. That being said, Florida only managed five hits all night against the Seminoles, and four of them came after the fifth inning.
It’s a good sign that the Gators can win games that they don’t hit their best in, but now isn’t the time for Florida to be regressing as a team either. The back half of the conference schedule is still loaded with top-25 opponents, and then it’s playoff time.
Lost in all this might be that Florida has taken the season series against Florida State and has a chance to sweep with a rescheduled natural site game in Jacksonville on May 2.
Florida hosts Georgia over the weekend, starting on Friday.
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