Tag: baseball

Florida baseball takes Game 1 over Missouri in rain-delayed hit-fest

Florida’s batters must have been antsy with the three-hour weather delay, as the Gators totaled 13 hits in the win over the Tigers.

In a game that had its start delayed nearly three hours, Florida emerged victorious early Saturday morning against Missouri in a contest that featured 19 hits between the two teams. The Gators took a six-run lead early in the game, but the Tigers managed to crawl back in the second half. However, UF survived 8-5 to take the series opener.

Franco Aleman took to the mound for Florida (23-11, 7-6 SEC) as he seems to be the pitcher coach Kevin O’Sullivan has the most confidence in at the moment. He started the game strong, not allowing any runs from the Tigers (11-21, 4-9 SEC) in the first two innings, though he did give up one single.

After neither team managed to get much going offensively in the first inning and a half, Jud Fabian led off the bottom of the second for Florida with a home run against Missouri’s Seth Halvorsen to break the scoreless tie. Mizzou answered in the third, though, after Ty Wilmsmeyer led off with a double, and he scored later in the inning off a throwing error.

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The game wouldn’t remain tied for long. Jacob Young walked to lead off the inning and proceeded to steal second, and Nate Hickey singled and reached second on a throw. With two runners in scoring position, Kirby McMullen crushed the Gators’ second home run of the night to clear the bases and take a 4-1 lead.

Florida wasn’t done, as Jordan Butler followed a Fabian double with a single that scored him, Kendrick Calilao brought Butler home on a triple and a sacrifice lineout from Colby Halter added one more for good measure. When the dust had settled and Halvorsen got out of the inning, UF led 7-1.

Unfortunately for the Gators, Aleman began to struggle in the fourth inning. He gave up three base hits and a walk to start off the inning, and though he managed to get one more out, he was pulled after 3.1, allowing five hits and three earned runs with three strikeouts. Christian Scott entered the game, and though he allowed a fourth run in the inning to score on a sacrifice, he got out of the inning cleanly otherwise. However, the lead was down to just two runs.

The offensive firepower cooled off a bit after that, at least for a few innings. Scott was locked in, and UF couldn’t manage anymore runs off Halvorsen before he was pulled in the fifth inning after allowing nine hits and seven earned runs. Reliever Konnor Ash gave up two hits in the sixth inning, but he was strong aside from that, and Florida was held scoreless until the eighth inning.

That was when the Gators finally managed some insurance. Jordan Carrion led off the bottom of the frame with a single, and he reached second after a balk from ash. Hickey, who went 4 for 4 at the plate, cracked a double to left-center field to bring Carrion home and stretch the lead to three.

Missouri attempted a ninth-inning rally, but it wasn’t to be. It managed to get two runners on base after a walk and hit-by-pitch from Scott, but with the tying run at the plate, Mark Vierling popped out to left field, ending the game. Scott earned his second win of the season (moving his overall record to 2-2), and he had another shutdown outing in relief, allowing just one hit and no runs in his 5.2 innings of work. He walked just one batter and struck out three.

Weather permitting, Florida will attempt to take the series over the Tigers in Game 2 on Saturday. First pitch for that one is currently scheduled for 1 pm EDT.

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Comeback kids do it again as Notre Dame beats NC State

That’s the first place Fighting Irish baseball team in case you were wondering.

After falling behind 2-0 in Friday’s series opener at Eck Stadium, the No. 7 Notre Dame baseball team did what they’ve done several times already this year:

Came back to win.

Jack Brannigan was the star of the night for the now 17-6 (15-6 in ACC) Fighting Irish as he batted in all three runs in the 3-2 victory.

Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the fourth with two on and two outs, Brannigan came through with a single up the middle to score both runners and tie the game at two.

Still tied at two in the bottom of the eighth, big bopper Niko Kavadas got things going with a one-out walk before Carter Putz and Jack Zyska both singled to load the bases.  It was then Brannigan getting hit on an 0-2 pitch that batted in the eventual winning run.

Will Mercer was solid on the mound for the Irish, allowing only two runs in five innings while Tanner Kohlhepp was outstanding, going the final four innings in relief and allowing just one baserunner.

The loss ended the Wolfpack’s six-game winning streak and propelled the Irish into first place in the ACC’s Atlantic division as Louisville lost 8-7 at Virginia in extra innings Friday.

Game two of the weekend series between Notre Dame and NC State is set to get started at 2 p.m. ET at Eck Stadium on Saturday and can be seen on ACC Extra Network.

Series Preview: Florida baseball hosts the Missouri Tigers for three-game set

Things look very positive for Florida baseball entering the weekend against Missouri and hopefully it will maintain the historical edge. 

The No. 18 Florida Gators (22-11, 6-6 SEC) bounced back from a tough road series loss last weekend against the No. 6 Tennessee Volunteers with a win over the No. 24 Florida State Seminoles on Tuesday night, earning their second-straight victory. They now head into their weekend series back at home against the Missouri Tigers (11-20, 4-8 SEC) looking to add to the win column and regain an edge in the conference standings.

Mizzou has not been great this year, entering the weekend tilt with both a losing record overall as well as in conference play. The Tigers have lost three in a row, including a pair to then-No. 11 South Carolina, as well as eight of their past 11 contests. Their biggest victory of the season was likely the series opener against South Carolina on April 9, in which they won 7-2.

Historically, Florida has dominated the all-time series at 23-4 along with a 13-1 record in Gainesville. Since Missouri joined the SEC in 2012, the Gators have run up an 18-3 record and have won the last 12 straight meetings. Things look very positive for UF entering the weekend and hopefully it will maintain the historical edge.

Here is a look below at the starting pitchers lined up for this weekend’s series along with the projected starting lineup. Scroll down further for interesting excerpts from the media guide.

Gators News: Get set for a weekend filled to the brim with Florida sports

Excitement abounds, no doubt, as three athletic programs compete in postseason play, all vying for the sweet glory of a championship trophy.

The weekend is nearly here which means once again that Gators sports will be in full swing for the next few days. Excitement abounds, no doubt, as three athletic programs compete in postseason play, all vying for the sweet glory of a championship trophy; the other four continue regular season play as their regular-season schedules wane as we get closer to summer.

Here is a look at yesterday’s recaps as well as a look ahead at what is in store for the Gator Nation this weekend.

Calilao crushes walk-off in extras as Florida splits season series with FSU

Kendrick Calilao entered the game as a pinch hitter, and he secured a midweek win with a walk-off home run in the 10th inning.

It may have taken 10 innings, but Florida managed to escape a pitching duel with rival FSU at home on Tuesday night. The Gators had just two hits after the third inning, but one of them proved to be valuable as Kendrick Calilao crushed a walk-off homer over the wall after entering as a pinch-hitter earlier in the game, securing a 3-2 win.

The Seminoles (16-13) made five errors, and lights-out performances from UF pitchers Garrett Milchin and Jack Leftwich were enough to even the two-game season series.

Florida (22-11) avenged a 10-2 loss in Game 1 last month when Milchin struggled tremendously. Against FSU this time around, he was much better. He pitched six innings, allowing just three hits and two runs. He also struck out five batters.

UF’s lineup only managed four hits all game, but it got on the scoreboard first in the second inning. The Seminoles put three batters on base after two errors and a walk, and a pair of sac-flies from Jordan Butler and Colby Halter put Florida up 2-0. It got a runner to third in the following inning, but nothing came of it.

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The Gators couldn’t hold onto the lead, though, as Milchin gave up a leadoff walk in the fourth inning followed by an RBI double by Robby Martin. After a sacrifice groundout later in the inning, FSU managed to tie the game at two, though the damage ended with that.

That started an offensive cold streak for both teams. Milchin was replaced at the top of the seventh by Leftwich, who pitched the rest of the way and had a fantastic outing after throwing just eight pitches last weekend (all walks). It was arguably his best game of the season, as he didn’t allow any hits in four innings. He also struck out seven batters while walking just one.

But Florida struggled to hit off a committee of FSU relievers. Its best chance to break the tie came in the seventh inning, when it stranded two on base. That threat was ended when Calilao, who entered the game as a pinch hitter, struck out looking on his first plate appearance.

He got his chance at redemption at the bottom of the tenth inning, though. Florida State pitcher Clayton Kwiatkowski entered the game and put away his first two batters, and with two outs, UF’s last chance in the inning rested on Calilao’s shoulders.

He didn’t disappoint, and his walk-off home run secured a season split with the Seminoles. Florida returns to conference play action on Friday when 11-19 Missouri comes to town. The Gators will look to get back to their series-winning ways against the Tigers, and first pitch for Game 1 is set for 6:30 p.m. EDT.

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Gators News: Baseball, women’s tennis on tap today

Monday was a rare open day for Gators sports with not a single program in action but Tuesday brings the return of two teams.

Monday was a rare open day for Gators sports with not a single program in action but Tuesday brings the return of two teams — one looking to close out its regular season schedule on a high note while the other seeks a victory over an in-state rival. Let us see what is in store for today.

Gators News: Men’s tennis finishes near-perfect season and other weekend news

Take a look at what happened this past weekend in Florida Gators sports, including baseball, softball and men’s tennis.

Welcome back to another week here at Gators Wire! This past weekend was a bit tumultuous, as the baseball team dropped two of three on the road while the softball team had its exhibition with Canada Softball cut short by torrential downpours while its Sunday game was also rained out. But the big news was the strong finish that No. 1-ranked men’s team had to the season on Friday.

Watch: Mancini hits first home run since return

He’s officially back.

Trey Mancini has understandably been getting ovations since returning to the field for the Baltimore Orioles this season.  It happened in the opener at Boston and then again when the O’s opened their home season earlier this week.

Mancini struggled a bit in the first week of the 2021 season but Saturday saw the MLB veteran and former Notre Dame slugger hit his first home run since returning from colon cancer.

The Orioles and Red Sox played into extra innings but a pair of runs in the tenth gave Boston the 6-4 victory Saturday.

Baltimore is now 4-4 on the year while Boston improves to 5-3.

Florida baseball drops series opener against No. 6 Tennessee

Florida opened its series against No. 6 Tennessee with a 6-4 loss on Friday night and will look to avoid a series loss on Saturday.

The Gators may have won their series against a top-10 team in Ole Miss last weekend, but their first outing against the No. 6 Volunteers this weekend didn’t go as planned. Playing on the road in Knoxville, Florida managed a good bit of offense in the form of three home runs, but it wasn’t enough to counter a formidable Tennessee lineup. UT secured a 6-4 win in Game 1 with a pair of late runs, and UF will look to avoid a series loss in Game 2 on Saturday.

Florida struggled to hit consistently off Vols pitcher Chad Dallas, who was very sharp in what was his fifth win of the season. He didn’t allow hits in the first two frames as he quickly moved through the Gators lineup.

UF ace Tommy Mace started the game after seeing a reliever role last weekend, and though he allowed a leadoff walk in the first, he recovered after that. He didn’t give up his first hit until the third when Logan Steenstra cracked a double to right field. Liam Spence followed with an RBI single to give the Volunteers the early lead.

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That wouldn’t last long, though. Nate Hickey led off the fourth with a home run and Kirby McMullen decided to follow suit. The Gators took a 2-1 lead, but they couldn’t do any more damage as Dallas strung together three-straight strikeouts. Tennessee answered at the bottom of the inning, though, with a two-RBI double from Evan Russell, and it retook the lead. Jud Fabian had the chance to make a play on the ball with two outs, but it popped out of his glove at the warning track. Drew Gilbert added to the lead the following inning with an RBI single.

After two scoreless innings, UF desperately needed some offense. Luckily, it got some from Fabian, who redeemed himself with a home run to lead off the seventh. Later in the inning, Colby Halter hit an RBI single to tie the game at four.

Again, though, that lead wouldn’t last long. Mace was pulled after the sixth, ending a six-inning night in which he allowed eight hits and four runs but struck out six. Christian Scott entered the game, and after two hits (including a near-perfect bunt) put Vols runners at the corners, Jake Rucker hit a sac-fly that snagged the league back in Tennessee’s direction.

Tennessee made a change after the seventh, as well, replacing Dallas with Sean Hunley. Hunley didn’t allow a hit in the final two frames, closing the game out and earning a save in the process.

With a frustrating Game 1 in the books, UF will hope to salvage the series on Saturday. First pitch for that game in Knoxville is set for 7 p.m. EDT.

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