Tag: Blake Purnell

Florida advances to regional final after 17-run explosion against Nebraska

The ball was flying in Stillwater Sunday afternoon, but Florida came out on top against Nebraska and advances to the regional final.

A two-hour rain delay in the sixth inning on Sunday allowed Florida’s offense to refocus and explode for 10 runs in a 17-11 victory over Nebraska to advance to the finals of the Stillwater Regional.

Six Gators finished the day with multiple hits and four homered — three coming in the bottom of the seventh. Shortstop [autotag]Colby Shelton[/autotag] led the offense with three hits, including a home run, and four runs batted in. [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] also had a homer and four RBI, but a pair of walks slowed him down. [autotag]Dale Thomas[/autotag] and [autotag]Luke Heyman[/autotag] homered as well.

It wasn’t a great day for pitchers on either side, but five of the runs scored against Florida came in garbage time as [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] attempted to save his best bullpen arms for the coming matchup with Oklahoma State — set to begin 55 minutes after the conclusion of this game.

[autotag]Pierce Coppola[/autotag] gave up four runs through a season-high 4 1/3 innings pitched (85 pitches), striking out eight. Fisher Jameson had his outing interrupted by the rain delay, but he still allowed two earned runs in against the four batters he faced.

[autotag]Cade Fisher[/autotag] and [autotag]Ryan Slater[/autotag] both had nice days but only threw an inning apiece with the doubleheader looming. They each had two strikeouts, facing a combined seven batters (one more than the minimum).

[autotag]Blake Purnell[/autotag], Hunter Jones and Landon Russell closed out the final two innings for Florida. Jones and Purnell were both very hittable and gave up five runs to cut a double-digit lead for UF in half, but Russell got the outs he needed and struck out a pair.

Two names we haven’t seen from Florida all weekend are freshmen [autotag]Luke McNeillie[/autotag] and Frank Menendez. Both have been good for Florida down the stretch. Expect them to play a big role if [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] doesn’t get the start for Florida.

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Gators take down FSU, Caglianone ties school home run record

Jac Caglianone tied the program single-season home run record, Blake Purnell had a career outing in relief and Florida swept the season series against FSU with a 7-5 win Tuesday night.

Gainesville has never seen a power hitter like [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag], and the Florida first baseman etched his name into the program record books with his 26th home run of the season during a 7-5 win over Florida State on Tuesday night.

Caglianone’s line drive home run might have only traveled some 325 feet, but it counts the same as his 480-foot tank against Missouri over the weekend. He ties the school record held by Matt LaPorta and teammate [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag]. Caglianone should set the new mark over the weekend against Texas A&M and could pass the 30-homer threshold by the season’s end if he keeps on his current pace of one every eight plate appearances.

The Gators have three series left for Caglianone to do some damage in the regular season, and he’ll likely add to his home run total throughout the SEC and NCAA tournaments.

Caglianone’s home run was a part of back-to-back jacks to lead off the top of the fifth inning and put the Gators out in front, 7-5. [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] hit the first homer of the inning, and that score held for the rest of the night.

Most of the scoring came in the first inning of the game. Florida State once again threw Ben Barrett, and Florida went with [autotag]Clete Hartzog[/autotag], who has worked exclusively out of the bullpen this season. Neither made it out of the first, giving up at least four runs each, with Hartzog failing to record an out.

[autotag]Nick Ficarrotta[/autotag] took over and pitched three scoreless innings in relief of Hartzog, and [autotag]Blake Purnell[/autotag] took over in the fourth. Purnell has struggled this season. He fell out of the weekend bullpen rotation after leading the team in appearances a year ago, but Tuesday was a career night for the St. Thomas Aquinas alumnus.

Purnell struck out eight over five innings, setting new career highs in both categories. If the Gators can get Purnell back for an inning or two every weekend, a ton of pressure will be taken off some other arms in the ‘pen and the starters.

An extra bullpen arm or two can make the difference deep in a tournament, so it’s very encouraging to see Purnell return to form. [autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] closed out the game for save No. 2 on the year as [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] rested up for the upcoming series against Texas A&M.

Florida is at College Station for a three-game series starting on Friday.

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Gators drop Game 2, series against South Carolina

Is this how the other teams feel when Florida beats them every weekend? The Gators dropped Game 2 and the series against South Carolina Friday night, 5-2.

Florida suffered a consecutive loss for the first time this season Friday night as the South Carolina Gamecocks outplayed the Gators in a 5-2 series-clinching win.

Hurston Waldrep started on the mound for UF and saw his streak of consecutive quality starts end at three as the Gamecocks got to him for five runs through the first two innings. First baseman Cole Messina homered in the first with a man on and Golden Spikes candidate/right fielder Ethan Petry hit a three-run shot in the second inning.

Waldrep settled in and retired the lineup in order over the next three innings. He’d run into some trouble again in the sixth with men on the corners, but he struck out the side after convincing Sully to let him stay in.

The bullpen did its job, too. [autotag]Clete Hartzog[/autotag] and [autotag]Blake Purnell[/autotag] pitched a clean seventh and eighth, respectively, but Florida’s offense couldn’t score runs when it needed it to most.

The Gators left men on base in all but the first and eighth innings. [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] struck out with two men in on in the seventh, which felt like th defining moment of the game, and there’s really nothing to do here but tip your hat to South Carolina.

The Gamecocks looked like the better club all around on Friday and Saturday. A true freshman led the offense against two potential first-round arms, both starters did their job against one of the most dangerous lineups in the country and the bullpen looked elite.

Florida is still a national-championship caliber club, but the Gamecocks are serious as well and will threaten to beat any team in the postseason. UF needs to rebound from these two games on Saturday and put it to SCAR, just as Tennessee did after suffering two convincing losses against Florida two weeks ago.

If you’re looking for a silver lining, [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] hit another home run and is just three away from tying the school record.

The final game of the series begins at 2 p.m.

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Florida baseball outlasts Auburn, takes weekend series after late surge

There were times when things seems a bit tumultuous, but never give up on the Gators’ offense!

The outcome of the game was uncertain, to say the least, after the first five innings but Florida baseball eventually exploded against the Auburn Tigers to take the rubber match in the weekend series, 17-8.

[autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] got the start for the Orange and Blue, and for the first time this weekend, managed to blank the Tigers in the opening frame — albeit working out of a jam created by an error and a hit-by-pitch. [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] pushed things forward in the bottom half of the inning, plating three on a bases-loaded, two-out single plus a fielding error that gave the Gators the early lead.

Auburn answered quickly with a solo home run to lead off the second and threatened to score more, but a leaping catch in center field by [autotag]Michael Robertson[/autotag] prevented any further damage. The Gators threatened in the bottom half putting runners on thanks to an HPB and a walk, but Calianone was unable to help his own cause, striking out for the second time to end the threat.

Cags managed to get through the top of the third, but not without a little bit of drama that pushed his pitch count to 65 — not exactly a paragon of efficiency. The Orange and Blue failed to capitalize on a leadoff walk by [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] to put up a goose egg in its half as well.

The Tigers slugged their second home run of the game with one on and no outs in the top of the fourth — on a hit-and-run, no less — to knot things up. A single and a double chased Caglianone off the mound after 81 pitches, bringing high-leverage reliever [autotag]Blake Purnell[/autotag] in to put out the fire.

He did not put out the fire but did limit the damage to just one more run, giving the visitors their first lead of the day before giving way to [autotag]Cade Fisher[/autotag]. But the Tigers were not done scoring just yet.

Auburn added its third home run of the day — a two-out, three-run shot — to stretch the lead to 8-3 over Fisher and the Gators. After giving up that dinger, the Tigers managed to follow up with a double but a strikeout stopped the bleeding.

The Orange and Blue showed some life in the bottom of the fifth, plating two runs thanks to an RBI single by [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] followed by a bases-loaded walk that pushed the score to 8-6, but unfortunately, [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag]’s squad could not push any more home.

Auburn went down 1-2-3 in the top of the sixth, giving way to a two-run inning for the Gators that began with a bases-loaded walk to Luke Heyman and a subsequent sacrifice fly by Langford that tied the game; a Matt Prevesk strikeout ended the threat.

[autotag]Ryan Slater[/autotag], who took over to start the sixth, threw four straight clean innings with four strikeouts. His efforts in the seventh set the table for a two-RBI single from Caglianone in the seventh to reclaim the lead — a lead that would be padded to the tune of a 12-8 score by the end of the frame. A diving catch by Auburn’s centerfielder saved a couple of runs to end the inning.

The scoring continued into the bottom of the eighth, with the Gators adding a whopping five runs that included a grand slam to put the score on the verge of mercy-rule territory. The Tigers failed to respond, resulting in a 17-8 win for the Orange and Blue, with Slater earning the win.

Next up for Florida are the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats who travel to Gainesville to take on the Gators on Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. EDT and the game can be followed either on the SEC Network+ or ESPN 98.1FM/850AM WRUF.

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Freshmen lead No. 3 Florida to sweep of No. 13 Ole Miss

Florida baseball hasn’t lost a series this season and is sweeping teams ranked No. 13 overall in the nation. If you’re not paying attention yet, now is the time to get on the bandwagon.

After taking both games of a Saturday doubleheader, Florida kept its winning ways going against Ole Miss on Sunday and completed the three-game sweep, 7-2.

The freshmen led the day for the Gators, both at the plate and on the mound. Catcher [autotag]Luke Heyman[/autotag] homered twice, once in the fourth and again in the eighth, and second baseman [autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] finished the day 3 for 5 with four RBIs. Kurland also homered in the eighth and singled in runs in the fourth and sixth.

[autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag], who started on the mound for Florida, got the scoring started in the first with his nation-leading 17th home run of the year. He’d finish the day 2-for-5, but things didn’t go so well on the mound.

Caglianone lasted just 3 2/3 innings against Ole Miss and walked eight batters, including three in the fourth. His command wasn’t there from the start with his arm side stuff, but the walks didn’t hurt him until the fourth. Fortunately, [autotag]Blake Purnell [/autotag]was able to get the final out of the inning without giving up any more runs, which is a big outing for a guy who has struggled this season.

Left-handed freshman [autotag]Chris Arroyo[/autotag] made a rare appearance and might have earned himself some more playing time. He faced the minimum through two innings, striking out four batters and holding the Rebels hitless. His slider was working well in particular, buckling the knees of lefties and baiting righties to swing and miss at it.

[autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] pitched a clean seventh but saw ran into trouble in the eighth after the second error of the day from [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag]. The team’s closer [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] came in for Abner after an unearned run scored and traded a run for a double play.

He closed out the eighth and ninth innings for Florida, securing the first road sweep of Ole Miss for the program since 1988.

Defensive honors go to [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] at first and [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] in right for each making a diving play that saved a double during the game.

This was a massive series win for Florida that validates the No. 3 ranking. Alabama and Miami were good wins too, but the reigning national champions are a different story.

Up next, Florida plays its neutral site game against Florida State on Tuesday and then prepares for a four-game homestand against Auburn and Bethune-Cookman.

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Florida baseball completes comeback against FSU

The Florida Gators slowly chipped away at Florida State’s lead all night until they finally came up big with a five-run eighth inning that decided the game.

The Florida Gators dug themselves into an early hole Tuesday night against Florida State, but a five-run eighth inning secured a 9-5 win for UF against its bitter rival.

Florida’s pitching staff was well-rested, but a midweek game between SEC series isn’t the time to use up the top arms on the club. The Gators threw right-hander [autotag]Tyler Nesbitt[/autotag], who made it through 3 and 2/3 innings before getting the hook from Kevin O’Sullivan.

Nesbitt wasn’t great, but some of the runs on his record came after he was out fo the game. He left a pair of runners on in the fourth that [autotag]Cade Fisher[/autotag] couldn’t stop from scoring, which led to a four-run (three earned) day for Nesbitt. It’s the second time in as many games that Fisher has struggled to work his left-lefty matchup, and he allowed all three batters he faced on Tuesday to reach base.

[autotag]Nick Ficarrotta[/autotag] finally got Florida out of the fourth inning and struck out two in the fifth, but he allowed two base runners to get on. Left-hander [autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] came in and got the ground out the team needed, and that’s when the Gators’ pitching staff settled in.

Abner struck out the side in the sixth and seventh while the team slowly chipped away at the deficit. He’d end up earning the win after Florida came through big in the eighth.

[autotag]Matt Prevesk[/autotag] had the biggest at-bat of the night, coming up to pinch hit with the bases loaded and only 10 plate appearances on the year. He came through and delivered the tying run through the left side. It was one of six singles in the inning, four of which scored runs.

[autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] was in the mix during that rally with his fourth hit and second and third RBIs of the night. Josh Rivera was the only other Gator with multiple hits and runs batted in, finishing the night with two of each.

[autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] closed things out but didn’t earn a save because Florida was up by four and he came in with no runners on.

Abner, Ficarrotta and Neely look really good and might be the backbone of the bullpen moving forward. If [autotag]Blake Purnell[/autotag] and Cade Fisher can rejoin that group, Florida will remain a legitimate threat to beat any team this season.

[autotag]Dale Thomas[/autotag] started in left field for [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag], but it looks like he’s nearing a return after minor surgery. Kevin O’Sullivan is going to take his time bringing back his top bat, and Florida doing alright without him so far.

Florida improves to 19-4 on the season and is at Ole Miss this weekend from Friday to Sunday for the team’s first series on the road. It’s a big test for the third-ranked club in the nation.

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Key takeaways from Florida’s strong start ahead of SEC play

Florida is getting ready to begin SEC play on the diamond. Here’s what we learned about the team during non-conference play.

Florida baseball is 16-3, ranked fifth overall in the country and riding a seven-game winning streak heading into conference play, but everything isn’t perfect in Gainesville after a strong start to 2023.

Those three losses all have a common denominator, an implosion from the bullpen, and it’s no secret that relief depth is Florida’s weak point. Kevin O’Sullivan has been figuring out which members of the ‘pen he can trust, and there are fewer names on the list than he would like.

Still, starting pitching and hitting are two very strong areas for the Gators, so they’ll be in most games they play in. The weekend rotation has been particularly strong for UF this year, and [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] has made a seamless transition as a two-way player. In front of him are two potential first-round picks, [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] and [autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag], that have only gotten better as the season’s carried on.

The injury bug did bite the Gators last week, but most of the team should be healthy for the start of SEC play on Thursday against No. 24 Alabama. Florida has played just one series against a ranked opponent this season against Miami. UF took two of three games and ended the weekend with a mercy-rule win.

Things look good for Florida with conference play set to begin, but the Gators still have to get the job done on the field. Here’s a look at what we’ve learned about the team over the first 19 games of the season.

Florida completes sweep of Siena with second-straight mercy-rule win

Florida had another short day on the diamond as the Gators finished off the sweep of Siena with a 12-2 victory.

Florida completed the sweep of Siena on Sunday, 12-2, behind a strong two-way performance from [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag].

It was a short day for Caglianone. He ended up going just three innings on the mound, but Florida was already up seven and charging toward another mercy rule victory. He struck out three and walked two while giving up a hit. Caglianone also hit a batter in the first.

The reasoning for the short outing is two-fold. Not only did Kevin O’Sullivan want to get his bullpen guys some action in a game that probably wasn’t going the full nine innings, but he wanted to save Caglianone’s arm for next weekend’s series against Alabama, which starts on Thursday.

[autotag]Blake Purnell[/autotag] pitched the next 1 2/3 innings for Florida, leaving a pair of baserunners on for [autotag]Clete Hartzog[/autotag] to clean up. Hartzog couldn’t get them out, though, and Purnell’s ERA climbed to 9.53 on the year.

It’s been a tough start to the season for Purnell, who was Florida’s most-used reliever a year ago, and things don’t look like they are getting better. [autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] closed out the game in the seventh with Florida up 12-2.

Florida scored seven across the first two innings. [autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] drove in [autotag]Michael Robertson[/autotag] on a single with no outs in the first, and [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] and [autotag]Tyler Shelnut[/autotag] both drove in runs on fielder’s choices to start the game.

Kurland drove in another run on an RBI that would have been a fielder’s choice – this time it was [autotag]Deric Fabian[/autotag] scoring. Then, Caglianone hit his twelfth home run of the season. a three-run shot.

After a rare quiet inning in the third, Caglianone went deep for the second time on the afternoon, and [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] hit his eighth of the year. The back-to-back home runs put Florida one run shy of the run rule after four, and it wouldn’t take long for the Gators to reach the double-digit mark.

Kurland scored on a throwing error in the fifth, and Ripelle drove in Caglianone and Rivera to put UF up by 10 — Siena’s two runs came in the top of the fifth. The bullpen just had to hold on for two innings to secure the win, and Abner and Hartzog were up to the task.

Deric Fabian got the start in left field for an injured Wyatt Langford on Sunday. He batted eighth in the order and finished the night 1 for 3 with a run scored and a walk. He also swiped a pair of bases.

Fabian has an obvious upside, but it’s hard to find him a spot with the .214 batting average. Rivera has shortstop locked down, and there’s little chance Kurland comes out of the lineup anytime soon. [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag]’s bat is picking up, and [autotag]Tyler Shlenut[/autotag] is the backup at third ahead of Fabian. At first, Caglianone has things locked down when he’s not pitching with Riopelle as his top backup.

It’s good to see him split the starts in left with [autotag]Richie Schiekofer[/autotag] during this series, but [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] will be back soon. It might take another year for Fabian to emerge as a major factor on this Gators team. Transfer questions might start up soon if he continues to stay on the bench.

Florida sweeping Siena this week was a bit expected, but the Saints put up a good fight on Friday and then the pitching gave out. The real test begins on Thursday when Alabama comes to town.

The Gators get one more tune-up game against North Florida on Tuesday at 6 p.m. EDT.

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Key takeaways after Florida baseball splits series with Jacksonville

Florida can’t seem to figure out the winning formula on Wednesdays, but the Gators are still off to a hot start in 2023.

Florida failed to put together a perfect week once again and split a midweek home-and-home series against the Jacksonville Dolphins on Tuesday and Wednesday.

It took Florida until the fourth inning to get things going against Jacksonville on the road Tuesday, but the Gators ended up scoring in each of the final six innings of the ball game to beat the Dolphins, 18-8.

Wednesday was a different story. Florida jumped out to an early 2-0 lead through two innings at home, but Jacksonville fought back after the Gators turned to the bullpen. A six-run sixth inning for the Dolphins proved to be enough and Florida fell, 10-8, to split the series.

Once again, pitching depth appeared to be an issue for Florida during the second midweek game of the week. Kevin O’Sullivan is still searching for the right mix of arms to last through the week without taxing any one particular pitcher too much early on.

An 8-2 start is far from a disaster, though. Florida looks like it could have a special team this season, but pitching depth could be an Achilles’ heel throughout the year.

Here’s what we learned from Florida’s series with Jacksonville.

Key takeaways from Florida’s series sweep of Cincinnati

Florida baseball is off to a hot start and is now 7-1 after a series sweep of Cincinnati. Here’s what we learned over the weekend:

Florida swept the Cincinnati Bearcats over the weekend to bring the Gators to a 7-1 record to start the season.

After splitting a home-and-home series with the USF bulls over the week, Florida needed to bounce back in a big way. It did so to the tune of 13 runs on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, while allowing Cincinnati to put up a combined 16 runs. It’s the second-straight weekend in a row that Florida has doubled its opponents, and the team looks pretty unstoppable out of the gate.

The weekend rotation is elite and needs significantly less help from the bullpen than the midweek starters. At the plate, everyone is hitting, and a new school record for home runs in a game being set on Sunday proves that this team has legitimate power.

It’s hard to find something wrong with this Gators team right now. The club will eventually face some true adversity, but this is a group that’s firing on all cylinders.