Tag: BT Riopelle

Florida baseball steals one versus No. 2 Arkansas Razorbacks to even the series

Florida baseball starter Brandon Sproat propelled the Gators to victory versus the No. 2 Razorbacks.

Florida baseball pitcher [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] has now strung together two strong outings versus No. 23 Georgia last weekend and No. 2 Arkansas after mediocre outings against Alabama and LSU. He shut down the potent Razorbacks lineup Friday night to help his team force the rubber match.

The right-hander went 5 2/3 innings, giving up seven hits, two walks and one earned run while striking out five. His strong start propelled the Gators toward a 7-2 victory Friday at Florida Ballpark to even the series.

Florida’s lineup came out guns blazing after only recording three hits in an 8-1 defeat Thursday. Center fielder [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] doubled after second baseman [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] flew out to center field. Fabian advanced to third on a passed ball and then was driven in by a right fielder [autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag] sacrifice fly. Left fielder [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] then blasted an opposite-field homer to give them a 2-0 advantage after the first inning.

The Gators picked up where they left off in the next inning. Arkansas starter Hagen Smith loaded the bases and walked third baseman [autotag]Deric Fabian[/autotag] to send a runner home. Halter then drove in shortstop [autotag]Joshua Rivera[/autotag] to push their lead to 4-0. Catcher [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] snuck a solo shot over the right-center-field wall to add another run.

Arkansas took advantage of a Halter error in the top of the fifth to finally get on the board. Florida responded quickly, earning that run in the bottom half. Riopelle drove in Thompson via a sac fly and first baseman [autotag]Kendrick Calilao[/autotag] doubled down the left-field line, scoring Langford to increase the lead to 7-1.

The Razorbacks scored one more run when designated hitter Brady Slavens tripled to center field, driving in Braydon Webb.

Florida then held on in the ninth to clinch the 7-2 victory, breaking a six-game losing streak versus SEC opponents. Langford finished the night 2-for-4 with a homer and an RBI. Riopelle went 2-for-3 with a longball and two RBIs. The Gators lineup also only struck out four times versus Arkansas.

They’ll return Saturday at 1 p.m. EDT to play Arkansas at Florida Ballpark for the series victory.

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Arkansas Razorbacks stifles Gators bats in series opening loss

Arkansas ace Connor Noland had the Gators’ number in an 8-1 Florida loss on Thursday.

Arkansas ace Connor Noland stifled the Florida baseball bats for seven effortless innings. He gave up one hit to second baseman [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] to lead off the game and then didn’t allow another. Gators’ hitters only managed one hit and a walk while striking out seven times against Noland. His bullpen allowed two hits and a walk in the final two frames but hung on to beat the Gators, 8-1, Thursday night at Florida Ballpark.

Noland and Florida’s [autotag]Hunter Barco[/autotag] cruised effortlessly through the first three frames.

Barco then ran into trouble in the top of the fourth inning, though. He caught Razorbacks‘ third baseman Cayden Wallace to lead off the frame. Second baseman Robert Moore walked following a Barco strikeout. Right fielder Chris Lanzilli struck out but Florida catcher [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] couldn’t corral it, allowing Wallace and Moore to advance to scoring position. Catcher Michael Turner singled to shortstop, giving Arkansas the 1-0 lead.

The Razorbacks pushed across another run in the following two innings. Barco led off the inning, hitting a batter that eventually came around to score via a Wallace RBI single. Lanzilli hit a lead-off solo home run in the sixth.

Coach [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] pulled Barco later in the inning after he gave up a single and another walk. Barco finished his outing after five innings, giving up four hits and three earned runs while striking out seven and walking three.

Meanwhile, Noland continued to breeze through Gators’ hitters. He went seven innings only allowing a hit and a walk along with zero earned runs while striking out seven.

Florida finally got a runner in scoring position after first baseman Kendrick Calilao singled and shortstop Joshua Rivera earned a walk with only one out. However, the Gators popped out and flew out to end their eighth-inning threat.

Arkansas exploded for five runs in the top of the ninth, and Florida broke the shutout in the bottom half to get to the final score of 8-1.

Florida and the Razorbacks return for the second game Friday at 6:30 p.m. EDT and can be seen on SEC Network+.

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Florida baseball looks to right ship versus No. 2 Arkansas Razorbacks

Florida baseball needs a heroic effort from its pitching staff if it wants to pull the series upset versus No. 2 Arkansas.

Florida baseball plummeted out of the D1Baseball top 25 rankings this week after getting swept by the No. 23 Georgia Bulldogs this past weekend despite defeating No. 5 Florida State in Jacksonville in a mid-week matchup. The road doesn’t get much easier this upcoming weekend or next as the Gators are set to host the No. 2 Arkansas Razorbacks and the No. 1 Tennessee Volunteers.

Florida rebounded nicely and beat Florida A&M on Tuesday, 13-3, after it lost three straight to the Bulldogs. Center fielder[autotag] Jud Fabian[/autotag], third baseman [autotag]Deric Fabian[/autotag] and first baseman [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] all homered in Tuesday’s game.

The Razorbacks enter Gainesville, holding a 22-5 record. They grabbed two out of three games versus Mississippi State before dropping the series finale, 5-3, in extra innings.

The Gators are in a critical part of their season and in the final stretch where they play five straight SEC weekend series against top 25 teams. Its SEC schedule will then get easier as it finishes the season out playing against four teams that aren’t ranked.

If coach [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] has any hopes of salvaging this season and making a serious run in the NCAA tournament, he has to find a No. 2 and 3 starter for his weekend rotation. His starters outside of [autotag]Hunter Barco[/autotag] have struggled mightily in SEC play.

Gators can’t prevent Georgia from sweeping weekend series

That’s five Ls in a row to conference foes for the Gators. Something needs to change.

The Florida Gators looked like they were going to leave Athens with at least one win, but terrible pitching late in the game Saturday cost UF the game and gave Georgia the series sweep with a 14-8 victory.

The game figured to be a high-scoring affair with [autotag]Garret Milchin[/autotag] on the mound for Florida and Nolan Crisp getting his first for the Dawgs. Crisp won the battle lasting 4 1/3 innings and giving up three runs. Milchin was pulled before he could record an out in the first inning.

Brandon Neely came in relief of Milchin and worked a solid five innings. He was in line for the win after Florida took advantage of a Georgia error in the fifth and jumped out to a 6-2 lead on a [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] home run. Neely gave up one more run in the fifth before turning the ball over to [autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag]. He pitched a clean sixth but was pulled quickly after walking the first two batters in the seventh.

[autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] came to regret that decision as [autotag]Tyler Nesbitt[/autotag] gave up eight runs in the inning (two of them were charged to Abner). The Bulldogs hit back-to-back homers and took a five-run lead that Florida couldn’t cut into with just two innings left to play. [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] tried his best with a two-run dinger of his own in the eighth, but Georgia responded with another three runs in the bottom of the inning.

Jud Fabian could only watch the final strike of the ballgame go by him as Florida dropped its fifth-straight conference game.

The sweep will knock Florida out of the top 15 in next week’s update and it’s time to start asking how long this team will be ranked if it keeps giving away wins like this.

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Florida baseball: Joshua Rivera’s hot streak stays ablaze in victory over FSU

Florida shortstop Joshua Rivera went three-for-four with three RBIs in his team’s 6-3 victory over Florida State.

Florida shortstop [autotag]Joshua Rivera[/autotag]’s bat has caught fire since the Gators started SEC play versus Alabama on March 18 resulting in a team-leading .375 batting average. Rivera stayed ablaze at the plate versus Florida State on Tuesday in Jacksonville, finishing 3-for-4 with three RBIs and just a triple shy of the cycle, to help the No. 14 Gators upset the No. 5 Seminoles, 6-3.

Florida State got the lead-off man on base when he doubled down the left-field line and eventually scored for the first run of the game.

Third baseman [autotag]Deric Fabian[/autotag] beat the shift, singling through the right side in the bottom half. Rivera then tied the game up 1-1 with his left-field double to cement a two-out rally.

Head coach [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] pulled starter [autotag]Garrett Milchin[/autotag] after 2 1/3 innings after allowing five hits and one earned run. [autotag]Nick Ficarrotta[/autotag] relieved him but didn’t fare much better, struggling with his command. He only went an inning, giving up a hit, an earned run and three walks.

Left fielder [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] made a pair of web gems in the top of the third inning. FSU third baseman Logan Lacy blasted what seemed to be a three-run shot, but Langford ascended the wall and made the snag to rob Lacy. He also finished the inning, making a sliding grab in foul territory to keep the game tied.

Then Langford pushed across the go-ahead run in the bottom half when he beat out the throw to first base to break up the double play. He scored center fielder [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] who walked earlier in the frame.

Ficarrotta walked a batter with the bases loaded to even the game once more. Subsequently, O’Sullivan signaled for pitcher [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag], who struck out back-to-back hitters to end Florida State’s threat.

Langford hammered a lead-off triple in the fifth and cruised home later when designated hitter [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] grounded out to second base to give Florida back the lead, 3-2. Rivera put the exclamation mark on the contest when he blasted a two-run homer to make it 5-2.

Florida and FSU each traded a run in the late innings to get to the final score of 6-3.

The Gators posted 11 hits in their six-run victory over the Seminoles, and right fielder [autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag] recorded three hits in the game like Rivera. Florida’s pitching staff also held the ‘Noles to only three runs on nine hits.

It’s a big win for O’Sullivan’s club after dropping two straight at home last weekend to LSU.

Florida travels to Georgia for another weekend series that starts Thursday at 8 p.m. EDT and can be seen on ESPN2.

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Explosive fifth inning boosts Florida baseball past LSU in series opener

The fifth inning was a difference-maker again for the Gators.

The fifth frame has been the friendliest out of all nine for Florida baseball’s lineup this season and was so again on Friday night versus LSU. The Gators used the four runs they scored in the inning to knock off the Tigers at Florida Ballpark, 7-2.

Florida second baseman [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] and catcher [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] smacked two solo shots in the first and fourth innings, respectively, to give their team the early lead.

Then came the fifth inning when Florida’s bats caught fire once again as it has done throughout most of the season. Center fielder [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] grounded out to shortstop to score designated hitter [autotag]Khris Armstrong[/autotag]. Right fielder [autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag] then singled to send third baseman [autotag]Deric Fabian[/autotag] home. Left fielder [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] followed, blasting a two-run shot to left field to give the Gators a 6-0 advantage.

Their large outburst increased their season total to 32 in the middle inning. The team as a whole has recorded 164 runs, so 20% of their production has come in that fifth frame.

Coach Kevin O’Sullivan’s team piled on one more run in the sixth, and LSU posted two late runs in the eighth and ninth innings to get to the final score of 7-2.

The Gators’ ace [autotag]Hunter Barco[/autotag] excelled as per usual. He went seven innings, only allowing two hits and zero runs while walking three and hitting two Tigers and striking out eight. The only inning that Barco had trouble was when he walked back-to-back hitters in the fourth, but he escaped a batter later when LSU hit into an inning-ending double play.

Florida’s hitters tallied an efficient seven runs on seven hits and only left six runners on base, while also demonstrating patience in the batter’s box by drawing seven walks. Langford led the way individually, going 1-for-3 with two RBIs.

Florida will try to take the series versus LSU Saturday at 6:30 p.m. EDT and can be seen on SEC Network+.

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