Tag: Clemson vs. Florida

Florida Gators end Clemson baseball’s season with 13th inning walk-off

Florida’s Michael Robertson hit a two-run walk-off double in the 13th inning to send the Gators back to the College World Series in Omaha and end Clemson’s season.

There was a team in orange that ended up dogpiling after a walk-off base hit at Doug Kingsmore Stadium this weekend.

It just wasn’t the Clemson Tigers.

The Florida Gators got a bases-loaded double from Michael Robertson in the bottom of the 13th inning off Ethan Darden for a marathon 11-10 victory to win the Clemson Super Regional Sunday and advance to the College World Series in Omaha.

It’s the second straight year the Gators (34-28) will end their season in Omaha. Florida finished as runner-up to national champion LSU a season ago.

The Tigers wrapped up their season at 44-16 overall.

Players and coaches were ejected. A brawl nearly broke out. TV cameras malfunctioned. A catch in centerfield reminded some fans of Willie Mays.

If it could have happened in a baseball game, it probably did in the five-plus hours it took to complete this marathon between the Tigers and Gators.

Florida got home runs from Jac Caglianone, Brody Donay and Ashton Wilson for their ninth consecutive series win when reaching a Super Regional.

The Gators, batting as the home team, wasted no time in taking the early lead. After Aidan Knaak’s first pitch plunked leadoff man Cade Kurland on the arm, Caglianone blasted his 33rd homer of the season over the batter’s eye in centerfield for a quick 2-0 lead.

Clemson got a two-out double from Jack Crighton in the second. Then came the first of many memorable moments from Game 2 of this Super Regional.

After Crighton’s double, Nolan Nawrocki sent a pitch back to the mound. Caglianone tagged out an aggressive Nawrocki, who collided with the Florida pitcher on his way to first. That caused a bit of chirping from Caglianone and Nawrocki as both teams’ benches threatened to empty.

Umpires gathered for several lengthy moments to discuss ejections. After a discussion with between Clemson head coach Erik Bakich and the crew chief, Bakich motioned for Crighton to come out of the dugout and on to the field. Crighton, it was then announced, had been ejected for heading toward the commotion between Nawrocki and Caglianone.

Tryston McCladdie took over at first base for Crighton. Both benches were given warnings. Once play resumed after a delay that totaled 18 minutes, Knaak allowed a one-out walk to Dale Thomas before striking out Donay and Robertson to end the inning.

After Caglianone took the mound in the third inning to a loud chorus of boos, Jacob Hinderleider got an already amped-up crowd further on its feet by splitting the gap in right-center for an RBI double to put Clemson on the board and make it 2-1.

Blake Wright gave the Tigers their first lead at 3-2 lead with a no-doubt two-run homer to dead center. It was Wright’s 22nd home run.

But the Gators’ bats never rested and proved too powerful for Clemson pitchers to bring down. Florida got a pair of run-scoring hits from Colby Shelton to build a 5-3 lead. Knaak’s day ended with the freshman right-hander at 84 pitches. He yielded five runs on four hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings.

For every Clemson rally, the Gators ultimately answered with one of their own. After Jimmy Obertop hit his 22nd home run to make it a one-run game at 5-4 in the sixth inning, Donay hit a two-run shot in the bottom half to increase Florida’s lead to 7-4.

In the eighth, Wright led off with a single and scored when Cam Cannarella lined a base hit to left-center, cutting the lead to 7-5. McCladdie fought back from an 0-2 count to rip an RBI single into right that made it 7-6.

Florida responded with a two-run shot from Wilson in the bottom of the eighth that made it 9-6.

The fireworks were just getting started.

With the Tigers down to their last two outs in the ninth, Cannarella hit a game-tying three-run homer that evened things up at 9-9. Cannarella’s blast was his 11th of the season, part of a four-RBI day.

The sophomore centerfielder saved his best work for the 10th inning. With two out and the winning run at second, Wilson hit a deep drive to center. Cannarella, playing shallow, raced back and made an over-the-shoulders catch with his back to his teammates.

The play became an instant classic, sending social media abuzz and earning recognition from ESPN’s SportsCenter.

In the 13th, Clemson pulled ahead 10-9 when Alden Mathes hit a solo home run off Luke McNeillie with two out.

Florida got back-to-back singles from Luke Heyman and Tyler Shelnut leading off the bottom of the inning. Thomas grounded out before Donay was intentionally walked by Darden.

Robertson’s double split the gap in left-center as Florida began to celebrate. The Gators and Tigers combined for 25 hits. Robertson (2-for-6) was one of three Florida players to finish with two hits.

Clemson got four hits from Wright, the senior second baseman who finished 4-for-6. Hinderleider added three hits in a 3-7 showing, and Cannarella went 2-6.

Darden (5-5) suffered the loss with McNeillie (4-6) getting the win.

Erik Bakich discusses Clemson’s loss to Florida in Super Regional

Here’s everything Clemson coach Erik Bakich had to say after the Tigers fell 10-7 to Florida in Game 1 of the Super Regional on Saturday.

A seven-run fifth inning lifted the Florida Gators to a 10-7 victory over the Clemson Tigers in Game 1 of the Clemson Super Regional Saturday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

Florida (32-28) erupted for seven runs on four hits, three walks and an error to erase a 4-2 deficit en route to the victory.

RELATED: Seven-run inning sinks Clemson in Super Regional Game 1 loss to Florida

Jac Caglianone hit a three-run homer as part of the fifth-inning onslaught, his 32nd of the season. The Gators also got run-scoring hits from Michael Robertson and Luke Heyman that inning.

Right-hander Brandon Neely closed things out with four scoreless innings in relief to put Clemson (44-15) in a win-or-go-home game Sunday when the two teams meet for Game 2. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. EDT. The game can be seen on ESPN. Right-hander Aidan Knaak will start for Clemson and face Caglianone.

After Saturday’s game, Clemson coach Erik Bakich and Alden Mathes met with reporters to discuss the loss. Here’s a video of everything the coach and Tigers’ leadoff hitter had to say.

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For coverage of the Florida Gators, head over to Gators Wire.

Seven-run inning sinks Clemson in Super Regional Game 1 loss to Florida

Florida used a seven-run fifth inning to take down Clemson in Game 1 of the Super Regional, 10-7.

A seven-run fifth inning helped the Florida Gators to a 10-7 victory over Clemson in Game 1 of the best-of-three Clemson Super Regional Saturday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

Florida (33-28 overall) batted 11 times in the fifth and scored seven runs on four hits, an error and three walks. Jac Caglianone provided the big blast with a three-run homer off Tigers starter Tristan Smith that gave the Gators a 5-4 lead.

Florida also got run-scoring hits from Luke Heyman and Michael Robertson in the fifth. Heyman later homered in the top of the ninth off Jacob McGovern for an insurance run.

Right-hander Brandon Neely closed things out in the bottom of the ninth, completing four scoreless innings of one-hit ball to put the Gators one win shy of a return trip to the College World Series in Omaha. Neely threw 59 pitches and struck out seven, allowing one walk.

Things were going Clemson’s way early on as the Tigers (44-15) built a 4-1 lead and got to Florida starter Liam Peterson. After loading the bases with one out in the first inning, Clemson drew first blood when a wild pitch sailed to the backstop and allowed Mathes to score for a 1-0 lead.

Jack Crighton, the seventh batter to come to the plate in the inning, walked on four pitches to force in a run and make it 2-0. Peterson struck out Jacob Jarrell with his 40th pitch to end the first inning.

The Tigers caught a break leading off the second when Jarren Purify hit a ball into no man’s land that dropped in front of right fielder Ashton Wilson for a triple. Two pitches later, another wild pitch from Peterson allowed Purify to score for a 3-0 Clemson lead. Peterson left after throwing 53 pitches in one-plus inning of work.

Right-hander Fisher Jameson took over in relief and rallied to strike out Blake Wright and get Cam Cannarella to fly out to keep it a 3-0 game.

An inning later, Clemson made it 4-1 when Jimmy Obertop led off the bottom of the third with his 21st home run — a mammoth shot that left the stadium. Obertop’s blast tied Wright for the team lead in home runs.

The Gators began chipping away in the fourth when Tyler Shelnut homered to deep left center with one out to cut the lead to 4-2 before Florida’s seven-run explosion in the fifth.

Jameson (5-0) was the winning pitcher with four innings of work. Smith (2-1) suffered the loss after allowing five runs on five hits in four-plus innings.

Mathes led Clemson at the plate with three hits in a 3-for-5 performance.

Game 2 of the series is scheduled for Sunday at 2:30 p.m EDT. The game will be televised by ESPN. Freshman Aidan Knaak (5-1, 2.96) will start for Clemson against Florida’s Caglianone (5-2, 4.57).

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For coverage of the Florida Gators, head over to Gators Wire.

Watch as Clemson coach Erik Bakich meets with reporters ahead of Super Regional

Everything Clemson coach Erik Bakich said ahead of this weekend’s Super Regional against the Florida Gators.

If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.

That’s the approach Clemson coach Erik Bakich is taking in regard to starting pitchers for this weekend’s NCAA Baseball Super Regional at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

To that end, Bakich announced Friday that the Tigers (43-13 overall) will use the same rotation for the best-of-three series against the Florida Gators (32-28) as they used in last weekend’s Clemson Regional. The Tigers went 3-0 against High Point and Coastal Carolina to advance to the program’s first Super Regional since 2010.

Left-hander Tristan Smith will start Saturday’s opener with freshman right-hander Aidan Knaak starting Sunday’s Game 2. A Game 3 starter, if necessary, could be left-hander Ethan Darden who started Sunday’s regional-clinching victory.

“Our guys are feeling good. They’re fired up. Everyone is confident who has made it to this level. Everyone is coming off a regional championship, so how can you not be confident? We feel especially confident just because our guys have been consistent,” Bakich said.

Bakich met with reporters Friday ahead of the start of this weekend’s Clemson vs. Florida series. Here’s a video of everything the coach said.

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For coverage of the Florida Gators, head over to Gators Wire.

How rare is Clemson Tigers vs. Florida Gators? We take a look

Want to know the last time Clemson played the Florida Gators in any of the ‘big three’ sports? We take a look at one.

The Clemson Tigers will welcome the Florida Gators to town for this weekend’s NCAA Baseball Super Regional at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, marking a rare head-to-head meeting between the two schools in any of the “big three” college sports (football, men’s basketball and baseball).

How rare? Not counting Clemson basketball’s 71-69 neutral-site victory over Florida on December 16, 2017, you haven’t seen the two teams play in a while.

A long, long while.

You’d have to go all the way back to 1983 to find the last time the Tigers and Gators met on a baseball diamond. Clemson met Florida annually from 1979-83, always in Gainesville and in the first month of the season.

On the footfall field? It dates back even further to 1961, a 21-17 Florida victory in Gainesville.

The Tigers and Gators have met on the gridiron 13 times, with all but two of those games taking place in Gainesville or at neutral sites like a regular-season meeting in Jacksonville in 1928 — the year Gator Bowl Stadium first opened. Florida leads the all-time series, 9-3-1. The two schools have played a football game in Clemson only twice, in 1925 and 1911.

In basketball, the Tigers hold a slight 10-9 advantage in head-to-head play. Before Brad Brownell’s 2017 team defeated the Gators in the Orange Bowl Classic in Sunrise, Florida, the two schools hadn’t met on the hardwood since 1957 (in Jacksonville).

Florida hasn’t visited Clemson in football, men’s basketball or baseball since 1934. That year, Clemson basketball defeated the Gators 31-26, about 50 years before the shot clock was introduced in college hoops.

The Clemson Insider’s Will Vandervort wrote about the rarity of Clemson vs. Florida this week and highlighted this about the two schools’ baseball programs.

“The Tigers have played Florida just twice in Clemson all-time. Both of those meetings came all the way back in 1930 when the two split a two-game series.

Though the Tigers and Gators have not played very much on the diamond or in the previous 40 years, the two have met before with a trip to the College World Series on the line.

In 1958, Bill Wilhelm’s first year as Clemson’s head coach, the Tigers met the Gators in what was then called the NCAA District III Tournament in Gastonia, N.C. Florida knocked off the Tigers in the first game, 8-6, but Clemson came all the way back through the losers’ bracket to get a second chance at Florida in the District Finals.”

Game 1 of the best-of-three Super Regional between Clemson and Florida is scheduled for 2 p.m. EDT Saturday. Sunday’s game is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Both games will be televised by ESPN.

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Clemson vs. Florida Super Regional dates, start times, broadcast info announced

Clemson is scheduled to play Saturday and Sunday at this weekend’s Super Regional at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Tigers will be hosting the Florida Gators.

Dates, start times, and broadcast information have been announced for this weekend’s best-of-three Clemson Super Regional at Doug Kingmore Stadium.

The Tigers (44-14 overall) will take on the Florida Gators (32-28) beginning Saturday at 2 p.m. EDT in Game 1 of the series. Game 2 is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Both games will be televised by ESPN, it was announced Tuesday.

A Game 3 would only be played if necessary. Any start time for a potential third game was not announced Tuesday.

Clemson went 3-0 at its regional and defeated Coastal Carolina on back-to-back days over the weekend to advance to the school’s first Super Regional since 2010.

Florida (32-28), last year’s College World Series runner-up, defeated top-seeded Oklahoma State in the Stillwater Regional on Monday. The Gators rallied to win three straight games in the regional and closed it out with a 4-2 victory over the Cowboys on Monday.

Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan was an assistant under former Clemson coach Jack Leggett from 1999-2007. O’Sullivan and Clemson coach Erik Bakich were both assistants on Leggett’s 2002 Clemson team that reached the College World Series in Omaha.

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Clemson to face Florida Gators in Super Regional

Clemson will host the Florida Gators this weekend at the Clemson Super Regional at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Florida defeated Oklahoma State Monday to win the Stillwater Regional.

There will be a lot of orange at Doug Kingsmore Stadium this weekend, and not just Clemson Orange.

The Tigers (44-14 overall) will host the Florida Gators in the Clemson Super Regional at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Florida (32-28) won the Stillwater Regional of the NCAA Tournament Monday afternoon at O’Brate Stadium by defeating Oklahoma State, 4-2.

The Gators are a familiar name in the Super Regionals, having won 12 NCAA Regionals since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1999.

Florida swept South Carolina in a Super Regional at Columbia a year ago to advance to the College World Series. The Gators finished as the runner-up after taking LSU to Game 3 of the CWS Finals.

This year, Florida made the NCAA Tournament despite going just 28-26 in the regular season and being eliminated on the first day of the SEC Tournament by Vanderbilt.

But they took two of three in their final regular-season series at Georgia, a top eight national seed, and maintained an impressive RPI ranking to make the Stillwater Regional as a No. 3 seed. The Gators defeated No. 2 seed Nebraska twice to advance to the Stillwater Regional’s championship round.

Florida then beat top-seeded Oklahoma State, 5-2, on Sunday before Monday’s regional-clinching victory. The Gators are led by head coach Kevin O’Sullivan, a former assistant coach under Clemson legend Jack Leggett.

Clemson defeated Coastal Carolina on Sunday to advance to the school’s first Super Regional since 2010.

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