Tag: Fisher Jameson

Florida’s Fisher Jameson gets Day 2 call in 2024 MLB draft

Fisher Jameson is the third Gator to hear his named called during the 2024 MLB draft so far.

The Colorado Rockies selected Florida baseball’s right-handed pitcher [autotag]Fisher Jameson[/autotag] in the 10th round of the 2024 MLB draft with the 288th overall pick on Monday.

He follows first baseman/left-handed pitcher [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] (Round 1, Pick 6 – Kansas City Royals) and right-hander [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] (Round 3, Pick 86 – Boston Red Sox) as the third Gator selected so far.

The Lake Worth, Florida, native became the 223rd individual draft selection in UF baseball history and the 108th in head coach [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag]’s 17-year tenure. Jameson is the 57th pitcher to be drafted under O’Sullivan, equating to 3.4 per season.

Jameson led all UF hurlers with a 3.99 ERA and 1.15 WHIP this past season — representing the team’s biggest breakout performance among the pitching corps — while also posting a perfect 5-0 record across a team-high 34 appearances. His .237 batting average against ranked second on the team and his 67 2/3 innings were good for third; he also struck out 79 batters against just 18 walks.

Across the team’s final 31 games, Jameson led Florida with 17 appearances, a 3.35 ERA and .226 BAA over 40 1/3 frames. In that span, he delivered a 3-0 record, three saves and 47 strikeouts while issuing only nine free passes. Jameson played a vital role in each of the Gators’ College World Series trips from 2023-24.

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Florida baseball season ends with College World Series semifinals loss to Texas A&M

Florida’s magical postseason run came to an end Wednesday night in the College World Series semifinals against Texas A&M.

A historic and magical season for the Florida Gators baseball team has come to an end with a 6-0 loss to the Texas A&M Aggies Wednesday night in the College World Series semifinals.

All good things must come to an end, but Florida’s goose egg and exit from the postseason felt even worse after experiencing the euphoria of an 11-run win earlier in the day.

[autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] managed to make a little more history, but it was his final game as a Gator. [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] made the final appearance of his Florida career, too.

A rough start

[autotag]Liam Peterson[/autotag] couldn’t shake his nerves again and walked four batters in the first inning. [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] went out to get him after Peterson walked in a run and brought in [autotag]Fisher Jameson[/autotag] for damage control. A sacrifice fly scored a second run before the inning ended, and the damage was already done.

Florida couldn’t get any momentum going, even when they got multiple runners on base. Texas A&M starter Justin Lamkin delivered five scoreless innings, striking out nine of the 19 batters he faced. The Gators couldn’t figure out his rhythm and looked baffled at the plate.

Jameson gave up a run in the fifth before turning the ball over to [autotag]Jake Clemente[/autotag] in the sixth. Clemente threw earlier in the day and couldn’t find his command. Sully had a short leash on him and brought in Neely with a 2-0 count and one-on.

That turned out to be a mistake. Neely gave up a two-run shot to make it 5-0 and suck the life out of the Gator collective.

One shot, one opportunity

Lamkin’s exit in the sixth brought in Chris Cortez, who couldn’t buy a strike. A pair of walks forced the Aggies to the bullpen again, but Josh Stewart escaped the jam without giving up a run.

Evan Aschenbeck threw the final two innings for Texas A&M to complete the shutout. Florida stranded eight men on base; although, it felt more like 100. [autotag]Brody Donay[/autotag] grounded into a double play to end the game and Florida’s season.

Caglianone had two of the team’s four hits — both singles. He tied the program record for career hits with 104.

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Highlights from Florida’s College World Series loss to Texas A&M

Take a look at highlights from Saturday’s late-night CWS action between Florida and Texas A&M.

The weather did not play fair on Saturday night, forcing the opening College World Series game between the Florida Gators and Texas A&M Aggies into the wee hours of the morning. After things finally dried up enough to play, TAMU prevailed over UF, 3-2.

[autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] paced the Orange and Blue on offense, going 2-for-3 with a double, a walk and a strikeout. After a weak start from [autotag]Liam Peterson[/autotag], who allowed three runs in 2 1/3 innings, the bullpen tandem of [autotag]Fisher Jameson[/autotag] and [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] kept the Aggies off the board the remainder of the game.

Unfortunately, the offense simply did not have enough to overcome A&M.

Florida dropped into the losers’ bracket and will face North Carolina State Wolfpack in an elimination game on Monday at 2 p.m. ET.

Florida’s CWS comeback bid comes up short, Gators face elimination Monday

Florida has made comebacks on the diamond all season long, but the Gators couldn’t get the job done in Game 1 and now face elimination.

As every game has gone so far in the 2024 College World Series, Florida’s 3-2 loss to Texas A&M on Saturday night was an instant classic.

Bad weather delayed first pitch in Omaha until 11 p.m. ET, pushing the game’s final moments beyond the 2 a.m. mark. Naturally, the drama came at the end of the game.

Trailing by three runs for most of the night, [autotag]Dale Thomas[/autotag] finally broke through in the seventh with a double into the left-field corner. [autotag]Tyler Shelnut[/autotag] scored from third after hitting a two-bagger of his own and advancing a base on a wild pitch. [autotag]Brody Donay[/autotag] moved Thomas over with a sacrifice bunt and [autotag]Michael Robertson[/autotag] got him in with a grounder to the left side.

Thomas’ double was the team’s only base hit with a man in scoring position, though. The Gators stranded 10 baserunners overall and went 1-for-11 with RISP.

A bases-loaded opportunity in the eighth gave Thomas another opportunity to make some magic, but a soft grounder to second ended the frame following a quick review. Thomas nearly beat it out and tied the game, but Texas A&M first baseman Ted Burton kept his toes on the bag to get one of the most important outs of the game.

Florida’s chances for a comeback weren’t finished there, though.

In the ninth, Robertson made sure that [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] got an at-bat with an infield single. For a guy who struggled with the lefty-lefty matchup earlier in the year, Robertson has figured out how to slap something the other way and use his speed to get on.

Before Cags stepped to the plate, [autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] nearly hit a go-ahead home run to right. It looked like the ball would clear the wall, but Jace LaViolette leaped up and robbed at least one run — probably two. Kurland couldn’t believe it, the Aggies fans couldn’t believe it. A game of inches.

Caglianone worked the count full and walked, putting the go-ahead run on base, but [autotag]Ashton Wilson[/autotag] couldn’t figure out one of the best closers in the country and struck out to end the game.

It was a deflating moment in a game that felt competitive at the very end, but Florida is lucky this one didn’t get out of hand earlier. Freshman [autotag]Liam Peterson[/autotag] didn’t have what his best stuff and was pulled after 2 1/3 innings.

[autotag]Fisher Jameson[/autotag] was excellent in relief despite two walks to start off the outing. He allowed just one hit and struck out three over three innings of work. [autotag]Cade Fisher[/autotag] followed Jameson in relief. He faced one batter and earned two out thanks to a LaViolette double play that ended the sixth.

[autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] turned to [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] after that. He allowed a baserunner in both the seventh and eighth, but he looked like his typical postseason self otherwise — elite.

Now facing elimination, Florida plays North Carolina State at 2 p.m. ET on Monday. ESPN will broadcast the game.

Expect a change in the lineup with Florida’s No. 3 and 4 hitters combining for seven strikeouts on Saturday. They aren’t seeing the ball well, and guys like Robertson and Thomas are.

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Florida takes down No. 6 Clemson in super regional opener

Down three on the road against the No. 6 team in the country, Jac Caglianone blasted his 31st homer of the season to spark another comeback win for the Florida Gators.

Far from perfect, the Florida Gators battled back against the No. 6 Clemson Tigers on Saturday to claim the first game of a best-of-three series, 10-7, moving within one win of a second straight College World Series appearance.

[autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] shifted the momentum of the game in the fifth inning with a three-run, game-tying home run. He knew it off the bat and jogged around the bases for the 32nd time this season, one shy of his program-record mark from a year ago.

The homer knotted the game at five runs apiece, but Florida left the frame with a four-run lead after plating seven. Caglianone cleared the bases with no outs on the board, allowing the offense to trade a pair of outs for the lead — [autotag]Dale Thomas[/autotag] scored [autotag]Colby Shelton[/autotag] on a fielder’s choice and [autotag]Brody Donay[/autotag] got a sacrifice bunt down. Thomas scored the final run of the inning off a Michael Robertson single.

Before that, Clemson had complete control of the game. Freshman right-hander [autotag]Liam Peterson[/autotag] struggled mightily in his first super regional appearance. He lasted just an inning after giving up two of three runs on wild pitches.

[autotag]Fisher Jameson[/autotag] took over in relief, pitching through the fifth. Although he was mostly effective, Jameson gave up a pair of solo home runs, deepening the hole. He came back out for the sixth after getting a lead but got the hook after losing the leadoff batter. [autotag]Cade Fisher[/autotag] got to see one batter, but Kevin O’Sullivan pulled him after a single put men on first and third.

With trouble brewing, Sully turned to his closer, [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag], who shut down the Tigers lineup for four innings. He struck out seven of the 13 batters he faced, including three straight in the eighth. It’s a shame that he’ll end the season with only a handful of saves — tonight was his fourth — because he’s one of the game’s elite closers, especially in the playoffs.

Clemson scored two in the sixth as Neely worked out of that jam, but Luke Heyman got one back in the ninth with a solo shot. [autotag]Tyler Shelnut[/autotag] also went deep in the fourth, and [autotag]Ashton Wilson[/autotag] drove in the first run of the day for Florida with a sac fly in the third.

Florida will be the home team on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET. A win sends the Gators to Omaha again, but a loss means a Game 3.

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Florida completes regional comeback, upsets Oklahoma State to advance

The Florida Gators are regional champions and will face Clemson in a three-game super regional series.

A month ago, Florida hardly looked like an NCAA Tournament team, but a switch flipped during the Georgia series and the Gators are now headed to the super regionals after taking down regional host Oklahoma State, 4-2, on Monday night.

Florida had already played four games over the weekend, so pitching depth was thin coming into the game. Redshirt freshman [autotag]Jake Clemente[/autotag] and true freshmen left-hander [autotag]Frank Menendez[/autotag] kept the Cowboys quiet enough through 5 2/3 innings, setting the table for junior [autotag]Fisher Jameson[/autotag] to slam the door shut.

Menendez earned his first win of the season, and Clemente was solid in his second start of the year. The Cowboys made solid contact off him a few times but it took until the fourth inning to score off him.

Clemente didn’t have his best stuff, walking three batters to just two strikeouts, but he left the game with a lead in the fourth. Aidan Meola doubled in a run, bringing out [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] to make the switch.

Florida’s early lead came from the two most unlikely heroes in the lineup. [autotag]Ashton Wilson[/autotag] continued his regional run for the ages with a liner to right-center that scored both [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] and [autotag]Michael Robertson[/autotag] in the third. Robertson added another run in the fourth with a poke to left field, beating the shift.

[autotag]Frank Menendez[/autotag] was first out of the bullpen, making his first appearance for the Gators since May 16. He went a career-high 2 1/3 innings, but it wasn’t without drama.

Menendez came into the game with two men on but got a pair of fly balls with his changeup, which even had O’Sullivan doling out some praise during the in-game interview. It’s the same pitch he used to strike out Meola in the fifth, capping off an escape from a bases-loaded jam with no outs.

Sully also said he needed to use Menendez as long as he could, bringing him back out for the sixth. A two-out walk ended his day, but he delivered the bullpen performance Florida needed in the biggest game of the year. A run on a sacrifice fly is a small price to pay considering the circumstances.

[autotag]Tyler Shelnut[/autotag] added an insurance run with a monster home run to left center in the bottom of the sixth, his 14th of the season.

Fisher Jameson came in after Menendez and did his best Branon Neely impression. He made sure Sully couldn’t take the ball from him by retiring all 10 batters he faced without a blemish. Perfection when it was needed most.

Jameson struck out four, including the final batter of the day, igniting a celebration back in Gainesville and sending the Oklahoma State fans home with disappointment across their faces.

It wasn’t easy to come out on top in Stillwater, but Florida got the pitching performances it needed to make it to the Supers. Clemson is next. Best of two out of three, starting on Friday or Saturday.

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Florida baseball bounced from SEC Tournament in opening round

Florida’s run in Hoover was brief this year as the Vanderbilt Commodores knocked the Gators out of the SEC Tournament in the first round.

There will be no miracle run from the Florida Gators at the 2024 SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama.

Florida fell, 6-3, to Vanderbilt Tuesday night in a game that was all Commodores until the final two frames.

[autotag]Pierce Coppola[/autotag] went 3 2/3 innings for the Gators, allowing four earned runs on as many hits and one walk. Despite the damage, Coppola struck out five and threw a season-high 74 pitches. If the draft doesn’t get him, he’s a potential ace for the program next year.

A leadoff walk doomed the second inning for Coppola. A follow-up double put two men in scoring position, and Vanderbilt did what good teams do and scored both runners on sacrifice flies.

Coppola got through the third, 1-2-3, and almost out of the fourth after sandwiching a single between a pair of strikeouts. With two outs, Vanderbilt got to him for two more RBI base hits, knocking Coppola out of the game.

[autotag]Jake Clemente[/autotag] took over and got the fly out to center he needed to stop the bleeding, but Florida was staring at a four-run deficit halfway through the game.

Vanderbilt’s No. 9 hitter Calvin Hewitt took Clemente deep to start the fifth, but that was the only earned run of the day for him. An error in the seventh led to a sixth run crossing for Vandy, but that doesn’t affect Clemente’s numbers.

[autotag]Fisher Jameson[/autotag] took over at that point and sent all four batters he faced back to the pine. Florida finally started to put some offense together, but it was too little and too late to impact the end result.

[autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] scored in the eighth on a [autotag]Colby Shelton[/autotag] groundout after moving from first to third on a series of passed balls on wild pitches. Micahel Robertson homered, scoring [autotag]Brody Donay[/autotag], in the ninth to make the score somewhat respectable.

Florida must now wait until the various conference tournaments conclude to find out whether it makes the NCAA Tournament Field of 64 or not. With a high RPI ranking and the top strength of schedule in the country, the Gators seem poised to receive an at-large bid to a regional. Getting out of that regional alive is a different story entirely, though.

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Florida prevails over Georgia in slugfest, earns series win

The Gator secured a regular-season record two games above the .500 mark and now await the SEC Tournament seedings.

Florida baseball scored all the runs it would need in this one during a fourth inning that saw a dozen Gators cross the plate. After the Georgia Bulldogs built an early 3-0 lead against starter [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag], the bats exploded en route to a 19-11 victory in Athens on Saturday.

Cags lasted just 2 1/3 innings in what is expected to be his final regular-season game for the Orange and Blue, coughing up a trio of runs on three hits and four walks while striking out two. [autotag]Fisher Jameson[/autotag] earned the win with 3 2/3 frames of three-run ball while [autotag]Ryan Slater[/autotag] surrendered four runs in 1 1/3 innings and [autotag]Jake Clemente[/autotag] let one more through in 1/3 of an inning.

[autotag]Cade Fisher[/autotag] wrapped things up with a 1 1/3 innings of one-hit, no-run ball.

[autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] went 2-for-4 with both hits leaving the park and Caglianone went 1-for-5 with a dinger of his own — both sending one over the fence in the 12-run fourth. [autotag]Tyler Shelnut[/autotag]’s three hits, two of which were doubles, led Florida on the day.

The only Gators that failed to get a hit were [autotag]Brody Donay[/autotag] and [autotag]Dale Thomas[/autotag], though the former reached base twice on walks.

Georgia starter Zach Harris took his first loss of the season after surrendering four earned runs across 3 1/3 innings. The right-hander allowed four hits and struck out two before six other pitchers combined to finish things off.

Florida now awaits its bracket designation in the 2024 SEC Baseball Tournament in Hoover, Alabama, scheduled to begin on Tuesday, May 21.

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Florida baseball drops crucial series opener against Georgia

Florida needs to win this weekend series in Athens, but it’s going to be tough after dropping the opener to Georgia, 9-4.

Florida’s path to the NCAA Tournament got much harder after falling 9-4 against Georgia in the series opener on Thursday night.

Things started off ugly for Florida start [autotag]Pierce Coppola[/autotag], who had steadily improved in each of his first four appearances. He hit the first batter he saw, leading to a Charlie Condon single. A couple of flyouts advanced the runners and scored a run, and a Paul Toetz homer made it 3-0 in favor of Georgia early.

Coppola gave a leadoff homer in the second and was pulled in the third after putting the first two runners in scoring position. [autotag]Jake Clemente[/autotag] took over and stranded both runners after striking out a pair.

Clemente sat down the first seven batters he faced only to get the intentional walk sign from the dugout with Condon at the plate. That threw off Clemente’s rhythm. Tre Phelps doubled for the second time, and a groundout brought in a run.

Toetz added another RBI to his stat line with a single to left and income [autotag]Fisher Jameson[/autotag] took over for Clemente, allowing another run to score on a double before striking out Carter for out No. 3.

Florida didn’t make much noise while Georgia ran up the score, but [autotag]Luke Heyman[/autotag] and [autotag]Brody Donay[/autotag] homered in the third and fourth, respectively, to put something on the board.

The Gators didn’t score again until the ninth. Heyman homered for the second time, but that just made it a five-run game.

Recapping the rest of the arms Florida threw in the loss: [autotag]Cade Fisher[/autotag] walked the only batter he faced, Ryan Slater gave up a home run to Carter in the seventh and [autotag]Frank Menendez[/autotag] pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings despite allowing three baserunners (two walks, one hit).

Florida needs to win on Friday to have a shot at the NCAA Tournament. First pitch has been moved up to 1 p.m. ET in anticipation of inclement weather.

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Florida jumps out to early lead for midweek win over USF

Jac Caglianone got Florida on the board early and the Gators never looked back in a 4-1 win over South Florida Tuesday night.

Florida took the lead early Tuesday off a [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] solo home run and cruised to a 4-1 win over USF, wrapping up midweek action for the 2024 regular season.

The Gators plated a run in each of the first three innings. Hayden Yost grounded into a double play in the second to score one, and a throwing error by the Bulls’ shortstop in the third allowed Caglianone to cross the plate a second time.

Florida ended the day with 11 hits, but it was hard to score runs after the third. [autotag]Tyler Shelnut[/autotag] doubled in [autotag]Colby Shelton[/autotag] in the eighth, and that’s all the meaningful offense UF put together Tuesday night.

Still, it was enough for the bullpen to deliver the win. USF hit safely just five times, scoring on a solo homer in the sixth. [autotag]Liam Peterson[/autotag] made the start for UF, but he only went one inning after throwing four on Friday. He should fit back into Florida’s rotation, likely taking over the Game 2 slot again.

The reason that seems likely is that Kevin O’Sullivan has moved [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] back into the bullpen to serve as the closer. He earned his second save of the season, facing the minimum in the ninth.

[autotag]Cade Fisher[/autotag] got the win after throwing 2 2/3 innings of one-hit baseball in relief of Peterson. [autotag]Fisher Jameson[/autotag] was next out of the ‘pen. Besides the home run, he was fine, striking out two and walking one of the eight batters he faced. [autotag]Luke McNeillie[/autotag] struck out three of the five batters he faced, and Jake Clemente faced the minimum in the eighth.

Florida hosts Kentucky on Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET for the final three-game home series of the regular season.

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