Tag: Florida baseball

SEC Baseball Power Rankings after three weeks of non-conference play

SEC Baseball Power Rankings for the 2024 season with teams still finding their identities.

The college baseball season is underway and teams are already beginning to find their identities. When it comes to identifying the contenders in the SEC, you almost always have your usual suspects — Florida, Arkansas, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, LSU, and Texas A&M.

Other programs that have started to find their identities early on in the season are Kentucky, Auburn, Georgia, South Carolina, and Alabama.

Then, you have other programs like Missouri, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State that have each struggled to find their footing this season.

Nonetheless, the SEC is unpredictable and consistently changing. Therefore, it is way too early to pencil teams in or out of any kind of postseason play.

Roll Tide Wire provides its first SEC baseball power rankings of the 2024 season.

Projecting the most impactful transfer for each SEC baseball program for the 2024 season

The SEC has no shortage of talent on the baseball diamond. See the most impactful transfer for every SEC team in 2024.

The SEC has some of the best talent in the country when it comes to baseball. Each year, the conference provides some of the top players in the MLB draft. Not to mention, the SEC is typically well-represented in the College World Series.

Needless to say, it is always interesting to see which players burst onto the scene. Some of the best-of-the-best come from the southeast. It is a baseball hotbed for some of the nation’s top high school prospects and transfers.

Roll Tide Wire takes a look at 14 incoming transfers that have the potential to have a breakout season in 2024.

2023 MLB Draft: LSU’s Paul Skenes slight favorite to go No. 1 ahead of teammate Dylan Crews

Oddsmakers like two LSU Tigers to go back-to-back to start the 2023 MLB Draft.

The LSU Tigers have plenty to be excited about after winning the 2023 College World Series over Florida.

However, there might be one Tiger who’s just a bit more excited than the other as the 2023 MLB Draft approaches next month.

Right now, LSU pitcher Paul Skenes is projected to go first overall in the draft. His Tigers teammate, outfielder Dylan Crews, is slated to go second.

Per DraftKings, oddsmakers have Skenes as a -225 favorite to go first overall next month to the Pittsburgh Pirates, while Crews is +170 to be selected first. He’s a likely fit for the Washington Nationals, who hold the draft’s second pick.

LSU pitcher Ty Floyd is also expected to be picked in an earlier round during next month’s draft.

As for the Gators, they’ll be able to celebrate the impending selection of outfielder Wyatt Langford, who has +2000 odds to go first but could be a fit for the Detroit Tigers with the draft’s third-overall pick.

College baseball fans were baffled at a runner interference call against Florida in Game 3 of the College World Series final

Florida fans were not pleased when Josh Rivera was called out after seemingly beating a throw to first.

Florida took an early 2-0 lead over LSU in Game 3 of the College World Series final, but it could have potentially been even more.

After initially appearing to beat a short groundball to first, shortstop Josh Rivera was ultimately called out for baserunner interference. Many were confused by the call, and Gators coach Kevin O’Sullivan ultimately challenged the decision.

Though first baseman Tre Morgan made a mistake in running toward the ball initially and Rivera likely beat the throw anyway, he was ruled to have interfered with it after exiting the runner’s lane and entering into fair territory.

By the letter of the law, Rivera is out and the call was confirmed.

Obviously, Florida fans weren’t happy with the decision, especially in such a crucial game. But regardless of whether the rule should be changed, it seems the umpires followed it in this instance.

But here’s a thought: Maybe if everyone agrees a rule is silly, perhaps it should be changed.

Just something to consider.

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Baseball fans were in awe of LSU’s phenomenal walk-off homer to advance to College World Series final

LSU is going to the College World Series finals thanks to a walk-off homer in the 11th inning.

In a scoreless College World Series semifinal game that had stretched out into the 11th inning, LSU sophomore third baseman Tommy White decided he was ready to end things.

In the bottom of that 11th inning, White took Wake Forest to the yard by blasting the ball into the stands and sending the Tigers into the CWS finals to take on Florida for the championship.

It was as dramatic a walk-off homer as you could imagine, as LSU celebrate White’s heroic hit that will give the team a chance to win it all.

Although, it was a crushing defeat for Wake Forest, a team that came a home run away from making it to the finals itself.

It should be a fascinating finals between Florida and LSU, two teams that know each other quite well after playing in the same conference.

While some wondered if the CWS title would go to another conference, it looks like it’ll stay in the SEC this summer.

Alabama falls, but remains inside top 25 in latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

Alabama baseball is 17-4 and just barely inside the top 25 in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

Alabama baseball opened the season strong and is still considered a top-25 team in the nation, but has fallen in recent weeks.

In the last USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, Alabama fell a few spots after losing two of three to Columbia. Now, the Crimson Tide dropped another three spots after only winning one contest of the three-game series against a top-five Florida team.

A look at the full Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports:

Rank Team Record Points Change
1 LSU  18-2 773 (29) –
2 Wake Forest 18-3 672 (1) +3
3 Florida 18-4 671 +1
3 Arkansas 18-2 671 +3
5 Vanderbilt 16-5 651 +3
6 Louisville 17-2 602 +1
7 Virginia 17-2 542 +3
8 UCLA 15-3 523 +4
9 Stanford 13-5 506 –
10 East Carolina 16-4 491 +1
11 South Carolina 20-1 468 (1) +3
12 Tennessee 15-6 426 -10
13 Ole Miss 14-6 396 -10
14 Texas Tech 18-4 373 +5
15 Oklahoma State 16-5 294 -2
16 North Carolina 15-5 273 +4
17 Boston College 14-3 222 +7
18 Texas A&M 14-6 203 -3
19 Campbell 15-3 194 +4
20 Miami 14-6 186 +6
21 Missouri 16-3 153 –
22 Kentucky 18-2 138 +15
23 Florida Gulf Coast 16-4 108 +5
24 North Carolina State 15-5 87 -7
25 Alabama 17-4 76 -3

Schools Dropped Out

No. 16 Virginia Tech; No. 18 Texas Christian; No. 21 Florida State; No. 25 Southern Miss

Others Receiving Votes

Texas Christian 59; UC Santa Barbara 52; Iowa 43; West Virginia 38; Virginia Tech 34; Old Dominion 25; Grand Canyon 25; Southern Miss 23; Florida State 16; Auburn 16; Oregon State 9; Arizona 8; Texas San Antonio 6; Duke 6; Connecticut 5; Northeastern 4; Georgia Tech 4; Georgia St. 2; Wofford 1

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2022 MLB Draft: Tracking every UF player/signee selected

Follow along for complete and total coverage of the 2022 MLB draft as it pertains to Florida Gators.

The 2022 MLB draft kicked off Sunday night and 80 of the finest prep and college players in the country heard their names called.

Day 2 kicked off on Monday, July 18, at 2 p.m. with coverage of Rounds 3-10, and then Day 3 begins Tuesday at the same time for the final 10 rounds. Gators Wire will be tracking every Florida player drafted, including those who have only signed a letter of intent and have yet to play a game at Condron Family Ballpark.

Four Gators heard their names called on Sunday: incoming first baseman [autotag]Xavier Isaac[/autotag], outfielder [autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag], left-handed pitcher [autotag]Hunter Barco[/autotag] and outfielder [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag]. All are expected to sign deals with the clubs that drafted them, but that might not be the case for those selected on Day 2 or 3.

Entering Day 2, [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] has produced 97 draft picks under his tutelage in Gainesville. He should hit 100 by the end of the draft.

Check back here throughout the draft to stay up to date with all of the moves that concern the orange and blue.

PHOTO GALLERY: Arkansas’ stay at the SEC Tournament

Here are the best images from Arkansas’ run at the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala.

After a week-long stay in Alabama, the Arkansas Razorbacks could not wait to get home.

Arkansas began their trip to Alabama on May 18 to begin the final SEC series of the year at Alabama. After playing three games in Tuscaloosa, the Razorbacks made the short drive to Hoover to begin their journey in the SEC Tournament.

By claiming the no. 3 seed in the tournament, the Razorbacks were guaranteed at least two games in Hoover, beginning with the Alabama Crimson Tide.

In their meeting with Alabama, the Crimson Tide jumped out to an early 3-0 lead through two innings. The Razorbacks got a run back on a solo home run by [autotag]Jalen Battles[/autotag]. After the Tide answered to move their lead back to three runs, [autotag]Chris Lanzilli[/autotag] hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the 6th inning to trim the lead to 4-3. But, Alabama would silence Arkansas’ bats en route to a victory.

Arkansas’ next draw would be the Florida Gators, a team that took two-of-three from Arkansas during the season.

The game with Florida played out almost similar to the Alabama game, where Arkansas’ opponent would jump out to a large lead, and Arkansas running out of time in an effort to take the win.

Florida lead by as much as five runs before Arkansas got on the board. To lead off the 6th inning, [autotag]Cayden Wallace[/autotag] and [autotag]Michael Turner[/autotag] hit back-to-back solo home runs to cut the Florida lead to 5-2. The Razorbacks would score three runs in the 9th to bring the game within two, but would run out of outs. Florida eliminated the Razorbacks by grabbing a 7-5 win.

Next for Arkansas is the NCAA Regionals. The Razorbacks will learn their postseason fate on Monday afternoon.

 

Florida uses late rally to move past Alabama, eliminates Tide from tournament

Alabama erased two Florida leads, but could not catch up to the Gators’ late rally to advance in the SEC Tournament.

The no. 11 seeded Alabama Crimson Tide played well in Saturday’s elimination game against Florida, by erasing the Gators’ lead two different times over the course of the game.

However, it was a four-run 9th inning by Florida that ultimately lifted the Gators over Alabama, 11-6 in an elimination game at the SEC Tournament in Hoover.

Florida led off with a home run by power hitter Wyatt Langford on just the third pitch of the game to push them ahead, 1-0. The Gators would score three more runs on a two-RBI single by Josh Rivera, and an RBI double by Jac Caglianone.

Despite being down 4-0 before even picking up a bat, Alabama did not fret. The Tide evened up the score beginning with an RBI single by[autotag] Dominic Tamez[/autotag], and ending with a three-run blast by [autotag]Zane Denton[/autotag].

Alabama’s second comeback of the day happened in the 3rd inning. Over the 2nd and 3rd inning, Florida regained the lead by scoring one run in each inning. Alabama tied the game yet again on one swing of the bat. [autotag]Drew Williamson[/autotag] crushed a two-run homer to center field to bring the game to a 6-6 tie.

Florida jumped back in front in the 6th inning when BT Riopelle grounded into a double play to score Langford from 3rd base. Then put the game out of reach in the bottom of the 9th by plating four runs in the top of the inning.

Williamson led Alabama at the plate with two hits, while Denton drove in three runs.

Alabama will now sit back and await their fate in the NCAA Tournament, the announcement of the Tide’s postseason destination will come Monday morning.

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Watch: Georgia baseball’s walk-off win over Florida

The No. 23 Georgia Bulldogs walked-off with two outs in the ninth inning to defeat the No. 14 Florida Gators

The No. 23 Georgia Bulldogs walked-off to defeat the No. 14 Florida Gators in a nationally televised game on ESPN2 on March 31. Georgia baseball is now 20-6 and 4-3 in SEC play. The Gators fall to 18-8 and 3-4 in SEC play.

Georgia’s dramatic 7-6 win over Florida should help the Bulldogs move up in the baseball rankings.

Georgia third baseman Josh McAllister was the hero of the night. McAllister had three hits to lead the Bulldogs including a clutch walk-off hit with Georgia trailing 5-6. The Dawgs entered the ninth inning trailing 4-6.

Here’s a look at McAllister’s two-out walk-off hit:

Georgia baseball has two more games in the series against Florida. The Bulldogs play the Gators on April 1 and 2. Georgia’s win over Florida is the Bulldogs’ third walk-off win of the season.

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