Tag: Gainesville Regional

Sooners struggle against Carsten Finnvold, fall to Florida 7-2 to set up Monday rematch

After the Sooners loaded the bases with no outs in the first, Florida pitching shut down OU all night and forced a second game in a 7-2 win

Things were looking good to start the evening for the Sooners. Peyton Graham, Blake Robertson and John Spikerman were all on base in the first inning with no one out and the Gators were already tapping into their bullpen.

Then Carsten Finnvold took the mound.

The freshman retired the Sooners in order and shut down the Sooners’ early chance to get a big lead. Oklahoma didn’t get another hit until the sixth inning.

The Gators rode Finnvold’s stellar relief outing to a 7-2 win to push the Gainesville Regional Final to a second game. The winner Monday will move on to Super Regionals to face No. 4 Virginia Tech.

While Cade Horton had a solid night with only two earned runs in 6.1 innings, the OU bullpen couldn’t keep the Gators off the board and allowed a four-run eighth inning.

The Sooners were stagnant in every inning other than the first and sixth. They were retired in order six times on the evening.

Fatigue didn’t seem to be an issue for the Gators, who once again defeated Central Michigan earlier on Sunday to earn this rematch with the Sooners. Finnvold pitching as long as he did against OU after Florida used five pitchers against the Chippewas could be huge for the second game tomorrow.

Oklahoma and Florida will face off Monday at noon.

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Game Preview: Florida baseball faces elimination against Central Michigan

The Gators are now in do-or-die mode. One loss ends the season. One win gets them to the regional finals later on in the day.

After losing to the Oklahoma Sooners, 9-4, on Saturday, the Florida Gators baseball team needs to knock out Central Michigan in a rematch to advance to the regionals finals against the Sooners later on in the day. If Florida beats OU, then a third and final tiebreaker on Monday will be played to determine who advances to the Super Regional matchup. First things first, though, Florida needs to beat CMU again.

The Gators took down the Chippewas ace and bullpen last time around, and CMU is running thin on pitchers going this deep into the tournament. Florida will trust [autotag]Nick Pogue[/autotag] with the ball and has already shown that it has better depth than most thought in its run to the SEC Tournament championship game. That said, Sully used up four relief guys on Saturday and their availability is up in the air.

Offensively, [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] has struggled in particular, going 0-for-9 with five strikeouts so far in regional play. Florida needs him to be a factor at the top of the order like he’s been all year to make a difference.

On the other hand, moving [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] into the four-hole and [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] back to the five seems to have worked. Evans knocked in two runs with a big fly Saturday and has been one of the better freshmen on the team along with [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag], who appeared around the same time.

[autotag]Mac Guscette[/autotag] also hit a solo shot on Saturday, which creates an argument to keep playing him at catcher and letting [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag]’s knees rest for at least one game. Having [autotag]Kendrick Calilao[/autotag] off the bench for a clutch pinch-hit is also nice to have in this kind of setting.

Game Preview: Florida faces Oklahoma in regional finals matchup

Florida baseball needs to beat Oklahoma after taking down Central Michigan earlier in the day to force a regional-deciding game on Monday.

Florida barely made it by Central Michigan earlier in the day, and now the Gators must right the wrongs of Saturday and overcome an Oklahoma team that beat them handily in the second round of the regional tournament.

The Sooners brought the offense and overpowered Florida’s young arms to an easy 9-4 victory. Florida has shown the ability to make adjustments in the past — UF was mercy-ruled by Texas A&M in the second round of the SEC Tournament and ended up beating the Aggies in the semifinals — but Oklahoma has the benefit of resting for a full day and being up at least one starting pitcher on the Gators.

Remember, even if Florida wins this game, they have to do it again on Monday to advance to the Super Regionals. It would be UF’s first trip to that round of the national championship tournament since 2018.

It’s a daunting task, but Florida has played some of its best ball backed into a corner and there are plenty of storylines to look for. [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] is chasing home run No. 26 to tie Matt LaPorta for the single-season record at the school. He hit two in the early game, so breaking the record is a possibility albeit unlikely.

[autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] could be playing his final game with the Gators and is still looking to prove that turning down the Red Sox’s second-round offer was the right decision. Coming up big in playoff time is a good way to remind people of how valuable you are, even after a big slump.

Then there are the others who are likely moving on from the program after this season. [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag], phenomenal as he’s been, is MLB bound after transferring to Florida for a season, and [autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag] is a projected first or second-round pick. Of course, the freshmen are trying to prove themselves just as much in their first taste of big stakes college ball.

Oklahoma Sooners defeat No. 14 Florida Gators to advance to the Regional Finals

The Sooners are one win away from the NCAA Super Regionals after a 9-4 win against the no. 14 Florida Gators

When the Sooners were sent off to Gainesville, a matchup against the hosting Gators was all but a given if a trip to Omaha was the goal.

The Gator-friendly crowd didn’t matter. The Sooners lived by the long ball and took down the No. 14 Gators 9-4. The Sooners are now one win away from Super Regionals and three wins away from the program’s first College World Series berth since 2010.

Since OU hasn’t lost a game in Regionals yet, whoever they play in the final will have to beat them twice. After a well-earned day off on Sunday, Oklahoma will play the winner of Central Michigan and Florida on Monday.

After falling behind early 2-0, the Sooners smashed four home runs. Peyton Graham and Blake Robertson both went yard and Jimmy Crooks did it twice.

The Gators just had no answer for Crooks, he got a double to go along with those home runs for three hits on the evening.

David “Sandman” Sandlin did what he needed to to get the Sooners the win. After allowing two home runs in the second inning, he buckled down and didn’t allow another run until the sixth. Sandlin finished the night with three earned runs and six strikeouts in six innings pitched.

The Gators put one more run on the board against OU’s bullpen, but that’s it.

If the Sooners can win this Regional, a very foreboding opponent could be waiting for them. The No. 4 Virginia Tech Hokies haven’t had much issue moving through their Regional thus far.

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Florida baseball faces elimination following regional loss to Oklahoma

Florida fell to Oklahoma Saturday, so that means the Gators need to beat Central Michigan and win a rematch against the Sooners on Sunday to stay alive.

Florida couldn’t get it done Saturday against Oklahoma, and the Gators will now have to take the difficult route to the Super Regionals following a 9-4 loss to the Sooners.

The scoring came often in this one with runners crossing the plate in every inning but the first and last. Florida threw freshman [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag], but Kevin O’Sullivan had him on a short leash and pulled him the third after giving up back-to-back home runs to surrender the early lead. Peyton Graham and Blake Robertson did the damage and erased the 2-0 lead created by [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] and [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag]’s solo shots in the second. Heading into the bottom of the third, the Sooners led, 3-1.

Tanner Tredaway scored a valuable fourth run on a wild pitch that batter Jackson Nicklaus appeared to interfere with [autotag]Mac Guscette[/autotag] on. After discussion and a visit from O’Sullivan, the run was ruled fair and Condron Ballpark woke up. The crowd booed every time Nicklaus came to bat for the rest of the night.

Tredaway was the first batter attributed to [autotag]Fisher Jameson[/autotag] who came in relief of Neely with one out in the inning. Kendall Pettis created another run on the basepaths in the fourth. After singling to lead off the inning, Pettis stole second, forced a balk to advance to third and slid in safely to home on another wild pitch.

That brought Sully back out and the third freshman of the day came out to the mound for Florida, [autotag]Tyler Nesbitt[/autotag]. He worked out of the inning and through the fifth despite giving up a homer to Crooks. [autotag]Nick Ficarrotta[/autotag] — freshman No. 4 of the night — was in for the sixth and pitched one of the few clean frames of the night for the Gators. Crooks got him in the seventh for a two-run shot to put OU up 8-3 heading into the stretch.

Florida tried to mount a comeback in the bottom of the seventh, but only Guscette’s home run affected the scoreboard. Oklahoma added one more run in the eighth and forced [autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] to come in for Ficarrotta.

LSU may have pulled off an insane 10-run comeback on Friday, but that wasn’t in the cards for the Gators Saturday night. UF went down 1-2-3 in the ninth and will play for their lives in an elimination game Sunday.

The loss means that Florida will need to beat Central Michigan again at 1 p.m. on Sunday to force a rematch against Oklahoma later on in the day. If UF wins that, a rubber match will be played Monday to decide who goes to the Super Regional.

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Game Preview: Florida baseball looking to down Oklahoma, advance to regional championship game

The last time Brandon Neely was on the mound for the Gators, Florida was mercy ruled. Here’s hoping things go differently this time around against Oklahoma.

Florida made it past Central Michigan on Friday thanks to a dominant outing from [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] on the mound to outduel the Chippewas’ ace, Andrew Taylor. The Gators won that game 7-3 and earned the right to face Oklahoma on the winners’ side of the bracket for a shot at the regional final.

If Florida takes this game against OU, the Gators will face the winner of Oklahoma and whoever wins the Saturday matinee between Liberty and Central Michigan. If UF loses, the team will play in that early game for a chance to rematch with Oklahoma.

With Sproat used up, [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] will turn to freshman [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] on the bump. Neely has stepped into the role nicely since joining the rotation against Arkansas and moving into the No. 2 spot once [autotag]Hunter Barco[/autotag] went down. Barco, since we’re talking about him, could be seen on the bench encouraging Sproat with a full arm brace. It appears the Tommy John surgery was a success.

Back to Neely, though. He seemed to hit his stride in the final game of the regular season against South Carolina, striking out 10 and hurling seven scoreless innings. Facing Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament, the first time around, was a different story, though. Neely left after 4 1/3 innings and three earned runs. The Gators would get mercy rules and have flipped a switch since.

If Neely has another short outing, the bullpen is ready to go. [autotag]Nick Ficarrotta[/autotag] is coming off an impressive 6 1/3-inning, 90+ pitch outing against Alabama in the conference tournament, and [autotag]Blake Purnell[/autotag] is available to eat some innings too. Winning this game is crucial because whoever loses will have to play two on Sunday to force a final tiebreaker game on Monday.

Offensively, [autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag] broke out of his little slump with a game-tying solo shot in the third Friday night and [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] went big fly to put the Gators out front. Those were two of the hottest bats for Florida at the start of the season (Thompson has been good all year), so it’s good to see them going.

[autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] struggled against CMU, going 0-for-5 with three strikeouts. Chalk that up to some nerves or pressure and expect him to bounce back against Oklahoma. [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] continues to be the best non-redshirt decision of Sully’s lifetime. He drove in three on a pair of hits Friday, and fellow freshman [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] has also been a difference-maker at the plate and in the field.

Oklahoma is a good team. They beat up on Liberty en route to a 16-3 victory, and Gator Nation isn’t forgetful of the fact that the Flames took two of three to start UF’s season off sour. If Neely and Co. can keep the Sooners’ offense at bay, the Gators should have a chance to win this game.

Florida baseball opens up regionals with win over Central Michigan

Brandon Sproat is pretty good at this pitching thing, folks. Florida’s ace led the way to a regional win Friday night against Central Michigan.

Florida took down Central Michigan, 7-3, in the first game of the Gators’ regional run Friday night.

The Chippewas threw their hard-throwing ace Andrew Taylor, but [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] won the pitching duel and went seven strong innings for the Gators. Home runs, as they so often as have this season, put the Gators out in front and the bullpen held on to the lead to advance to the winners’ bracket.

The Chippewas threatened early with a pair of singles to lead off the game. Sproat needed 21 pitches to get out of the inning, but he stranded the runners in scoring position. [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] tried to get out to an early lead with some small ball in the bottom half of the frame, but [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] struck out swinging to leave [autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag] on second.

CMU stranded two more runners in the second and struggled to pull out in front. Taylor struck out the side despite hitting [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag], giving his squad another chance to strike first blood.

Shortstop Justin Simpson led off the third with a base hit to right-center, and things got worse from there. Jakob Marsee grounded out to the right side to move Simpson over to second, and Danny Wuestenfeld and Aidan Shepardson delivered hits No. 5 and 6 on the evening to break the tie. Chippewas up, 1-0.

Thompson responded immediately though, with a home run to left field in the bottom of the third. Taylor struck out [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag], [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] and Fabian (again) to get out of the inning. The strike zone was questionable all night, but both teams suffered equally for the most part.

Both pitchers settled in for the fourth, but Taylor slipped again and gave up a homer to [autotag]Colby  Halter[/autotag], who hit the ball in almost the same spot as Thompson did earlier. Sproat secured his fifth-straight quality start by working through a pair of base runners in the fifth and setting down the Chippewas in order in the sixth. Central Michigan ran into the final out of the fifth to help Sproat get out of what should have been a two-out jam with men on the corners, and gave him extra life to come back out for the seventh.

Things got easier for Florida once Taylor came out of the game. Garrett Navarra, a two-way player-struggled right out of the gate. [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] added an insurance run off him in the bottom of the sixth on a one-out double to score Fabian and make it 3-1. That was enough to send Sproat into Justin Verlander 2012 mode, and he came out pumping 98 and 99-mph fastballs with 96 pitches already under his belt in the seventh.

After losing Simpson to a walk on a full count, Sproat called off Sully and demanded a chance to finish the inning. He’d get it done in two more pitches with a line out to left. Sproat’s final line: 7.0 IP, 9 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 114 total pitches.

For a guy that was struggling to settle into the No. 2 spot when [autotag]Hunter Barco[/autotag] went down, Sproat has been every bit of the ace Florida needed. Battling through a rough start and holding CMU to one run through seven innings is almost a metaphoric start for his season. Florida needed an ace to beat Taylor, and Sproat answered the call.

[autotag]Ryan Slater[/autotag] pitched the final two innings for UF, and it was a roller coaster of a finish. A leadoff single in the eighth proved to be harmless, but things got scary after Slater loaded the bases on two hit batters. He induced the second swinging strikeout of the inning, and Florida sat three outs away from a date with the Oklahoma Sooners.

Caglianone drove in two more runs with a single in the bottom of the eight to make it 5-1, and Navarra’s night came to a close. Ryan Insco came in to face two batters and then handed the ball to Jake Jones who gave up a two-run double to Halter. Langford struck out for the third time to cap off an uncharacteristic 0-5 night, but the 7-1 lead was more than enough for Slater to close things out.

CMU score two more runs in the ninth, but Slater didn’t need any relief and Florida saved another arm for tomorrow’s matchup against Oklahoma at 7 p.m. EDT. Central Michigan plays an elimination game against Liberty early on in the day. The winner of that game will play another elimination game against the loser of Florida-Oklahoma.

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Game Preview: Florida baseball opens regional play against Central Michigan

This could be a great pitching duel if Sproat and Taylor are both on their game.

After a surprising run to the championship game of the SEC Tournament, the Florida baseball team is ready to start regional play, and first up are the Central Michigan Chippewas. Liberty and Oklahoma will square off in the early game, and the Gators get the nightcap on Day 1 of the Gainesville Regional at 6:30 p.m. EDT.

Both teams will be throwing their respective aces. [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] has, of course, stepped into the role for the Gators over the last month or so since [autotag]Hunter Barco[/autotag]’s injury. He’s performed well, but he’ll have to outduel another legitimate ace in Central Michigan’s Andrew Taylor. His fastball touched the upper 90s and he can rack up strikeouts in a hurry.

Florida should be going with its new and improved lineup that features [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] in the designated hitter spot and [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] in right field or off the bench depending on the matchup. [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] has also moved into the three-hole in the lineup and pushed [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] down to fifth. Both have excelled in their new spots.

Riopelle also played first base toward the end of the SEC Tournament which gave his knees rest but also allowed [autotag]Mac Guscette[/autotag] to come in and hit the ball as well as he ever has. [autotag]Kendrick Calilao[/autotag] was utilized as a pinch hitter for a struggling [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] late in a game too, so he’s not totally out of the mix if Florida decides to go with that lineup at any point.

Hitting-wise, Caglianone and [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] have been stellar. Since moving into the leadoff spot, Langford is slashing .420/.547/.877 and leading the team in almost every major offensive statistic. He’s now on the hunt to break the single-season record of 26 set by Matt LaPorta (who was also a sophomore at the time) in 2005.

It won’t be easy, but Florida has set itself up to compete in this regional and advance to supers. Starting things off with a win is crucial, though.

Oklahoma Sooners heading to Gainesville for regional round of NCAA tournament

The Oklahoma Sooners earned a No. 2 seed and will head to Gainesville for regionals along with Florida, Liberty, and Central Michigan.

The Oklahoma Sooners’ run to close the season didn’t earn them an opportunity to host a regional in the NCAA tournament. However, after five straight series wins to close out the Big 12 regular season and a Big 12 tournament title, Oklahoma received a No. 2 seed and will be heading to Gainesville, Fla. for the regional round of the NCAA tournament.

The Florida Gators earned the right to host and will be joined by Oklahoma, Liberty, and Central Michigan.

Florida comes in with a record of 39-22 and went 15-15 in the SEC. Despite their average record in conference play, the Gators head into the national postseason with the 14th best RPI.

Oklahoma is No. 20 in the RPI and as the No. 2 seed will take on third-seeded Liberty who boasts a record of 37-21 and opened the season with a series win over Florida. Liberty was ranked 31st in RPI.

Central Michigan owns a record of 42-17 and won the MAC tournament title after going 30-7 in conference play during the MAC regular season.

Oklahoma looks to stay hot on the road. The Sooners won three straight Big 12 series on the road, including a sweep at Kansas and taking two of three at TCU (who won the Big 12 regular-season title) and Texas Tech (who is the highest-ranked Big 12 team in the RPI).

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