Tag: Jac Caglinone

Cade Kurland delivers comeback victory over No. 13 Ole Miss to Florida

Florida’s true freshman second baseman, Cade Kurland, played hero on Saturday in the first game of UF’s doubleheader against Ole Miss.

Florida true freshman [autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] has made plenty of noise throughout the first month of the season, but the first game of Florida’s Saturday doubleheader against Ole Miss was undoubtedly the most notable game of his collegiate career so far.

Kurland experienced both the highest of highs and lowest of lows during the 3-hour-and-23-minute affair. Through his first four at-bats of the day, Kurland had struck out three times and grounded out. Staring down the crown of the golden sombrero, he came up for a fifth time in the top of the eighth with the bases loaded and Florida down two.

Facing the Rebels’ third pitcher of the night, right-hander Mason Nichols, Kurland jumped on the third pitch he saw and shot it into the gap in right-center. The ball rolled all the way to the wall, and the bases cleared to put Florida up a run in a game that looked like it was slipping away an inning earlier.

It’s not always fair to put the blame on one guy, but Florida didn’t put up a crooked number until Nichols came in. Starter Jack Dougherty nearly made it through five and struck seven Gators while allowing just three earned runs. The Rebels’ first reliever of the day, Mitch Murrell, was even better through the 2 1/3 innings, striking out three and allowing just one baserunner on a walk.

Although that duo did allow Florida to score three runs over seven innings, neither pitcher ever gave up more than a run in an inning. In contrast, the Gators jumped on Nichols immediately with a [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] solo home run, his 11th of the season. Kurland delivered the big hit, but he doesn’t get the chance to bat if [autotag]Matt Prevesk[/autotag], [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag], and [autotag]Michael Robertson[/autotag] don’t get hits.

The Gators didn’t stop after the eighth either. [autotag]Jac Caglinone[/autotag] hit his second home run of the day and once again claimed sole possession of the national lead in that statistical category. [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] drove in another run on a ground out to put Florida up, 9-6, heading into the bottom of the ninth.

[autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] closed out the final 1 1/3 innings for Florida, pitching the last out of the eighth inning and all of the ninth for Florida. It wasn’t an easy save by any means, but Neely struck out two of the last three batters he faced to close it out despite trading a run for an out. It was his fourth save of the season.

Left-hander [autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] was the first arm out of the bullpen for Florida and continues to emerge as one of the team’s top relief arms. He finished the afternoon after 2 1/3 innings of strong work, allowing just an unearned run, which won’t really count against him. He finished with three strikeouts and is clearly the top lefty in the bullpen right now. Abner claimed the win in relief, brining him to 3-0 on the season.

[autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] didn’t have his best stuff in this one, but he still continued his streak of games without taking a loss thanks to the offense. Even a bad day for Sproat means seven strikeouts, but the five earned runs over 5 1/3 innings are going to hurt his ERA a bit.

Control still seems to be a problem for Sproat at times, but then he delivers a game like last week’s against Alabama and reminds everyone how high his ceiling really is.

This wasn’t Florida’s best day on offense aside from the damage done in the final two innings of the game. Caglianone and Rivera each had a multi-hit game, as did right fielder [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag]. [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] went 0 for 4 with a walk in his return to the lineup.

Langford is easing his way back and playing designated hitter to limit how much running he does, which means that [autotag]Matt Prevesk[/autotag] got his first start of the season in left field. Prevesk’s bat has been strong off the bench in pinch-hit situations, so getting him some more opportunities at the plate is a good idea. He went 1 for 5 with two strikeouts and a run.

[autotag]Michael Robertson[/autotag] has moved to the No. 9 spot in the lineup and is the perfect second leadoff guy for UF. He went 0 for 2 in Game 1 of the doubleheader but drew three walks and scored twice. It’s almost like starting the lineup at the bottom of the order.

Taking the first game of the series makes winning the weekend seem very attainable for Florida. Things were looking bleak through seven, but it’s never wise to give up on the nation’s top offense when they are down just a few runs.

Florida can take the series with a win in Game 2 of the doubleheader, which starts at 7 p.m. EDT.

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