Tag: Karl Hartman

Tracking Florida baseball’s 2022 transfer portal movement

It could be a busy offseason for Florida baseball in the transfer portal. Here are the latest moves being made.

It could be a busy offseason for the Florida Gators in the transfer portal, including additions and subtractions from the 2022 team. A few players have made their intentions to depart known early and the Gators are expected to at least compete for some of the top talent in the portal (yes, Tommy White is still an option but FSU is the favorite).

[autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] tested the waters a year ago by bringing in catcher [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] and that worked out beautifully. Riopelle was an All-SEC First Team selection and is now expected to return, according to Gators Online’s Nick de la Torre. It’s worth pursuing some more talent after a success like that, and Florida will have holes after losing [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] and [autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag] among others to the draft and graduation.

Florida did have 16 new faces join the team last year with all but one being freshmen, so some were bound to transfer out. Gators Wire will keep track of those roster movements as they come in and keep an eye on where they land.

It will be interesting to see just how much Florida utilizes the portal this offseason. The new rules changed the game immediately for football and basketball, but it seems that baseball is just now catching up.

What’s next for Florida baseball: A post-mortem of the 2022 season

Buckle in, Gators Wire’s 2022 Baseball Season Recap is finally here. We dive into all 35 players one by one and go over where they stand after the season.

The Florida Gators’ 2022 baseball season ended Monday with a 5-4 loss in the regional finals of the NCAA Championship Tournament against Oklahoma. The year was filled with ups and downs, but being six outs away from a Super Regional berth isn’t too shabby for a team with 16 new players on the roster.

Pitching was a bit of a disappointment early on, but a few freshmen started to stand out from the bunch. That depth allowed the Gators to make a deeper run than most expected in the playoffs and finish the year 42-24.

Conference play was a bit of a struggle. UF finished the regular season .500 against the SEC, including series losses to Georgia (sweep), LSU, Tennessee (sweep) and Vanderbilt. A 9-3 finish against the weaker members of the conference (Kentucky, Mississippi State, Missouri and South Carolina) allowed Florida to finish with a respectable record, but things didn’t really turn around until Texas A&M beat them via the mercy rule.

After that 10-0 loss, Florida played like the team it needed to be all year. It even got legendary performances from the likes of Carsten Finnvold, a freshman who hadn’t seen game action since April when he got the start against Tennessee in theSEC Tournament.

Then there’s the offense. At times, the veteran group didn’t back up the young pitching staff as it was expected to. Jud Fabian was a disappointment down the stretch, hitting just .185 against the conference and going 1-for-30. To his credit, Fabian struck out 10 times less than he did a year ago in about 40 more plate appearances. Walks were also up considerably, so his eye definitely improved despite the low average.

On the other side of things, Wyatt Langford made a complete transformation over the offseason and became one of the best leadoff guys in baseball. He led the team in most major offensive categories and tied Matt LaPorta’s 2005 school record of 26 homers in a season.

There’s a lot to celebrate about with this team, and a lot to address moving forward. Many of them have played their final games in the Orange in Blue, and others are just starting to tell their story.

What will the team look like next year? There’s only one way to properly answer that question and it’s long-winded. Feel free to jump to the sections that interest you the most as we break down the team position by position.

Gators’ power surge runs USF Bulls out of Gainesville

Florida unleashed the beast tonight and got revenge for the loss in the regionals last year.

It has been a disappointing season for Florida baseball as the schedule winds down into the final weeks, with the Gators severely underperforming their projections due to a dearth of reliable pitching and some untimely cold streaks by the bats. With just 12 games remaining until the start of the Southeastern Conference Tournament, UF is in dire need of a jumpstart if the Orange and Blue has any hopes of making the postseason.

On Tuesday night, Florida got that jolt of power from its bats against the South Florida Bulls in an 18-3 victory at Condron Family Ballpark to avenge a shocking loss in the opening round of the regionals last year. [autotag]Nick Pogue[/autotag] got the start on the bump and looked strong despite a few blemishes, tossing four innings of two-run ball while the bats caught fire.

The Bulls struck in the top of the first with a solitary run but the Gators began to show their fury in the bottom half of the frame, with [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] launching a two-run home run to make it a 2-1 score. After a scoreless top of the second, Florida unleashed the beast with a trio of home runs — a solo shot by [autotag]Mac Guscette[/autotag], then a grand slam for Fabian immediately followed by a back-to-back knock by [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] to push the lead to 8-1.

USF plated a run thanks to a throwing error attempting to gun down the leadoff hitter, who made it across on a sac fly to add to the 8-2 score. But the Gators were not complacent with a six-run lead and pushed across a pair of runs on a [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] double and a [autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag] sac fly to make it a 10-2 game.

Pogue clicked on cruise control for the next couple of innings while the Gators added a six-spot on a Guscette fielder’s choice, followed by a bases-loaded bloop single by Thompson with two outs, and then Fabian’s third dinger of the day immediately following in the fourth that launched the score to a 16-2 blowout. His three homers and eight RBI were already career highs for the elder Fabian before the game was even halfway over.

[autotag]Tyler Nesbitt[/autotag] took over in the fifth along with a few other fielding adjustments and shut down USF in order, and the Gators did the same in the bottom half of the frame. Florida tacked on another in the bottom of the sixth on a sac fly that followed [autotag]Kris Armstrong[/autotag]’s triple and nearly padded the lead even more but failed to capitalize further for a 17-2 tally.

[autotag]Karl Hartman[/autotag] took over in the seventh, and after striking out the first batter on a full count, hit the next one followed by a base-on-balls but escaped damage thanks to a strikeout and a fielder’s choice to close out the inning. The Gators made some noise in the bottom half but failed to score. [autotag]Anthony Ursitti[/autotag] came in for the eighth and gave up a run after surrendering a leadoff single along with a walk followed by another single and a fielder’s choice to make it a 17-3 game.

Florida scored its 18th run — more than any other game this season — on a [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] solo home run and threatened to score more before going down in the bottom of the eighth. Ursitti came back out to close things out, retiring the first two batters he face before an error by [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] unmercifully prolonged the inevitable. A wild pitch and a walk strung things along further before a strikeout finally clinched the game.

The Gators hit the road this weekend for a weekend series against the Mississippi State Bulldogs starting on Friday at 8 p.m. EDT. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network and can be heard on ESPN 98.1FM/850AM WRUF.

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Game Preview: Florida baseball returns to midweek action against USF

USF handed Florida a loss in last year’s Gainesville Regional. The Gators get their chance at revenge on Tuesday back at Condron Family Ballpark.

After getting the week off between the Tennessee and Kentucky series, Florida baseball is back to midweek action with a home game against the USF Bulls Tuesday.

The Bulls made history in Gainesville last time they were in town by beating Florida, 5-3, and winning the first regional championship in team history. That sets the table up for the Gators to get some sweet, sweet revenge at a time when [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] needs his club to play their best baseball.

Winning the first two games of the Kentucky series in such a dominant fashion (9-2, 9-1) is what’s expected of this team, but they need to keep it up down the stretch. Pitching is still an issue after [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] and [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag]. [autotag]Ryan Slater[/autotag] got touched up early against the Wildcats on Sunday and [autotag]Karl Hartman[/autotag] had a short night against Stetson last time the Gators played midweek.

It remains unclear who will get the ball in Tuesday’s matchup, but starters should be announced at some point over the afternoon. With that in mind, Florida’s offense will need to be productive enough to overcome any pitching woes that could, and likely will, come up.

The first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. EDT Tuesday night at Condron Family Ballpark.

Game Preview: Gators looking to sweep season series against Stetson

Stetson has played spoiler before to the Gators, but Florida needs this midweek win to get the mind right before hosting No. 1 Tennessee over the weekend.

Florida baseball managed to narrowly avoid a sweep at the hands of the Vanderbilt Commodores with a 10-inning win on Sunday, and the Gators have one more game against Stetson on Tuesday to prepare for No. 1 Tennessee over the coming weekend.

Last time out against the Hatters, Florida cruised to an 8-1 victory. That game came after an opening series loss to Liberty and led to an early seven-game winning streak for UF. The Gators could use another momentum boost after getting off to a rocky start against SEC opponents.

[autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag] led the offense with three RBIs on three hits, including a solo home run, and redshirt freshman [autotag]Tucker Talbot[/autotag]t had a four-hit night in one of his few appearances of the year. [autotag]Timmy Manning[/autotag] got a short one-inning start to regain some confidence after a weekend loss. Tuesday’s starter,[autotag] Karl Hartman[/autotag], was the first arm out of the bullpen followed by [autotag]Nick Ficarrotta[/autotag], who ended up taking home the win after 60 pitches and 4 2/3 innings. [autotag]Blake Purnell[/autotag] and [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] finished things off.

Kevin O’Sullivan probably won’t be playing his backups too much in this one as the Gators find themselves in need of a pick me up during the toughest part of their schedule. Each weekend seems to end in heartbreak only to have some hope restored by a solid midweek win. There’s no game between the Tennessee and Kentucky series, so this is Florida’s last dress rehearsal for that stretch.

A win here is expected, but it’s a crucial game for the Gators.

Florida baseball: Pogue’s shaky start dooms Gators against FSU

One step forward, two steps back. The Gators lose an ugly one to FSU after taking two of three from Arkansas.

Florida had a shot to take the season series from Florida State on Tuesday night, but the Seminoles rode a five-run first inning to a 5-0 victory in Tallahassee.

[autotag]Nick Pogue[/autotag] got the start for Florida but struggled to get just one out. After giving up back-to-back homers and allowing another man to hit safely, Pogue’s night was over after just 23 pitches. [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] brought in [autotag]Tyler Nesbitt[/autotag] as a long reliever, but it took a while for him to settle in. Two more singles brought in another run to make it 4-0 and the final one came in as catcher [autotag]Mac Guscette[/autotag] threw out a runner attempting to steal second. At that point, trading outs for runs seemed necessary.

Normally, a five-run first means a high-scoring affair, but both clubs stayed quiet for the rest of the night. That’s good news for the Gators’ struggling bullpen and bad news for a veteran offense that should’ve been able to fight back. Instead, Florida managed just two hits all night and struck out 14 times.

Nesbitt worked through the third and then let [autotag]Nick Ficarrotta[/autotag] come in to eat 2 2/3 innings. [autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] pitched through the seventh, and [autotag]Karl Hartman[/autotag] impressed with a two-strikeout eighth. Ficarotta has been solid all year for the Gators, but Abner and Hartman could stand to become a bit more consistent. An outing like this against a club like FSU should earn them some favor in Sully’s book.

Vanderbilt is up next over the weekend as Florida returns to a more typical Friday-Saturday-Sunday schedule over the next few weeks. The Commodores are no joke but have a similar record to Florida and recently dropped out of the top 25. It’ll be a test run of sorts for the squad before hosting Tennessee the following week.

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