Tag: Kendrick Calilao

Florida baseball steals one versus No. 2 Arkansas Razorbacks to even the series

Florida baseball starter Brandon Sproat propelled the Gators to victory versus the No. 2 Razorbacks.

Florida baseball pitcher [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] has now strung together two strong outings versus No. 23 Georgia last weekend and No. 2 Arkansas after mediocre outings against Alabama and LSU. He shut down the potent Razorbacks lineup Friday night to help his team force the rubber match.

The right-hander went 5 2/3 innings, giving up seven hits, two walks and one earned run while striking out five. His strong start propelled the Gators toward a 7-2 victory Friday at Florida Ballpark to even the series.

Florida’s lineup came out guns blazing after only recording three hits in an 8-1 defeat Thursday. Center fielder [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] doubled after second baseman [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] flew out to center field. Fabian advanced to third on a passed ball and then was driven in by a right fielder [autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag] sacrifice fly. Left fielder [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] then blasted an opposite-field homer to give them a 2-0 advantage after the first inning.

The Gators picked up where they left off in the next inning. Arkansas starter Hagen Smith loaded the bases and walked third baseman [autotag]Deric Fabian[/autotag] to send a runner home. Halter then drove in shortstop [autotag]Joshua Rivera[/autotag] to push their lead to 4-0. Catcher [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] snuck a solo shot over the right-center-field wall to add another run.

Arkansas took advantage of a Halter error in the top of the fifth to finally get on the board. Florida responded quickly, earning that run in the bottom half. Riopelle drove in Thompson via a sac fly and first baseman [autotag]Kendrick Calilao[/autotag] doubled down the left-field line, scoring Langford to increase the lead to 7-1.

The Razorbacks scored one more run when designated hitter Brady Slavens tripled to center field, driving in Braydon Webb.

Florida then held on in the ninth to clinch the 7-2 victory, breaking a six-game losing streak versus SEC opponents. Langford finished the night 2-for-4 with a homer and an RBI. Riopelle went 2-for-3 with a longball and two RBIs. The Gators lineup also only struck out four times versus Arkansas.

They’ll return Saturday at 1 p.m. EDT to play Arkansas at Florida Ballpark for the series victory.

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LSU overwhelms Florida baseball to even weekend series

LSU’s offense trounced Florida’s pitchers for six runs in the third inning on the way to a 16-4 victory.

The LSU Tigers overwhelmed Florida’s pitchers after its staff held them to two runs on Saturday. The Tigers put up crooked numbers in the third and ninth innings in a 16-4 victory over the Gators Saturday night at Florida Ballpark.

The Tigers struck first when [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] walked the lead-off batter and fell behind 3-1 to first baseman Tre’ Morgan, who then made him pay as he launched a pitch to right-center to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.

Sproat bounced back the following inning by not allowing a base runner, but he unraveled in the third inning. The sophomore right-hander walked the lead-off hitter again, then Morgan doubled to put two runners in scoring position with no outs. LSU then scored a run on a sac fly and on an error by first baseman [autotag]Kendrick Calilao[/autotag] to increase its lead to 4-0.

Coach [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] pulled Sproat for [autotag]Timmy Manning[/autotag] after he allowed another walk. Sproat finished his outing, only going 2 1/3 innings while surrendering six runs, five earned runs, four hits and two walks.

But Manning didn’t fare much better, either. He entered and gave up a three-run homer and a solo shot to the first two LSU batters he faced in designated hitter Brayden Jobert and left fielder Gavin Dugas. The Tigers added another run in the fifth.

Florida finally broke the shutout in the sixth via a solo home run from third baseman [autotag]Deric Fabian[/autotag]. Then Gators’ right fielder [autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag] blasted a two-run homer to right and Calilao doubled in a run to trim LSU’s lead to 9-4.

Florida failed to cut into the Tigers’ lead any further in the final three innings. LSU tacked on seven runs in the top of the ninth to increase its lead to 16-4.

The Gators only managed five hits in Saturday’s contest, and Thompson — who recorded two of them — was the lone bright spot. LSU held star center fielder Jud Fabian hitless. He went zero for four with a strikeout. Florida’s defense also committed two errors.

Florida and LSU return for the rubber match Sunday at noon EDT and can be streamed on SEC Network+.

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Kendrick Calilao’s three-run shot lifts Gators past Kentucky in Game 2

The bomb broke a tie in the ninth inning and gave Florida an opportunity to win the series against Kentucky on Saturday.

Florida spent much of its Friday night game against Kentucky playing catch up. Heading into the ninth inning, the Gators looked poised to take a series loss against the Wildcats. But instead, a monster ninth inning (bolster by Kendrick Calilao, who crushed a three-run homer over the left-field wall during pinch-hitting duties) gave UF an equalizing 8-5 win, forcing a decisive Game 3.

Both starting pitchers in UK’s Sean Harney and Florida’s Tommy Mace were fantastic out the gate. They each progressed through the opposing lineup in order in the first inning. Though Harney gave up the first hit of the game at the top of the second, Mace was the first to flinch significantly, giving up three singles in the bottom of the inning. The latter one from Cam Hill brought two runs across to give the Wildcats the early lead.

UF (32-14, 14-9 SEC) quickly evened it up in the third, though, when Harney walked Nate Hickey and a homer from Jud Fabian cleared the bases. Not yet satisfied, he went yard again in the fifth for a solo shot that scored the next run of the game, giving the Gators a one-run lead.

That lead wouldn’t last, though. In the bottom of the inning, Mace allowed a pair of RBI singles as Kentucky (27-16, 11-12 SEC) regained the lead, albeit at a slim 4-3 margin.

Wildcats reliever Dillon Marsh and Mace both worked through the sixth inning cleanly, and neither allowed a hit in the seventh. Following the inning, rain caused the game to be briefly delayed, but Kirby McMullen led off the eighth with a double.

Calilao then entered as a pinch hitter, and his first hit was an RBI, as well, bringing McMullen home to tie the game. But the Gators couldn’t get anything else after three straight outs, and Kentucky responded at the bottom of the frame.

Trey Van Der Weide entered for Mace, and he gave up a lead-off single and allowed the runner to advance to second on a balk. Following a groundout, Ryan Ritter reached base on a fielding error from Josh Rivera and stole second. Van Der Weide hit a batter to load the bases, and with one out, a run came across on a fielder’s choice from Hill to take the lead.

Entering a do-or-die top of the ninth, Florida got a good start as Jacob Young walked to lead off. But after a strikeout from Hickey and a deep flyout from Fabian, the Gators were down to their final out. Kris Armstrong kept the game going with a single that advanced Young to second, bringing Calilao to the plate.

With one swing, he put three runs across and gave the Gators an insurmountable three-run lead. At the bottom of the ninth, Kentucky’s leadoff hitter Austin Schultz almost sent one over the wall himself on a ball that was just barely saved by Fabian. The Wildcats managed to put a single on the board, but a fielder’s choice and a strikeout from Jack Leftwich, who entered at the top of the inning, ended the game.

With the Game 2 win, UF salvages a chance to win the series heading into the final game on Saturday. First pitch for Game 3 is set for 2 p.m. EDT in Lexington.

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