Tag: Liam Peterson

Florida loses incoming transfer RHP Michael Ross to 2024 MLB draft

Samford right-hander Michael Ross won’t be transferring to Florida after signing a deal out of the MLB draft.

Samford right-hander [autotag]Michael Ross[/autotag] won’t make it to Gainesville after all.

The incoming transfer turned down a year with the Florida Gators to sign an 18th-round deal with the Minnesota Twins. The financial details of the deal remain unknown for now.

Ross had a chance to join Florida’s weekend rotation, which should be anchored by returners [autotag]Pierce Coppola[/autotag] and [autotag]Liam Peterson[/autotag]. Ross was expected to be the third member of the weekend rotation, but now Florida will have to figure something else out.

Florida tried to convince Ross to stay in school for another year, pitching that a good year in the SEC could earn him more money. But Ross would lose all negotiating leverage if he returned for his senior year, potentially negating any gains made by the year at UF.

The Gators had a pretty good draft otherwise, but losing Ross hurts. Florida has now lost impact transfer arms in back-to-back offseasons. UCLA right-hander Kelly Austin signed an undrafted free agent deal with the Houston Astros after committing to Florida last season.

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USA Baseball invites Florida RHP Liam Peterson to Collegiate National Team Camp

Right-hander Liam Peterson continues the trend of Florida Gators playing on USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team.

USA Baseball announced the 55-man roster for the 2024 Collegiate National Team Training Camp, including Florida right-hander [autotag]Liam Peterson[/autotag].

A two-game Stars vs. Stripes series will determine which players head to the 21st USA vs. Chinese Taipei International Friendship Series and which play in a four-game Summer League Tour — both begin on Saturday, June 29.

The first game of the intrasquad series is Wednesday night at 6 p.m. ET, and the second game is Thursday at the same time. Check back for results.

“The talent across college baseball this year has been nothing short of fantastic,” said USA Baseball general manager Eric Campbell. “We had an incredibly deep pool of players to select from for this year’s Collegiate National Team Training Camp and we are confident in the fifty-five players who will be arriving to Cary tomorrow. We are excited to get our Stars versus Stripes series underway.”

Peterson made 18 appearances, including 16 starts, as a true freshman for the Orange and Blue. He finished the season with a 3-6 record and a 6.43 earned run average over 63 innings.

Peterson showed flashes of greatness early on and then hit the rough patch that’s almost inevitable in year one at the college level. However, Peterson figured things out down the stretch, earning high praise from head coach Kevin O’Sullivan after a few rough starts.

Jac Caglianone and Brandon Neely played for Team USA last year, while Cade Fisher was a camp invite. Wyatt Langford preceded them in 2022.

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Florida baseball season ends with College World Series semifinals loss to Texas A&M

Florida’s magical postseason run came to an end Wednesday night in the College World Series semifinals against Texas A&M.

A historic and magical season for the Florida Gators baseball team has come to an end with a 6-0 loss to the Texas A&M Aggies Wednesday night in the College World Series semifinals.

All good things must come to an end, but Florida’s goose egg and exit from the postseason felt even worse after experiencing the euphoria of an 11-run win earlier in the day.

[autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] managed to make a little more history, but it was his final game as a Gator. [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] made the final appearance of his Florida career, too.

A rough start

[autotag]Liam Peterson[/autotag] couldn’t shake his nerves again and walked four batters in the first inning. [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] went out to get him after Peterson walked in a run and brought in [autotag]Fisher Jameson[/autotag] for damage control. A sacrifice fly scored a second run before the inning ended, and the damage was already done.

Florida couldn’t get any momentum going, even when they got multiple runners on base. Texas A&M starter Justin Lamkin delivered five scoreless innings, striking out nine of the 19 batters he faced. The Gators couldn’t figure out his rhythm and looked baffled at the plate.

Jameson gave up a run in the fifth before turning the ball over to [autotag]Jake Clemente[/autotag] in the sixth. Clemente threw earlier in the day and couldn’t find his command. Sully had a short leash on him and brought in Neely with a 2-0 count and one-on.

That turned out to be a mistake. Neely gave up a two-run shot to make it 5-0 and suck the life out of the Gator collective.

One shot, one opportunity

Lamkin’s exit in the sixth brought in Chris Cortez, who couldn’t buy a strike. A pair of walks forced the Aggies to the bullpen again, but Josh Stewart escaped the jam without giving up a run.

Evan Aschenbeck threw the final two innings for Texas A&M to complete the shutout. Florida stranded eight men on base; although, it felt more like 100. [autotag]Brody Donay[/autotag] grounded into a double play to end the game and Florida’s season.

Caglianone had two of the team’s four hits — both singles. He tied the program record for career hits with 104.

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Highlights from Florida’s College World Series loss to Texas A&M

Take a look at highlights from Saturday’s late-night CWS action between Florida and Texas A&M.

The weather did not play fair on Saturday night, forcing the opening College World Series game between the Florida Gators and Texas A&M Aggies into the wee hours of the morning. After things finally dried up enough to play, TAMU prevailed over UF, 3-2.

[autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] paced the Orange and Blue on offense, going 2-for-3 with a double, a walk and a strikeout. After a weak start from [autotag]Liam Peterson[/autotag], who allowed three runs in 2 1/3 innings, the bullpen tandem of [autotag]Fisher Jameson[/autotag] and [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] kept the Aggies off the board the remainder of the game.

Unfortunately, the offense simply did not have enough to overcome A&M.

Florida dropped into the losers’ bracket and will face North Carolina State Wolfpack in an elimination game on Monday at 2 p.m. ET.

Florida’s CWS comeback bid comes up short, Gators face elimination Monday

Florida has made comebacks on the diamond all season long, but the Gators couldn’t get the job done in Game 1 and now face elimination.

As every game has gone so far in the 2024 College World Series, Florida’s 3-2 loss to Texas A&M on Saturday night was an instant classic.

Bad weather delayed first pitch in Omaha until 11 p.m. ET, pushing the game’s final moments beyond the 2 a.m. mark. Naturally, the drama came at the end of the game.

Trailing by three runs for most of the night, [autotag]Dale Thomas[/autotag] finally broke through in the seventh with a double into the left-field corner. [autotag]Tyler Shelnut[/autotag] scored from third after hitting a two-bagger of his own and advancing a base on a wild pitch. [autotag]Brody Donay[/autotag] moved Thomas over with a sacrifice bunt and [autotag]Michael Robertson[/autotag] got him in with a grounder to the left side.

Thomas’ double was the team’s only base hit with a man in scoring position, though. The Gators stranded 10 baserunners overall and went 1-for-11 with RISP.

A bases-loaded opportunity in the eighth gave Thomas another opportunity to make some magic, but a soft grounder to second ended the frame following a quick review. Thomas nearly beat it out and tied the game, but Texas A&M first baseman Ted Burton kept his toes on the bag to get one of the most important outs of the game.

Florida’s chances for a comeback weren’t finished there, though.

In the ninth, Robertson made sure that [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] got an at-bat with an infield single. For a guy who struggled with the lefty-lefty matchup earlier in the year, Robertson has figured out how to slap something the other way and use his speed to get on.

Before Cags stepped to the plate, [autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] nearly hit a go-ahead home run to right. It looked like the ball would clear the wall, but Jace LaViolette leaped up and robbed at least one run — probably two. Kurland couldn’t believe it, the Aggies fans couldn’t believe it. A game of inches.

Caglianone worked the count full and walked, putting the go-ahead run on base, but [autotag]Ashton Wilson[/autotag] couldn’t figure out one of the best closers in the country and struck out to end the game.

It was a deflating moment in a game that felt competitive at the very end, but Florida is lucky this one didn’t get out of hand earlier. Freshman [autotag]Liam Peterson[/autotag] didn’t have what his best stuff and was pulled after 2 1/3 innings.

[autotag]Fisher Jameson[/autotag] was excellent in relief despite two walks to start off the outing. He allowed just one hit and struck out three over three innings of work. [autotag]Cade Fisher[/autotag] followed Jameson in relief. He faced one batter and earned two out thanks to a LaViolette double play that ended the sixth.

[autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] turned to [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] after that. He allowed a baserunner in both the seventh and eighth, but he looked like his typical postseason self otherwise — elite.

Now facing elimination, Florida plays North Carolina State at 2 p.m. ET on Monday. ESPN will broadcast the game.

Expect a change in the lineup with Florida’s No. 3 and 4 hitters combining for seven strikeouts on Saturday. They aren’t seeing the ball well, and guys like Robertson and Thomas are.

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Florida takes down No. 6 Clemson in super regional opener

Down three on the road against the No. 6 team in the country, Jac Caglianone blasted his 31st homer of the season to spark another comeback win for the Florida Gators.

Far from perfect, the Florida Gators battled back against the No. 6 Clemson Tigers on Saturday to claim the first game of a best-of-three series, 10-7, moving within one win of a second straight College World Series appearance.

[autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] shifted the momentum of the game in the fifth inning with a three-run, game-tying home run. He knew it off the bat and jogged around the bases for the 32nd time this season, one shy of his program-record mark from a year ago.

The homer knotted the game at five runs apiece, but Florida left the frame with a four-run lead after plating seven. Caglianone cleared the bases with no outs on the board, allowing the offense to trade a pair of outs for the lead — [autotag]Dale Thomas[/autotag] scored [autotag]Colby Shelton[/autotag] on a fielder’s choice and [autotag]Brody Donay[/autotag] got a sacrifice bunt down. Thomas scored the final run of the inning off a Michael Robertson single.

Before that, Clemson had complete control of the game. Freshman right-hander [autotag]Liam Peterson[/autotag] struggled mightily in his first super regional appearance. He lasted just an inning after giving up two of three runs on wild pitches.

[autotag]Fisher Jameson[/autotag] took over in relief, pitching through the fifth. Although he was mostly effective, Jameson gave up a pair of solo home runs, deepening the hole. He came back out for the sixth after getting a lead but got the hook after losing the leadoff batter. [autotag]Cade Fisher[/autotag] got to see one batter, but Kevin O’Sullivan pulled him after a single put men on first and third.

With trouble brewing, Sully turned to his closer, [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag], who shut down the Tigers lineup for four innings. He struck out seven of the 13 batters he faced, including three straight in the eighth. It’s a shame that he’ll end the season with only a handful of saves — tonight was his fourth — because he’s one of the game’s elite closers, especially in the playoffs.

Clemson scored two in the sixth as Neely worked out of that jam, but Luke Heyman got one back in the ninth with a solo shot. [autotag]Tyler Shelnut[/autotag] also went deep in the fourth, and [autotag]Ashton Wilson[/autotag] drove in the first run of the day for Florida with a sac fly in the third.

Florida will be the home team on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET. A win sends the Gators to Omaha again, but a loss means a Game 3.

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Ashton Wilson’s career day puts Florida over Nebraska in regional opener

Liam Peterson shoves, Ashton Wilson explodes for four extra-base hits and Florida advances to the region’s winner’s bracket. Pretty good way to close out the week for the Orange and Blue.

Florida rode the bat of sophomore outfielder Ashton Wilson to a 5-2 win over Nebraska on Friday, putting the Gators in the winner’s bracket of the Stillwater Regional in the NCAA Baseball Tournament.

Wilson doubled three times and homered in the ninth for a big insurance run. His 10 total bases on the day more than double his season total (9) coming into the game.

“(My confidence level) wasn’t the highest thing in the world (coming into the game),” Wilson said after the game. “I was trying to pass it to the next guy, keep the train moving.”

After 10 total bases on Friday, “it’s definitely higher, no doubt about it.”

Three of Florida’s five runs can be tied directly back to Wilson, but the other two scored off the bat of sophomore second baseman Cade Kurland. He set the tone early with a leadoff home run and delivered again in the eighth to extend a one-run lead.

[autotag]Liam Peterson[/autotag]’s ability to pitch in a big game might have been under question coming into this one, but the freshman right-hander answered any doubts by coming just two outs shy of a quality start — six full innings and three or fewer earned runs.

Peterson started the game with some jitters, which is reasonable for a 19-year-old who celebrated a high school state championship around this time last year. He gave up a run in the first inning but settled down until the sixth after that.

The fastball-changeup mix played well for Peterson all night. He froze several Huskers with his heater, which ran up to 97 mph early on. Nebraska finally knocked him out of the game in the sixth with a solo home run to pull things within one run, but 5 1/3 innings is good work from the first-year Gator.

Peterson didn’t get a ton of run support from Florida. A leadoff home run from Cade Kurland made the first-inning mistakes more palatable, and a two-run double from Wilson in the third gave UF the lead right back.

Fisher Jameson was first out of the bullpen and allowed a two-out single in the sixth after a quick punchout. Luke Heyman erased that base knock with a rifle down to second to catch the runner stealing, a pivotal moment in the game.

Jameson got the first two outs of the seventh. Then, Kevin O’Sullivan turned to his closer, Brandon Neely, for a seven-out save.

Neely got the final out of the seventh with three pitches, but the eighth was a nightmare for him. A pair of groundballs through the right side put the go-ahead run at the plate with just one out, and a close call on a full-count slider at the top of the strike zone loaded the bases.

A line out to center field came in shallow enough to hold the runner at third, and Neely escaped the jam by blowing an elevated, 96-mph fastball by Dylan Carey.

Risking the double play could have been disastrous for Nebraska, especially while needing two runs to tie it, but ending the inning without any runs made holding the runner at third the wrong call in hindsight.

Kurland gave Florida an insurance run to work with in the eighth, singling in  Dale Thomas, and Wilson added to his monster day with a towering home run to left field. The ball hit the scoreboard, just missing Wilson’s name.

Neely returned for the ninth and got through it with just seven pitches. A quick fly out to center field for out No. 1, and a 6-4-3 double play to end it after a one-out single. It took a lengthy review — the third of the day — but a confirmation only meant that Florida got to celebrate the win twice.

On Saturday, Florida will play the winner of the Oklahoma State-Niagara matchup that begins at 7 p.m. ET Friday night.

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Florida throwing freshman RHP in NCAA Regional opener

Sully is trusting the freshman with the ball in the biggest game of the season.

Florida will throw freshman right-hander [autotag]Liam Peterson[/autotag] in the opening game of the Stillwater Regional against Nebraska.

Many wondered if [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] would move up in the rotation to give Florida its best arm on the mound, but [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] is going with the freshman after a strong finish to the regular season.

Peterson turned down six-figure offers in the draft to attend Florida and immediately entered the starting rotation — a rare feat for any first-year player at the college level, but even more impressive coming in the SEC.

Of course, Peterson had ups and downs in his first year. He started the season with seven shutout innings, but the Miami series started a six-week run of rough outings. He allowed 28 of his 35 earned runs on the year over those six games, but Peterson figured things out toward the end of the season.

Since the Missouri series (April 6), Peterson has a 2.73 earned run average over 23 innings. His most impressive performance came against top-ranked Tennessee. Peterson held the Volunteers scoreless through four innings, striking out seven and allowing just one hit.

Despite the continued improvement Peterson has shown throughout the season, walks continue to be an issue for him. His 11.7% walk rate is high, but Florida’s pitching staff has struggled with walks as a whole all year. Jac Caglianone and a pair of freshmen regulars have a higher walk rate than Peterson.

The other side of that coin is Peterson’s excellent strikeout rate. He fans one out of every four batters he faces, and that number seems to go up in tight situations. Peterson’s going to be one of the best arms in the SEC, perhaps as soon as next year, but he has a chance to enter the conversation with a dominant outing for Florida against Nebraska.

The Cornhuskers are a strikeout-prone team, but that could work against Peterson in an odd way. Strikeouts require more pitches than quick outs in play, and Peterson is not known for going deep in games because of the walks. He’s only given Florida five or more innings three times this year, and only one of those was a quality start.

If Peterson can work into the fifth without giving up the game, Sully is getting what he needs from the freshman.

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Florida’s Liam Peterson named to All-SEC Freshman Team

His traditional stats were not pretty but his underlying metrics and late-season surge was enough to earn the honor.

The Southeastern Conference handed out its college baseball All-SEC honors on Monday, which included Florida’s [autotag]Liam Peterson[/autotag] among the All-SEC Freshman team.

Peterson posted a 2-4 record and 5.83 ERA during his debut campaign, with more impressive numbers underlying his traditional statistics. The 18-year-old out of Calvary Christian in Palm Harbor, Florida, recorded a .251 batting average against and 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings.

He was lights out over the final month, amassing a 2.33 ERA in five appearances stretching across 19 1/3 frames, going 1-0 in that span with just 15 hits allowed, nine walks and 20 strikeouts.

“I’ve just been mixing it up a lot to give hitters a different look,” Peterson offered regarding his late-season surge. “When I’m mixing my pitches, they can’t just sit on my fastball like they were earlier in the season.

As a true freshman in 2024, he ranked second on the roster in total innings pitched (54) and games started (12), the latter ranking just behind Jac Caglianone.

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Florida evens series with Georgia, keeps NCAA Tournament hopes alive

The win guarantees Kevin O’Sullivan’s team at least a .500 record before the postseason begins.

The final series of the regular season for Florida baseball against the Georgia Bulldogs is tied at one game apiece thanks to a 7-4 extra-inning victory by the Gators at Foley Field in Athens. The win guarantees [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag]’s team at least a .500 record before the postseason begins.

Starter [autotag]Liam Peterson[/autotag] went 5 1/3 innings in this one, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out four before turning things over to the bullpen. [autotag]Luke McNellie[/autotag] then came in, walking one and hitting another batter before [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] settled things down for 4 2/3 innings of work allowing a run on two hits while striking out six for the win.

[autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] (1-for-5) and [autotag]Luke Heyman[/autotag] (1-for-5) were the heroes in this one saving things for later in the game after both getting off to slow starts. Kurland tied the game in the eighth with a two-out, two-run home run and Heyman’s three-run blast in the 10th provided the final margin of victory for the Orange and Blue.

[autotag]Michael Robertson[/autotag] (3-for-4) and [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] (3-for-4) both had productive days at the plate with their three hits, including a double apiece. [autotag]Tyler Shelnut[/autotag] (1-for-4) and [autotag]Ashton Wilson[/autotag] (1-for-5) also made it to base with balls in play.

The two Southeastern Conference foes wrap up the regular-season schedule on Saturday afternoon with the first pitch slated for 2 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network+.

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