Tag: Matt Prevesk

Florida wins high-scoring Game 2 against Missouri, Neely returns

Hurston Waldrep wasn’t his sharpest today, but the offense had his back. Plus, Brandon Neely returned to clinch the series for Florida!

It wasn’t another run-rule win for the Florida Gators on Saturday, but an 11-7 victory over the Missouri Tigers clinches the series for UF and means that the brooms could come out for a sweep on Sunday.

[autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag] got the start for the Gators and failed to put together a third-straight quality start. He gave up four runs on six hits and four walks while only striking out four, which is a season-low for Waldrep.

Kevin O’Sullivan pulled him after a walk in the fifth inning with two outs, which meant that Waldrep wouldn’t earn a decision. Instead, Ryan Slater came out and earned the win after the offense exploded for five runs in the sixth.

Florida did most of its scoring in the third and sixth inning. In fact, the Gators went down in order in four of the first five frames. [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] led the way with three hits and three runs batted in, and [autotag]Tyler Shelnut[/autotag] also had a three-RBI and three-hit day.

Shelnut has more than earned a chance as the team’s everyday right fielder with his performance in this series. Neither [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] nor [autotag]Matt Prevesk[/autotag] have been hitting the ball well, and Sully is the kind of coach that rewards guys when they step up in a critical moment.

Slater gave up a few runs in the seventh, butย [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] made his return to the mound for Florida after serving a four-game suspension following an ejection against Georgia. He came in to get the last out of the inning and stayed in through the ninth.

Neely retired the first four batters he saw in a row, but trouble came in the ninth. He allowed the first two batters to reach on a single and walk but recovered to secure the win. Neely looked great, fooling the Tigers with his slider and changeup. It’s good to have him back.

This was far from Florida’s prettiest win this year, but it counts all the same in the win column. It’s still up in the air who pitches on Sunday, but the bullpen should be deep enough to give [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] another shot.

Florida goes for the sweep Sunday at noon.

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Game Preview: Florida looking to get back on track against UNF

Florida might put a hurting on UNF after being swept over the weekend. The Gators are back at home Tuesday night to face the Ospreys at 6 p.m.

It was an ugly weekend for the Gators in Columbia, South Carolina, but the Florida baseball team has a chance to right the ship with a home game against North Florida Tuesday night.

Kevin O’Sullivan typically gives the reserves a chance to play during midweek games, but the starter might need a get-right game after losing to South Carolina in all phases of the game.

A few changes could be made, though. [autotag]Matt Prevesk[/autotag] could take over [autotag]Ty Evans'[/autotag] spot in right field. Evans has been scuffling and is hitting just below .100 against the conference following the weekend. Prevesk is hitting .240 and doesn’t walk a ton, but he’s the better option right now.

The Gators will go with freshman midweek starter [autotag]Yoel Tejeda Jr[/autotag]., who has made it through four innings in each of his starts since a rough outing against Florida Atlantic.

Here’s everything you need to know coming into the game.

Gators walk it off against Georgia to even up series

Florida and Georgia played another game that was decided in the ninth inning, but this time it was the Gators who came out on top.

After a 24-run affair on Friday night, Florida and Georgia combined to score just three in the second game of their weekend series on Saturday. The Gators came out on top, 2-1, thanks to a walk-off RBI single from center fielder [autotag]Michael Robertson[/autotag].

Second baseman [autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] got the winning rally started for Florida drawing a four-pitch walk from Georgia right-hander Chandler Marsh. Third baseman [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] found the gap in the very next about to send Kurland around third, but the base coach threw up the stop sign and delayed the celebration.

[autotag]Richie Schiekofer[/autotag] pinch hit for right fielder [autotag]Matt Prevesk[/autotag], who came into the game during the fifth inning for an injured [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag]. Schiekofer grounded out softly to first, but Robertson was ready to play the hero. He found the same gap in right-center that Halter did, and Kurland strutted into home to tie up the series.

After Friday night’s disastrous finish, Hurston Waldrep did everything he could to give the Gators a chance. He needed just 99 pitches to get through seven innings, and Waldrep was furious when Kevin O’Sullivan told him he wasn’t coming out to set a new career-high at Florida.

Waldrep struck out eight and was in control all night. He carved up the Georgia lineup with his splitter and pitched to contact when he needed to induce a double-play ball. The only blemish of the night was a leadoff double from Harber in the fifth that scored on a sacrifice bunt.

Florida tied things up almost immediately in the sixth with a pair of doubles from [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] and [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag]. Until then, Florida had been held hitless by UGA lefty Charlie Goldstein, who might have earned himself a permanent spot in the weekend rotation with the performance. Goldstein struck out seven and went five strong innings against the No. 3 team in the country. That deserves to be noticed, even in a loss.

[autotag]Ryan Slater[/autotag] was the only arm out of the bullpen for Florida, and he was lights out en route to earning win No. 5 on the season.

Offensively, things were pretty quiet. Halter was the only Gator with multiple hits and the duo of [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] and [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] combined to go 0 for 8 with four strikeouts. Not great, but there’s always Sunday to bounce back.

The Gators and Bulldogs go at 1 p.m. to decide the regular-season series.

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OF Ty Evans leads Florida over FSU with clutch 3-run HR

It’s been a tough year for Ty Evans at the plate, but he’s proven himself as a clutch bat several times for the Gators in 2023. The latest example came on Tuesday night as he delivered a go-ahead three-run blast to beat Florida State, 5-2.

Florida and Florida State have provided some must-see matchups over the last couple of seasons, and Gators outfielder [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] etched his name in the record books of this historic rivalry as the catalyst behind a 5-3 Tuesday night win.

Evans didn’t even start the game for Florida. Kevin O’Sullivan gave [autotag]Matt Prevesk[/autotag] a chance to start in right field after Evans continued to struggle against SEC pitching. The result was an 0-for-2 night for Prevesk, and [autotag]Dale Thomas[/autotag] pinch-hit for him in the seventh, further implying that Evans wasn’t the man Florida wanted at the plate.

Finally, Evans entered the game as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning, and luck would put him at the plate in a two-out situation with a pair of runners on base.

He missed badly on a slider to start the at-bat, but Evans wouldn’t miss it when FSU right-hander Doug Kirkland threw the pitch again. Evans, who has a flare for the dramatic, smashed a no-doubt home run to left field, putting the Gators up by two.

It was Evans’ fourth home run on the year and one that Gators fans aren’t likely to forget the next time questions arise over whether he should be the everyday right fielder at UF or not.

[autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] struck out the side to close the door on his SEC-leading seventh save of the season. The right-handed sophomore has transitioned from a fringe weekend starter to an elite closer masterfully, and there was never really any doubt about the win once Evans hit the home run.

Not to be forgotten are the performances turned in by start [autotag]Ryan Slater[/autotag] and left-handed freshman [autotag]Cade Fisher[/autotag] in relief. Slater went six innings for the first time, even if he did run into some trouble in the last frame. He left the game in line for the loss, but Fisher kept things close with two innings of baserunner-free work and earned the win.

Slater isn’t going to deliver a double-digit strikeout game anytime soon, but he’s a strong option to go on Sundays moving forward if [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] can’t get things together on the mound. This was Slater’s audition of sorts, and he passed with flying colors.

Speaking of Caglianone, the nation’s home run leader has hit another mini-slump and is now on a 0-for-10 stretch. That being said, Florida only managed five hits all night against the Seminoles, and four of them came after the fifth inning.

It’s a good sign that the Gators can win games that they don’t hit their best in, but now isn’t the time for Florida to be regressing as a team either. The back half of the conference schedule is still loaded with top-25 opponents, and then it’s playoff time.

Lost in all this might be that Florida has taken the season series against Florida State and has a chance to sweep with a rescheduled natural site game in Jacksonville on May 2.

Florida hosts Georgia over the weekend, starting on Friday.

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Florida’s 4 homers delivers series win, Gators looking to sweep on Sunday

After getting swept by Tennessee at home a year ago, Florida has a chance to return the favor in Knoxville. The Gators claimed the second game of the series on Friday, 9-3.

The Florida Gators jumped all over the Tennessee Volunteers for the second night in a row and delivered a dominant 9-3 win to win the series.

Florida started scoring right out of the game, mostly thanks to a wild start from Tennessee starter Chase Burns, who is projected as a first-round prospect in the 2024 draft cycle. Burns walked [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] with the bases loaded to score [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] for the first run of the day.

[autotag]Matt Prevesk[/autotag] got the start at designated hitter for the Gators and came up big with a four-RBI night. His first base knock of the night was a ground-rule double to left-center that scored two more. He’d homer in the fifth with a man on to cap off a terrific start, and there’s good reason to believe that Prevesk will contend for a starting outfield spot next season with [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] moving on.

Florida hit three more homers throughout the night. [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] delivered a shot to right-center in the second and [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] and Langford went back-to-back in the fourth. Langford’s cleared the wall in right-center just fine, but Caglianone’s was a no-doubter that went a projected 488 feet.

Florida’s bats quieted down after the fourth, much like in Game 1, which means that Tennessee’s bullpen has something figured out the starting rotation does not.

Fortunately, [autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag] was absolutely dealing for UF. He gave up three runs over seven innings of work and struck out nine while walking just the two in the seventh. Florida needed [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] and Waldrep to both be on this weekend to take the series against Tennessee, and the duo did more than deliver.

Florida used lefty [autotag]Cade Fisher[/autotag] to get through the eighth and ninth. He struck out the side in his first inning of work and added two more before closing out the game.

The Gators will go for their first sweep of the Volunteers since 2011 and the first in Knoxville since 1992. Caglianone is set to pitch for Florida.

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Florida finishes off doubleheader sweep of Ole Miss

Florida put up a dozen en route to beating Ole Miss for the second time on Saturday. The Gators play for the sweep on Sunday at 2:30!

After taking down Ole Miss in comeback fashion in the first game of a Saturday doubleheader, the Florida Gators got out to a fast start in Game 2 and never looked back en route to a 12-8 victory.

[autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] was the offensive leader of the day. He drove in three runs and hit for the two hardest legs of the cycle. Riopelle was a First Team All-SEC catcher in 2022, but somehow he’s fallen out of the spotlight for Florida as other bats in the lineup continue to thrive. Not tonight, though.

He was a key piece of Florida’s four-run third inning, homering with [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] on base and putting Florida up 5-0. [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] also homered in that inning after driving in a run in the first. Riopelle tripled in Rivera during his next at-bat in the fifth, and he showed off his wheels by scoring on a passed ball.

His final plate appearance of the night came in the ninth and called for a sacrifice bunt. Riopelle got the job done without issue. Both runners ended up scoring later in the inning on an error put in play by [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag], making the sacrifice more than worth it in the end.

Caglianone, Halter, [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag], Riopelle and Rivera all finished with two hits, and [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] was the only starter to end the night without a base knock. [autotag]Richie Schiekofer[/autotag] replaced him in the ninth for a pinch hit.

Langford homered for the first time since coming back to the lineup and avoided a two-game hitless streak after missing almost two weeks of action. [autotag]Matt Prevesk[/autotag], who started both games in left as Langford played designated hitter, also drove in a pair of runs.

[autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag] got the start in this one and looked fairly strong despite a five-run third inning. Kevin O’Sullivan let Waldrep miss and miss and miss until he got out of it, which cut Florida’s six-run lead down to just one.

Waldrep has ace stuff, but he hasn’t quite shown the consistency some thought he might, especially against the SEC. He has time to figure all that out and still struck out nine on a bad day by his standards, but Waldrep hasn’t been at his best since the Miami series.

Making it through the fifth earned Waldrep a win, and then freshman left-hander Cade Fisher came in to get through the seventh. He’d make it through 1 2/3 innings, striking out two and allowing two hits. Nick Ficarrotta closed things out through the final 2 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on a home run in the ninth.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway of this doubleheader is that Florida’s bullpen seems to be headed in the right direction, but it is hard to ignore the offense.

Jac Caglianone is back. He blasted three homers over the two games today and seems a lot more comfortable with Wyatt Langford hitting in front of him again. He’ll have to learn to perform without that safety cushion in the lineup before next year, but this was a good rebound day for him.

Florida is now 21-4 overall and 4-1 in SEC play. It doesn’t get much better than that, but the Gators can’t afford to get complacent on Sunday. Caglianone did not have a great start last weekend, also pitching the back half of a doubleheader, and he needs to bounce back on the mound just as strong as he did at the plate.

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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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Florida baseball completes comeback against FSU

The Florida Gators slowly chipped away at Florida State’s lead all night until they finally came up big with a five-run eighth inning that decided the game.

The Florida Gators dug themselves into an early hole Tuesday night against Florida State, but a five-run eighth inning secured a 9-5 win for UF against its bitter rival.

Florida’s pitching staff was well-rested, but a midweek game between SEC series isn’t the time to use up the top arms on the club. The Gators threw right-hander [autotag]Tyler Nesbitt[/autotag], who made it through 3 and 2/3 innings before getting the hook from Kevin O’Sullivan.

Nesbitt wasn’t great, but some of the runs on his record came after he was out fo the game. He left a pair of runners on in the fourth that [autotag]Cade Fisher[/autotag] couldn’t stop from scoring, which led to a four-run (three earned) day for Nesbitt. It’s the second time in as many games that Fisher has struggled to work his left-lefty matchup, and he allowed all three batters he faced on Tuesday to reach base.

[autotag]Nick Ficarrotta[/autotag] finally got Florida out of the fourth inning and struck out two in the fifth, but he allowed two base runners to get on. Left-hander [autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] came in and got the ground out the team needed, and that’s when the Gators’ pitching staff settled in.

Abner struck out the side in the sixth and seventh while the team slowly chipped away at the deficit. He’d end up earning the win after Florida came through big in the eighth.

[autotag]Matt Prevesk[/autotag] had the biggest at-bat of the night, coming up to pinch hit with the bases loaded and only 10 plate appearances on the year. He came through and delivered the tying run through the left side. It was one of six singles in the inning, four of which scored runs.

[autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] was in the mix during that rally with his fourth hit and second and third RBIs of the night. Josh Rivera was the only other Gator with multiple hits and runs batted in, finishing the night with two of each.

[autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] closed things out but didn’t earn a save because Florida was up by four and he came in with no runners on.

Abner, Ficarrotta and Neely look really good and might be the backbone of the bullpen moving forward. If [autotag]Blake Purnell[/autotag] and Cade Fisher can rejoin that group, Florida will remain a legitimate threat to beat any team this season.

[autotag]Dale Thomas[/autotag] started in left field for [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag], but it looks like he’s nearing a return after minor surgery. Kevin O’Sullivan is going to take his time bringing back his top bat, and Florida doing alright without him so far.

Florida improves to 19-4 on the season and is at Ole Miss this weekend from Friday to Sunday for the team’s first series on the road. It’s a big test for the third-ranked club in the nation.

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Florida baseball survives surprising test from Siena

Florida’s first game in a series against the Siena Saints didn’t go as expected, but the Gators still came out on top on Friday night.

Very few expected No. 6 Florida and Siena to be tied heading into the sixth inning on Friday, but that’s exactly where the two teams found themselves after a 90-minute rain delay prevented the game from starting on time.

The Saints entered the game with an overall record of 2-10 and just one player hitting .300 or better, but right-hander Arlo Marynczak held the Gators to just two runs across five innings of work.

Florida hit Marynczak fine. He ended the night giving with seven hits allowed and two walks, but the Gators just couldn’t score against him after plating a run in each of the first two innings.

The second inning could have been much bigger for Florida as [autotag]Wyatt Langford [/autotag]came up with the bases loaded and one out, but Marynczak got him to foul out and then induced a pop-up from [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag].

Florida’s top two hitters are supposed to come through in a situation like that, especially against a team such as Siena, and it’s the first time fans have seen them fail in 2023.

The Gators had another bases-loaded opportunity in the bottom of the seventh but again failed to come through.[autotag]Tyler Shelnut[/autotag] struck out and [autotag]Matt Prevesk[/autotag], who entered the game for [autotag]Luke Heyman[/autotag] after a presumed injury to his hamstring, flew out to strand three baserunners.

[autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] also left the game in the sixth inning; a foul ball hit off him earlier in the game, but there was no official word on why he left.

Shelnut did contribute earlier in the game, though, hitting a go-ahead home run in the sixth inning off of left-handed reliever Billy Rozakis. Noah Rodriguez came in next and was the one to get out of the second bases-loaded jam of the night.

Fortunately, Florida’s bullpen didn’t implode and held on to a one-run lead after [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] finished off four scoreless innings.

It wasn’t Sproat’s best day. He couldn’t locate his fastball, and his slider was off too. He gave up three hits and three walks while striking out seven and hitting two batters.

[autotag]Cade Fisher[/autotag] was first out of the bullpen for Florida. He struck out five through two innings but also gave up a pair of runs, only one of which was earned. The Gators committed two errors on Friday night, which is unusually sloppy for this team.

[autotag]Nick Ficarrotta[/autotag] was next out of the bullpen. He allowed just two hits through two scoreless innings while striking out a pair, and then [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] came in to shut the door.

Neely struck out each of the first two batters he faced but gave up a single to Matt Livingston before getting out No. 3 to end the inning.

The silver lining here is that Florida’s bullpen shined for perhaps the first time this season, but the lack of offense was unexpected, to say the least.

If Florida struggles to put runs on the board again on Saturday, it might be something to get worried about. Conference play starts in less than a week, and Florida needs to be at its best.

The Gators and Saints go again on Saturday at 4 p.m. EST.

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Ninth-inning collapse leads to Florida’s first loss of season

An epic ninth-inning collapse led to Florida’s first loss of the season Wednesday night. USF splits the season series with a 10-9 win.

Florida (4-1) led for most of the game against USF Wednesday night, but a ninth-inning meltdown led to the Gators blowing a five-run lead and taking the loss, 10-9.

There was plenty to like from UF, including a decent outing from freshman right-hander [autotag]Yoel Tejeda Jr[/autotag]. in his first-career start, but the late collapse is going to overshadow any positives from the evening. For what it’s worth, every Florida starter got a base hit, and [autotag]Nick Ficarrotta[/autotag] was stellar out of the bullpen.

Game Recap

Tejeda got the start for Florida and lasted three innings. He had a clean first inning despite walking Bobby Boser on four pitches, but the second and third were tough for Tejeda. He got out of a jam in the second, stranding a pair of Bulls in scoring position, but wasn’t as lucky in the third.

Tejeda started what should have been a 1-6-3 double play, but shortstop [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] made an errant throw to first and allowed a run to score. The 6-foot-8-inch freshman should have been out of the inning, but he surrendered another run after giving up a walk and a single instead.

At that point, Florida’s offense hadn’t gotten going yet and only managed to score a single run through the first two innings. [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] homered in the first, but it took until the second time through the lineup for Florida to add some more runs.

[autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] hit a long sac fly into foul territory to tie things up in the bottom of the third, and Rivera came through with a single to left-center that scored him and gave Florida the lead. Caglianone was intentionally walked in between the two at-bats.

Ficarrotta was strong in relief for the Gators. He lasted 3 2/3 innings, striking out seven without giving up a base on balls. Ficarrotta surrendered just one run on the evening and limited damage to get out of a fifth-inning jam that started with three-straight singles.

Florida also had a big fifth inning and scored three runs. [autotag]Dale Thomas[/autotag], who got his first start of the season at second base, started things off with a double, and [autotag]Michael Robertson[/autotag] moved him over to third on a bunt single.

Langford struck out looking at three pitches, but Caglianone drove in Thomas with a single to right field. Rivera followed that up with his second RBI single of the day, and [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] singled in a run as well. A double play from [autotag]Tyler Shlenut[/autotag] ended the run.

Left-handed freshman [autotag]Chris Arroyo[/autotag] got the final out of the seventh for Florida after Ficarrotta allowed a pair of baserunners. Arroyo returned for the top of the eighth but was immediately pulled after giving up a base hit to start the inning. Kevin O’Sullivan gave him a pat on the back after taking the ball from him, which probably means that he was pulled to fit the matchup against a pinch hitter rather than for poor performance.

[autotag]Blake Purnell[/autotag] was the third arm out of the bullpen for Florida and got out of the eighth without issue. He did walk USF’s No. 9 hitter with two out but nothing came of it.

[autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] could have earned his second save of the season, but Florida added what it thought was a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth.

[autotag]Luke Heyman[/autotag] scored after doubling and getting knocked in by Thomas. Robertson extended the lead to five runs with an RBI single of his own, and Langford doubled on a checked swing to put men on the corners. Caglianone drew his second intentional walk of the night, but Rivera couldn’t come up big again despite entering the at-bat hitting .660 with runners in scoring position.

Purnell came back out to pitch the ninth but things went south pretty quickly. He gave up a leadoff home run to start the inning and never recorded an out after an error in right field and walking a batter. O’Sullivan turned to [autotag]Fisher Jameson[/autotag] next, which turned out to be a mistake.

Jameson struck out the Bull with the highest average on the team for out No. 1, but it was all downhill from there. USF catcher Nelson Rivera singled in a run to cut the lead to three, and then center fielder Jackson Mayo sent the ball out of the yard to tie things up.

Disaster.

[autotag]Anthony Ursitti[/autotag] replaced Jameson but gave up a two-out triple to blow the lead. To rub some salt in the wound, USF scored what wound up being the deciding run on a passed ball.

[autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] pinch hit for [autotag]Deric Fabian[/autotag], who entered as a defensive replacement at third base for Tyler Shelnut, and drew a one-out walk to start a ninth-inning rally. USF ignored him on the base paths, so he easily got to third while [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] pinch hit for Heyman.

Riopelle struck out, but [autotag]Matt Prevesk[/autotag] batted for Lastres and singled in Kurland to put the Gators within one of a tie game. Unfortunately, [autotag]Richie Schiekofer[/autotag] grounded into a fielder’s choice on the very first pitch he saw to end the game.

Key Takeaway

The bullpen completely melted down after Purnell struggled to start the ninth. Jameson and Ursitti can’t afford to pitch like that when Sully puts them in a tense spot, and he’s unlikely to forget what happened.

The question is whether O’Sullivan will adjust or not. There were several times throughout the 2022 season when Florida made the wrong call out of the bullpen, and there were shades of that tonight. To be delicate, the only way Florida’s bullpen is below average in 2023 is through mismanagement.

The undefeated season may no longer be feasible, but at least Florida has now faced some adversity and can prove itself over the weekend against Cincinnati.

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