Tag: Nick Ficarrotta

Gators drop series opener to Vanderbilt in walk-off fashion

Florida’s pitching woes continue in a heartbreaking walk-off loss to Vanderbilt on Friday.

Florida baseball kicked off the Passover-Easter weekend series against the Vanderbilt Commodores in Nashville on Friday night with a heartbreaking 5-4 walk-off loss. The Gators held an early advantage but simply could not hold on for a full nine innings.

[autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] got things started early with a two-run homer following a lead-off full-count walk drawn by [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] to open the game. The round-tripper was the center fielder’s 14th of the season and fifth in SEC play, giving the Gators an early lead.

[autotag]Hunter Barco[/autotag] took the rubber for Florida and could not keep the ‘Dores off the board in the bottom of the first frame, allowing three straight singles that plated a run after striking out the first two batters he faced. He escaped further damage by sending down the sixth batter he saw swinging.

The second inning went quietly for the Gators, as [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] drew a walk after a leadoff lineout by [autotag]Kendrick Calilao[/autotag] that was erased by a double play grounded into by [autotag]Mac Guscette[/autotag]. Vandy, however, tied things up in a 1-0 count with a deep drive to left by Calvin Hewett. Barco buckled down afterward to get the next two outs before a walk and an error on a pickoff attempt put the pitcher in peril but he escaped the jam with a groundout.

[autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] said that Barco was coming off being sick and looked “a little run down” early, so he put [autotag]Nick Ficarrotta[/autotag] in to start the third. A harmless single was all the Commodores could muster, and Florida reclaimed the lead in the top of the fourth. Calilao drove in [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag], who opened the inning up with a double and moved over to third on a [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] fly ball to right.

Vanderbilt’s starter, Chris McElvain, was pulled after a [autotag]Deric Fabian[/autotag] single in the top of the fifth for sophomore right-hander Patrick Reilly. Langford eventually brought Fabian home on a single, but Reilly kept Florida quiet through the remainder of the frame.

Ficarrotta came back out for the sixth but four innings of relief was too much to ask for. A four-pitch walk was followed by a single and a sacrifice bunt, and then O’Sullivan brought in [autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] to face a single batter. A sac fly to center brought the score to 4-3, and in came [autotag]Ryan Slater[/autotag] to close things out with a strikeout. Unfortunately, Riopelle let a ball go under his legs and to the backstop allowing the tying run to come in without a base hit.

Each team left two runners on base in the seventh, and Florida made yet another pitching change. This time it was the Gators’ ace-in-the-hole [autotag]Blake Purnell[/autotag] for his 20th appearance of the season. The Commodores brought in junior Thomas Schultz in the eighth to counter.

The game threatened to go into extras, but Sully once again leaned too hard on one of his best relievers. Purnell didn’t get single out in the bottom of the ninth thanks to a throwing error by Rivera. An intentional walk loaded the bases, and Jack Bulger sent the fans home happy with a game-winning single into right-center.

The loss isn’t Purnell’s fault and it’s not the first time he’s been left stranded on the mound with no options to bail him out. Pitching depth continues to be a huge problem for this club and Sully continues to misjudge the stamina of his top bullpen arms.

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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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Florida baseball completes season sweep over FAMU with blowout win

That’s twice this season that Florida has put a beating on FAMU. Now let’s see it translate into conference play this weekend.

It wasn’t the 17-0 shutout Florida managed against Florida A&M earlier in the season, but the Gators took care of the Rattlers easily on Tuesday, 13-3.

The bulk of the damage came in the third and fourth frames as the Gators plated 10 runs in those two innings alone. Both Fabian brothers went deep in the bottom of the fourth marking the first occurrence of the brothers going yard in the same inning, and Derek finished the night with a team-high three RBIs while going 2-for-3 at the plate. Jud, [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] and [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] all finished with three hits against FAMU.

On the mound, [autotag]Nick Pogue[/autotag] got the start and lasted three innings. It hasn’t been the easiest return from Tommy John for him, but holding the Rattlers hitless and scoreless should earn him some more playing time. [autotag]Nick Ficarrotta[/autotag] pitched two innings of one-hit ball as the first man out of the pen for UF.

[autotag]Tyler Nesbitt[/autotag] and [autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] worked the sixth and seventh innings, respectively. FAMU finally broke through in the eighth with [autotag]Timmy Manning[/autotag] on the bump. Three runs crossed but only one was earned. [autotag]Blake Purnell[/autotag] was the last pitcher out for the Gators and needed just 13 pitches to get through the ninth.

Winning this game isn’t going to do a ton for Florida’s confidence offensively but the pitching staff needed a relatively quiet night after the LSU and Georgia series. Up next is No. 2 Arkansas in Gainesville for an important Thursday-Friday-Saturday series and then the Gators hit the road to face Florida State and Vanderbilt the following week.

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Florida baseball: Joshua Rivera’s hot streak stays ablaze in victory over FSU

Florida shortstop Joshua Rivera went three-for-four with three RBIs in his team’s 6-3 victory over Florida State.

Florida shortstop [autotag]Joshua Rivera[/autotag]’s bat has caught fire since the Gators started SEC play versus Alabama on March 18 resulting in a team-leading .375 batting average. Rivera stayed ablaze at the plate versus Florida State on Tuesday in Jacksonville, finishing 3-for-4 with three RBIs and just a triple shy of the cycle, to help the No. 14 Gators upset the No. 5 Seminoles, 6-3.

Florida State got the lead-off man on base when he doubled down the left-field line and eventually scored for the first run of the game.

Third baseman [autotag]Deric Fabian[/autotag] beat the shift, singling through the right side in the bottom half. Rivera then tied the game up 1-1 with his left-field double to cement a two-out rally.

Head coach [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] pulled starter [autotag]Garrett Milchin[/autotag] after 2 1/3 innings after allowing five hits and one earned run. [autotag]Nick Ficarrotta[/autotag] relieved him but didn’t fare much better, struggling with his command. He only went an inning, giving up a hit, an earned run and three walks.

Left fielder [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] made a pair of web gems in the top of the third inning. FSU third baseman Logan Lacy blasted what seemed to be a three-run shot, but Langford ascended the wall and made the snag to rob Lacy. He also finished the inning, making a sliding grab in foul territory to keep the game tied.

Then Langford pushed across the go-ahead run in the bottom half when he beat out the throw to first base to break up the double play. He scored center fielder [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] who walked earlier in the frame.

Ficarrotta walked a batter with the bases loaded to even the game once more. Subsequently, O’Sullivan signaled for pitcher [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag], who struck out back-to-back hitters to end Florida State’s threat.

Langford hammered a lead-off triple in the fifth and cruised home later when designated hitter [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] grounded out to second base to give Florida back the lead, 3-2. Rivera put the exclamation mark on the contest when he blasted a two-run homer to make it 5-2.

Florida and FSU each traded a run in the late innings to get to the final score of 6-3.

The Gators posted 11 hits in their six-run victory over the Seminoles, and right fielder [autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag] recorded three hits in the game like Rivera. Florida’s pitching staff also held the ‘Noles to only three runs on nine hits.

It’s a big win for O’Sullivan’s club after dropping two straight at home last weekend to LSU.

Florida travels to Georgia for another weekend series that starts Thursday at 8 p.m. EDT and can be seen on ESPN2.

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