Tag: Phillip Abner

Florida LHP Philip Abner selected in sixth round of 2023 MLB draft

Phillip Abner was a valuable piece of Florida’s bullpen over the past two seasons, and the Arizona Diamondbacks are giving him a chance to play pro ball with the 175th overall pick.

Florida left-handed pitcher Philip Abner was the second and final Gator drafted on Day 2 of the 2023 MLB draft Monday, going to the Arizona Diamondbacks with the 165th overall pick in the sixth round.

Abner, a 21-year-old draft-eligible sophomore, started the season off as Florida’s top left-handed relief arm and remained one of the team’s best pitchers through the postseason. He was unavailable in Omaha because of a reported illness, but the Diamondbacks still liked what they saw from him in 2023.

A lefty reliever with a strikeout rate of 36.2% is enticing to most scouts, and a walk rate that dropped from 19.1% to 13.5% shows that Abner’s on the right path. His 3.16 ERA, 3.87 FIP and 2.59 SIERA are all excellent.

Abner’s best pitch is his fastball, which looks a lot fast than 93 mph. His curveball shows promise, coming in around 80 mph and show some promise.

Although he could come back for another year and lose zero leverage, Abner is viewed as likely to sign with Arizona.

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Gators take down FSU, Caglianone ties school home run record

Jac Caglianone tied the program single-season home run record, Blake Purnell had a career outing in relief and Florida swept the season series against FSU with a 7-5 win Tuesday night.

Gainesville has never seen a power hitter like [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag], and the Florida first baseman etched his name into the program record books with his 26th home run of the season during a 7-5 win over Florida State on Tuesday night.

Caglianone’s line drive home run might have only traveled some 325 feet, but it counts the same as his 480-foot tank against Missouri over the weekend. He ties the school record held by Matt LaPorta and teammate [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag]. Caglianone should set the new mark over the weekend against Texas A&M and could pass the 30-homer threshold by the season’s end if he keeps on his current pace of one every eight plate appearances.

The Gators have three series left for Caglianone to do some damage in the regular season, and he’ll likely add to his home run total throughout the SEC and NCAA tournaments.

Caglianone’s home run was a part of back-to-back jacks to lead off the top of the fifth inning and put the Gators out in front, 7-5. [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] hit the first homer of the inning, and that score held for the rest of the night.

Most of the scoring came in the first inning of the game. Florida State once again threw Ben Barrett, and Florida went with [autotag]Clete Hartzog[/autotag], who has worked exclusively out of the bullpen this season. Neither made it out of the first, giving up at least four runs each, with Hartzog failing to record an out.

[autotag]Nick Ficarrotta[/autotag] took over and pitched three scoreless innings in relief of Hartzog, and [autotag]Blake Purnell[/autotag] took over in the fourth. Purnell has struggled this season. He fell out of the weekend bullpen rotation after leading the team in appearances a year ago, but Tuesday was a career night for the St. Thomas Aquinas alumnus.

Purnell struck out eight over five innings, setting new career highs in both categories. If the Gators can get Purnell back for an inning or two every weekend, a ton of pressure will be taken off some other arms in the ‘pen and the starters.

An extra bullpen arm or two can make the difference deep in a tournament, so it’s very encouraging to see Purnell return to form. [autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] closed out the game for save No. 2 on the year as [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] rested up for the upcoming series against Texas A&M.

Florida is at College Station for a three-game series starting on Friday.

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Neely holds on for second-straight save, Florida sweeps Mizzou

After being swept a week ago by South Carolina, the Florida Gators brought the brooms out and took care of Missouri.

For the second-straight night, Florida’s closer [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] closed out the game and delivered the Gators an 8-7 win over the Missouri Tigers.

Saves aren’t always notable, but they are when a closer is coming back from being ejected and suspended for four games. That’s what happened to Neely on the final day of the Georgia series, which meant he had to miss all three games Florida played against South Carolina last week. The bullpen seemed uneasy without Neely as an anchor, and the SEC saves leader showed exactly why he’s so important to this club on Sunday against Mizzou.

Neely entered the game after [autotag]Ryan Slater[/autotag] surrendered three straight singles in relief of [autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag]. A five-run lead had shrunk to just two, and Kevin O’Sullivan wasn’t risking things. Of course, Neely set the three batters he faced down in order, ending things with a looking strike out on Luke Mann. A run did score on a sacrifice fly for out No. 1, though.

Neely had little margin for error in the ninth, and it was a roller coaster of an inning. The first two outs came like clockwork, but Juju Stevens almost hit a game-tying home run that landed maybe six inches foul of the pole down the left-field line. Richie Schiekofer made an incredible effort on the ball and nearly robbed it. He’ll probably have a sore shoulder tomorrow.

The drama didn’t end there. Stevens reached on catcher’s interference after connecting with BT Riopelle’s glove on what should have been strike three. The training staff took a look at him and let him stay out there to close out the game. Riopelle will be lucky if he avoids any broken bones and was probably just running on adrenaline at the end there.

It can’t be said enough how important Riopelle is to the team, both from an on-the-field standpoint and as a leader. Losing him for any length of time would be detrimental to the team, but all Gator fans can do right now is hold their breath.

[autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] got his usual Sunday start despite not being listed at the start of the series. With [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] throwing a shortened complete game and Florida using up just two bullpen arms on Saturday, O’Sullivan figured he could give Caglianone a shot without worrying about a short afternoon.

Cags lasted through the third and looked decent through those innings, but the fourth was a different story and he got pulled after loading the bases without getting an out. Sully mentioned that batting in the bottom of an inning and pitching in the top can rush Caglianone, and he’s still learning to make that transition.

It’s worth discussing Fisher as the Sunday starter and moving Caglianone to a long-relief or close role for a bit. His power arm might be best served in short bursts, and there won’t be as much pressure to keep some left in the tank for a fourth or fifth inning as a reliever.

Still, splitting innings with Caglianone and Fisher isn’t a bad idea either, especially if the goal is to keep the former on a progression track as a starter. He only gave up one earned run and struck out five on Sunday, after all.

Fisher looked really comfortable, too. He didn’t have his best strikeout stuff today, but it’s good to see him pitch to contact a bit and work out of jams. Pro scouts will be happy to see it as well.

Offensively, [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] led the day with four hits, including home run No. 10 in the first. [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] hit No. 25 in the fifth and [autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] got No. 13 in the seventh. Florida entered the weekend with the fourth-most homers of any ball club in the country, and the power is only picking up as the season continues.

[autotag]Luke Heyman[/autotag] and [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] also had multi-hit days with runs batted in. Tyler Shelnut finally cooled off with an 0-for-2 afternoon, but he still drove in a run on a sacrifice fly.

It was a good win to close out a strong weekend for Florida. Missouri isn’t close to the top of the division, but this is still the SEC and sweeps are hard to come by.

Florida travels to Jacksonville on Tuesday to go for the season sweep against Florida State in the neutral site game. Then, it’s off to College Station to face the Texas A&M Aggies.

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Despite ump show, Florida takes down Georgia to claim series

Despite the antics of home plate umpire Brian deBrauwere, the Florida Gators prevailed over the Georgia Bulldogs, 11-6, Sunday afternoon behind an all-around performance from Jac Caglianone.

Florida defeated Georgia, 11-6, on Sunday, but it was the poor officiating that took center stage just before the Gators put together a five-run eighth to seal the deal.

[autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] entered the game in the top of the eighth with two outs and the bases loaded. Ryan Slater had just walked in a run to cut Florida’s lead down to two, and the Gators needed their best bullpen arm to come through.

The SEC saves leader needed just five pitches to strike out Parks Harber, but he was quickly tossed by the home plate umpire, Brian deBrauwere, after celebrating the punchout. All Neely did was pump his fist as he walked toward his dugout and glanced at Georgia while shouting, “Come on!”

If that’s not allowed, then what is? Is the rule a declaration of no fun in baseball? The umpires have been atrocious all year in the SEC, particularly this weekend, but this was another level.

The fans let deBrauwere hear it, but the offense couldn’t let things slide either. [autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] singled, [autotag]Tyler Shelnut[/autotag] walked and [autotag]Michael Robertson[/autotag] singled to drive in a run. [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] took a pitch on the elbow and [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] delivered his second home run of the day (and 21st of the season), a grand slam to left field that put Florida up 11-4.

At that point, losing Neely wasn’t a problem. [autotag]Chris Arroyo[/autotag] walked a lefty to lead things off, and Sully quickly brought out [autotag]Nick Ficarrotta[/autotag]. He got the first two outs of the inning without any issues, but gave up a homer to cut the lead to five. An error extended things, but Ficarrotta got a fly ball to end the inning and claim Florida’s fifth-straight series win against SEC clubs.

The big question coming into the day was whether Caglianone could rebound from a string of bad starts or not. The left-handed sophomore answered with five innings of two-run ball and struck out four. Caglianone featured his best fastball control in over a month and fooled some of Georgia’s hitters with his slider, too. At the plate, he went 2 for 3 with seven RBIs and a walk.

Kevin O’Sullivan turned to the bullpen for the final four frames of the afternoon, but he had everyone on a short leash after Friday’s disastrous finish. [autotag]Tyler Nesbitt[/autotag] started the sixth, but he was pulled in favor of [autotag]Cade Fisher[/autotag] after allowing a pair of baserunners on a hit and a walk.

Fisher got three groundouts to finish the sixth, but Georgia’s best hitter, Charlie Condon, got to him for a run in the seventh. [autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] got the final out of the inning and started the eighth, but it took two more arms to get out of the frame with just a two-run lead.

[autotag]Ryan Slater[/autotag] loaded up the bases for Connor Tate — the same Bulldog that hit a ninth-inning, game-tying grand slam on Friday — and got him to pop out into shallow center. Although the run was briefly prevented, Slater lost Condon on a full count in the next at-bat, walking in a run.

That’s when all of the Neely drama happened.

Lost in all the late-inning commotion was a strong performance from Florida’s offense against Georgia’s best arm, Liam Sullivan. [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] got to him early for a two-run homer and finished a triple shy of the cycle. Rivera is having an all-time season for the program and has played himself into a first or second-round draft pick.

Robertson drove in another run in the second and Caglianone’s first home run came in the second as well.

Florida is now 30-7 overall and 11-4 against the conference. Up next is a midweek game at home against Florida A&M, and then the Gators have a major road series against South Carolina on the road, starting Thursday.

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Gators drop series opener to Georgia following ugly ninth

Florida’s bullpen has been really strong after receiving some early-season criticism, but disaster struck in the eighth and ninth innings Friday night against Georgia.

Florida had everything in place to get its first win over Georgia in two years, but disaster struck in the ninth and the Gators couldn’t recover from a 13-11 final score.

[autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] got the start for the Gators and went seven innings strong against UGA, struggling only in the third inning. A leadoff walk came back to haunt Sproat as Georgia’s best hitter, Charlie Condon, blasted a two-run homer later in the inning. Three runs were scored in total in the frame, but Sproat kept things quiet for the next three innings.

Condon got to him against for a solo shot in the sixth, but that was the only other hit Sproat gave up all day. [autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] came in to pitch the seventh for Florida, but he struggled more than he usually does. Condon hit another two-run shot, his third homer of the day, off Abner in the eighth. It’s only the second time this season he’s given up runs, but it couldn’t have come at a worse time.

[autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] came in to close out the game, but Kevin O’Sullivan’s top bullpen arms simply weren’t at their best tonight. Georgia loaded the bases and Connor Tate launched a grand slam before Condon could even get up to bat. A ground-rule double two batters later gave the Bulldogs the lead, and UGA tacked on two more for good measure

Florida scored fine throughout the day. [autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] answered a loud third from Georgia with a salami of his own, and [autotag]Luke Heyman[/autotag] also went deep with the bases loaded in the sixth. [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] also drove in a run during each of those innings, raising his team-high total to 49.

They got the bases loaded again in the ninth with Rivera at the plate, but he could only produce a sacrifice fly to score [autotag]Michael Robertson[/autotag]. [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] drew a full count and was hit for the third time to load the bases back up. Riopelle reached six times on the night, all on free bases.

Unfortunately, Luke Heyman couldn’t hit his second grand slam of the day and struck out to give Georgia the win.

There’s no doubt that Florida will come out with some anger after letting this one slip away from the school’s biggest rival. The Bulldogs aren’t a powerhouse in this sport, yet they have taken nine of the last 11 from the Gators. Something has to change Saturday night.

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Major takeaways from No. 3 Florida’s series win over No. 11 Tennessee

The Gators looked like the best team in the country over the first two games of the series against Tennessee, and a sloppy Saturday loss shouldn’t take anything away from those wins.

Florida didn’t come away with the sweep over the weekend against Tennessee, but taking two games on the road against a top-15 team in the country is still a quality series win, even if the Gators got mercy ruled in the rain on Saturday.

The offense jumped all over Tennessee’s Chase Dollander and Chase Burns on Thursday and Friday, as [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] and [autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag] earned wins on the mound for Florida. Sproat was one out away from finishing off the sixth inning for a quality start, but he left with discomfort in his calf. The injury doesn’t appear to be serious, but it’s something to keep in mind moving forward.

The bullpen was strong in both wins, too. Although the ‘pen appeared to be Florida’s biggest problem early on, that’s no longer the case. There are viable arms from both sides, with lefty [autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] and right-handed closer [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] providing the perfect finishing combo for a must-win game.

Sunday was a different story. [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] continued to struggle on the mound, and he didn’t even make it out of the first. It was raining pretty hard all day, which isn’t really an excuse, but it helped lead to a lousy day all-around for the Florida pitching staff.

The Gators are now 27-6 overall and 9-3 in conference play. The SEC East is incredibly tough this season, and Florida is in the middle of the pack right now. Tennessee is the only division team UF has faced so far, but the Gators close out the season with five of their six final series against SEC East foes.

Georgia will be a bit of a tune-up series next weekend, but then it’s on to No. 6 South Carolina. Here’s what we learned about the team.

Florida claims Game 1 against No. 11 Tennessee

Brandon Sproat bounced back from an ugly start against Auburn with a strong outing against No. 11 Tennessee on Thursday.

A pair of back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning sealed the deal for Florida, as the Gators went into Knoxville and took game one of a three-game set with the Tennessee Volunteers on Thursday night, 6-1.

[autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] delivered a three-run blast to extend a one-run lead, and [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] followed that up with a solo shot to left field. Both of those homers came off right-hander Seth Halvorsen. Neither club scored over the remaining four innings of the game thanks to strong outings by both bullpens (excluding Halvorsen).

Florida’s two other runs came off a [autotag]Michael Robertson[/autotag] RBI single in the second and a [autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] home run in the fourth. Kurland finished 2 for 4 after starting off conference play with a sub .250 average. [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] also had a two-hit day, but he didn’t drive in any runs.

Kevin O’Sullivan went with a different lineup than usual for this game. He had [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag], Caglianone, Rivera and Riopelle filling out the first four spots in the order, and [autotag]Luke Heyman[/autotag] and [autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] in the five and six holes.

Langford excelled in the leadoff spot last year, and he was able to draw a pair of walks on Thursday despite ending the night 0 for 3. Sully might be on to something with this new lineup theory. Chase Dollander cruised through the first inning of the game, but Florida was getting to him by the fourth with its best hitters seeing him for a second time earlier than usual.

[autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] got his typical Friday start and was much sharper than he was a week ago against Auburn. He struck out nine Vols through 5 2/3 innings, giving up just one run on four hits and four walks. The free bases aren’t ideal, but it’s hard to knock a guy who earned the win and was one out away from a quality start.

Tennessee’s lineup was incredibly strikeout prone all night, finishing the evening with 18 K’s. The Volunteers’ three and four hitters, Christian Moore and Jared Dickey, finished the night with a combined seven strikeouts.

[autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] continued his spectacular sophomore campaign with 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, where he struck out six batters and allowed just three baserunners (two hits, one hit batter). Abner has become Florida’s best reliever and is virtually a lock to pitch a clean inning or two whenever he comes out.

[autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] closed out the ninth for Florida. He ran into a little trouble, walking two and allowing a base hit, but he ended up striking out the side.

Tennessee’s lone run of the night came on a Blake Burke homer in the second, which briefly tied the game.

Game 2 is set to begin at 7 p.m. EDT on Friday night.

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Key takeaways from Florida’s series win over Auburn

The Florida Gators took two of three from the Auburn Tigers this weekend to improve to 24-5 (7-2), but the team still has plenty to work on before the postseason comes around.

Florida survived a bit of a scare from Auburn over the weekend to win its seventh-straight three-game series of the regular season.

It was a bit of a mixed bag for the offense and defense against the Tigers. The Gators struggled on both sides of the ball Friday night en route to a 10-1 loss, which is by far the worst defeat of the season for the club. Saturday might be another bad day on the bump, but [autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag] regained his composure after allowing a few early runs and earned a quality start.

Sunday was… weird. [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag], who is hitting just as well as he has all year, struggled with his command for the second game in a row. He was knocked out of the game during the fourth inning in line for the loss, but Auburn’s bullpen couldn’t buy a strike for the final five innings of the game.

What makes Sunday’s 17-8 win even more bizarre is that the Tigers opted to go to their bullpen relatively earlier. Starter Tommy Vail was at 92 pitches with one out to go in the fifth when he was pulled. Maybe the bullpen would have blown it eventually, but Vail seemed to know the game was already over when he handed the ball to his coach.

Here are some major takeaways from the weekend that was.

Freshmen lead No. 3 Florida to sweep of No. 13 Ole Miss

Florida baseball hasn’t lost a series this season and is sweeping teams ranked No. 13 overall in the nation. If you’re not paying attention yet, now is the time to get on the bandwagon.

After taking both games of a Saturday doubleheader, Florida kept its winning ways going against Ole Miss on Sunday and completed the three-game sweep, 7-2.

The freshmen led the day for the Gators, both at the plate and on the mound. Catcher [autotag]Luke Heyman[/autotag] homered twice, once in the fourth and again in the eighth, and second baseman [autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] finished the day 3 for 5 with four RBIs. Kurland also homered in the eighth and singled in runs in the fourth and sixth.

[autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag], who started on the mound for Florida, got the scoring started in the first with his nation-leading 17th home run of the year. He’d finish the day 2-for-5, but things didn’t go so well on the mound.

Caglianone lasted just 3 2/3 innings against Ole Miss and walked eight batters, including three in the fourth. His command wasn’t there from the start with his arm side stuff, but the walks didn’t hurt him until the fourth. Fortunately, [autotag]Blake Purnell [/autotag]was able to get the final out of the inning without giving up any more runs, which is a big outing for a guy who has struggled this season.

Left-handed freshman [autotag]Chris Arroyo[/autotag] made a rare appearance and might have earned himself some more playing time. He faced the minimum through two innings, striking out four batters and holding the Rebels hitless. His slider was working well in particular, buckling the knees of lefties and baiting righties to swing and miss at it.

[autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] pitched a clean seventh but saw ran into trouble in the eighth after the second error of the day from [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag]. The team’s closer [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] came in for Abner after an unearned run scored and traded a run for a double play.

He closed out the eighth and ninth innings for Florida, securing the first road sweep of Ole Miss for the program since 1988.

Defensive honors go to [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] at first and [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] in right for each making a diving play that saved a double during the game.

This was a massive series win for Florida that validates the No. 3 ranking. Alabama and Miami were good wins too, but the reigning national champions are a different story.

Up next, Florida plays its neutral site game against Florida State on Tuesday and then prepares for a four-game homestand against Auburn and Bethune-Cookman.

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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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