Tag: Phillip Abner

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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Gators walk it off against Alabama to claim Game 1 of double-header, series

Josh Rivera didn’t need to hit another big fly to end things Friday afternoon against the Alabama Crimson Tide. A tapper between the plate and mound was enough for Florida to claim the game and series.

The Florida Gators trailed the Alabama Crimson Tide all afternoon in the first game of a doubleheader, but the offense continued to chip away until [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] finally delivered a walk-off infield single to put UF on to, 8-7.

Florida entered the bottom of the ninth down one, but third baseman [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] quickly tied things up with a solo home run to left field. [autotag]Michael Robertson[/autotag] singled up the middle to give the Gators their fastest runner on base with no outs, and [autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] turned his back on an inside pitch to take first and move him over.

[autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag], who started the afternoon on the mound for Florida, had his shot to come through, but he didn’t quite make it happen. A fielder’s choice moved Robertson over to third, though, which was crucial to the game-ending play.

Rivera was coming off a strikeout to freshman Riley Quick in his last at-bat and wasn’t seeing the ball well. He made weak contact that essentially served as a swinging bunt, and Quick couldn’t get to the ball in time before Robertson slid into home.

Florida might be known as a home-run hitting team, but it was small ball that earned them the win at the end on Friday.

Caglianone didn’t have his best stuff on the mound. His fastball was a little flat and it led to a strong day for Alabama’s power hitters, especially lefty clean-up hitter Drew Williamson. He got things started early with a three-run opposite-field home run in the first inning off a Caglianone 97 mph fastball and doubled in a run in the fifth off the slider that usually buckles left-handed hitters. Credit him for being brushed up on the scouting report to win the lefty-on-lefty matchup.

Williamson also drove in a fourth run in the seventh off freshman [autotag]Cade Fisher[/autotag], so that might be the last time Kevin O’Sullivan turns to a lefty to get him. Fisher was the second Gators reliever of the game. [autotag]Nick Ficarotta[/autotag] came in for the sixth after five innings from Caglianone, but he got pulled after running into trouble in the next frame.

[autotag]Ryan Slater[/autotag] ended up closing out the seventh as the third reliever of the night, and [autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] came in for him to get the last out of the eight. Abner pitched the ninth, but pitch counts were kept low enough to use some of these arms again in the second game of the doubleheader. Fisher only threw three pitches.

Florida kept pace with Alabama for most of the night. [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] answered Williamson’s three-run home run with one of his own in the bottom of the first to tie things up, and UF scored a run in each of the fifth, sixth and seventh innings.

Kurland hit his second home run in as many games against the SEC and brought his total up to seven on the year — that’s more than [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] — Rivera[/autotag] also hit his ninth homer of the year and [autotag]Michael Robertson[/autotag] singled in the run in the seventh.

One of Florida’s biggest advantages is that it has a good enough offense to stay in any game, and that was on full display Friday. Chipping away slowly until the very end works for this club, even if it’s not the way they usually have to play. It’s a good sign to see this kind of fight early on, and it should come in handy once the playoffs begin.

Top Performers

Riopelle: 2-4, HR (3), 2B; 3 RBI

Rivera: 3-5, HR (9); 2 RBI

Kurland: 2-3, HR (7), 2 HBP; RBI

Abner: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K

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Key takeaways from Florida’s strong start ahead of SEC play

Florida is getting ready to begin SEC play on the diamond. Here’s what we learned about the team during non-conference play.

Florida baseball is 16-3, ranked fifth overall in the country and riding a seven-game winning streak heading into conference play, but everything isn’t perfect in Gainesville after a strong start to 2023.

Those three losses all have a common denominator, an implosion from the bullpen, and it’s no secret that relief depth is Florida’s weak point. Kevin O’Sullivan has been figuring out which members of the ‘pen he can trust, and there are fewer names on the list than he would like.

Still, starting pitching and hitting are two very strong areas for the Gators, so they’ll be in most games they play in. The weekend rotation has been particularly strong for UF this year, and [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] has made a seamless transition as a two-way player. In front of him are two potential first-round picks, [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] and [autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag], that have only gotten better as the season’s carried on.

The injury bug did bite the Gators last week, but most of the team should be healthy for the start of SEC play on Thursday against No. 24 Alabama. Florida has played just one series against a ranked opponent this season against Miami. UF took two of three games and ended the weekend with a mercy-rule win.

Things look good for Florida with conference play set to begin, but the Gators still have to get the job done on the field. Here’s a look at what we’ve learned about the team over the first 19 games of the season.

Florida completes sweep of Siena with second-straight mercy-rule win

Florida had another short day on the diamond as the Gators finished off the sweep of Siena with a 12-2 victory.

Florida completed the sweep of Siena on Sunday, 12-2, behind a strong two-way performance from [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag].

It was a short day for Caglianone. He ended up going just three innings on the mound, but Florida was already up seven and charging toward another mercy rule victory. He struck out three and walked two while giving up a hit. Caglianone also hit a batter in the first.

The reasoning for the short outing is two-fold. Not only did Kevin O’Sullivan want to get his bullpen guys some action in a game that probably wasn’t going the full nine innings, but he wanted to save Caglianone’s arm for next weekend’s series against Alabama, which starts on Thursday.

[autotag]Blake Purnell[/autotag] pitched the next 1 2/3 innings for Florida, leaving a pair of baserunners on for [autotag]Clete Hartzog[/autotag] to clean up. Hartzog couldn’t get them out, though, and Purnell’s ERA climbed to 9.53 on the year.

It’s been a tough start to the season for Purnell, who was Florida’s most-used reliever a year ago, and things don’t look like they are getting better. [autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] closed out the game in the seventh with Florida up 12-2.

Florida scored seven across the first two innings. [autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] drove in [autotag]Michael Robertson[/autotag] on a single with no outs in the first, and [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] and [autotag]Tyler Shelnut[/autotag] both drove in runs on fielder’s choices to start the game.

Kurland drove in another run on an RBI that would have been a fielder’s choice – this time it was [autotag]Deric Fabian[/autotag] scoring. Then, Caglianone hit his twelfth home run of the season. a three-run shot.

After a rare quiet inning in the third, Caglianone went deep for the second time on the afternoon, and [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] hit his eighth of the year. The back-to-back home runs put Florida one run shy of the run rule after four, and it wouldn’t take long for the Gators to reach the double-digit mark.

Kurland scored on a throwing error in the fifth, and Ripelle drove in Caglianone and Rivera to put UF up by 10 — Siena’s two runs came in the top of the fifth. The bullpen just had to hold on for two innings to secure the win, and Abner and Hartzog were up to the task.

Deric Fabian got the start in left field for an injured Wyatt Langford on Sunday. He batted eighth in the order and finished the night 1 for 3 with a run scored and a walk. He also swiped a pair of bases.

Fabian has an obvious upside, but it’s hard to find him a spot with the .214 batting average. Rivera has shortstop locked down, and there’s little chance Kurland comes out of the lineup anytime soon. [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag]’s bat is picking up, and [autotag]Tyler Shlenut[/autotag] is the backup at third ahead of Fabian. At first, Caglianone has things locked down when he’s not pitching with Riopelle as his top backup.

It’s good to see him split the starts in left with [autotag]Richie Schiekofer[/autotag] during this series, but [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] will be back soon. It might take another year for Fabian to emerge as a major factor on this Gators team. Transfer questions might start up soon if he continues to stay on the bench.

Florida sweeping Siena this week was a bit expected, but the Saints put up a good fight on Friday and then the pitching gave out. The real test begins on Thursday when Alabama comes to town.

The Gators get one more tune-up game against North Florida on Tuesday at 6 p.m. EDT.

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Major takeaways from No. 6 Florida’s midweek wins over FAU

The Gators finally took both games of a midweek series and will head into the weekend with a chance to put together the first five-game win streak of the season.

The No. 6 Florida Gators finally won both of their midweek games this week with victories over the Florida Atlantic Owls.

On Tuesday, UF outscored FAU, 18-11, in a game that was extended by a 41-minute rain delay. [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] lead the night with three hits, including two home runs and nine RBIs, and [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] also had a three-hit night. [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] and [autotag]Tyler Shelnut[/autotag] both hit home runs as well.

Although it wasn’t a great outing for freshman [autotag]Yoel Tejeda Jr[/autotag]., Florida scored more than enough runs to take the game in convincing fashion. [autotag]Ryan Slater[/autotag], [autotag]Nick Ficarrotta[/autotag], [autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] and [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] all got work in relief.

The pitching staff was much sharper on Wednesday. Starter [autotag]Tyler Nesbitt[/autotag] and left-hander [autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] combined for an eight-inning, two-hit shutout. [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] was the star on offense, collecting four hits on the day, including a walk-off grand slam that put the 10-run rule into effect.

Wednesday was the dominant win Florida has been looking for all year and finally leaves the team heading into the weekend on the right foot.

Siena might be Florida’s most favorable series of the season, and the Gatrors look like they are finally firing on all cylinders.

2023 Baseball Season Preview: Bullpen

Florida didn’t lose a ton from last year’s bullpen, so the experience should help a good group become great in 2023.

With one day left until the start of the 2023 college baseball season, Gators Wire is looking at Florida’s bullpen.

The first thing that stands out is just how much depth there is separate from [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag]’s starting rotation. The team is returning seven contributing arms from a season ago and has added one key transfer and four freshmen to the ‘pen.

In a big game, it’s fairly clear who would pitch the seventh, eighth and ninth innings for Florida, and there are plenty of options that can go long if a starter has to leave a game early. Florida’s only losing about 20 innings out of last year’s bullpen, so fans should see a considerable amount of growth from the sophomore class.

Leading the way statistically are [autotag]Nick Ficarrotta[/autotag] and [autotag]Blake Purnell[/autotag]. Junior college transfer [autotag]Clete Hartzog[/autotag] is in line to step into the closing role, at least to begin the season, and there’s a handful of second and third-year guys ready to eat innings.

This should be an efficient group for Florida, but the top of the bullpen is a lot stronger than the middle and bottom.

2023 Baseball Season Preview: Starting Pitchers

The Gators have an elite 1-2 punch at the top of the order, but there are some questions about how the rest of the rotation will play out with so much depth on the team.

Gators Wire is breaking up the pitching preview for Florida’s 2023 baseball season into two parts. The first will cover starters and potential starters for the team, and the second will discuss those who are primed to come out of the bullpen.

As usual, Florida has a fairly strong group of arms on the mound to lean on this year. Getting [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] back was massive for the program, and Hurston Waldrep transferring in gives Florida a pair of potential first-rounders at the top of the weekend rotation.

Things are less clear after those two, though. Florida’s would-be Sunday guy is stealing on the road back from back surgery, and there could be some early competition for that spot. Of course, Florida has plenty of four-game and five-game weeks in the early season, so some more depth will be needed.

The freshman class has some talent that could be used early, and the fans will always want to see [autotag]Carsten Finnvold[/autotag] on the mound after his legendary performance in the NCAA Tournament last year.

Florida baseball still figuring out Sunday starter with Coppola out

Left-hander Pierce Coppola is going to need a bit longer to get back to 100%, so who does Florida turn to on Sundays in the meantime?

The 1-2 punch of [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] and [autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag] will lead Florida’s weekend rotation in 2023, but it’s going to take some time for the Gators to figure out who the third pitcher in the group will be with lefty sophomore [autotag]Pierce Coppola[/autotag] on the mend until conference play.

Gators head coach [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] put the timeline for Coppola’s return out there on Monday during his first media availability of the preseason. Coppola, of course, started the 2022 season off as the Gators’ Sunday guy but had his season end after one start.

A bulging disc in his back that was already bothering him worsened quickly, and he had surgery on it. He’ll have to wait until the middle of March to get back out on the mound regularly, but Sully doesn’t seem to mind moving slowly on this one if it means keeping Coppola healthy.

“We’re just bringing Pierce along slowly,” O’Sullivan said. “Obviously, he didn’t play this summer. He pitched a very little bit this fall, so our goal with him is to get him to hopefully be at 100% by SEC play.”

In the meantime, O’Sullivan says the team has plenty of options to work with for the third starter spot. Guys like [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] and [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] are candidates to get a shot at the Sunday spot, and there’s plenty of competition on the mound.

“I think you’ll probably have to look at Jac (Caglianone),” he said. “You have to look at (Brandon) Neely. Neely had a good freshman year. You know, Slater. (Phillip) Abner’s been throwing the ball better. We’ve got a lot of options, but I think the biggest thing is the next week or so is important. We’ve got to figure out who’s going to be that Sunday starter.”

Caglianone is coming off of Tommy John surgery during his senior year of high school. He returned to action in the second half of last season but stayed in the designated hitter spot to protect his arm. Now that he’s throwing from the mound again (and topping out in the upper 90s), Florida hopes to use him as a starter regularly.

“It’s really hard to bring a guy in the middle of a game and long relief, and honestly, if we’re going to be as good as we want to be, (Caglianone)’s going to have to pitch significant innings for us,” he said. “He’s just too talented to not run him out there as much as you can.

“There will be some growing pains because it’s been since I think May of his senior year that he’s actually pitched in a real competitive game other than the two fall games we had. You don’t have many players that can hit the baseball over 100 mph and throw close to 100 on the mound. They just don’t come around very often.”

[autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] had a strong freshman year and is one of the other names O’Sullivan mentioned. He made 21 appearances, including 10 starts, in 2022, finishing the year with a 3.76 ERA  and 74 strikeouts and just 20 walks. He could emerge as a strong weekday starter, too.

[autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] could also get some looks on the mound after starting a game last year and making 26 total appearances for Florida. His 8.06 ERA left a lot to be desired and wasn’t making too many batter swing and miss, but he should take a step forward after a year in the league.

O’Sullivan obviously feels the pressure to figure out who his third starter is, but Florida can afford to give everyone a shot while Coppola is on the mend. They have an answer for the second half of the season, so it might be better to see what everyone’s got rather than establishing a starter and moving him out of that routine.

Florida’s first three-game series begins on Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. EST against Charleston Southern.

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What’s next for Florida baseball: A post-mortem of the 2022 season

Buckle in, Gators Wire’s 2022 Baseball Season Recap is finally here. We dive into all 35 players one by one and go over where they stand after the season.

The Florida Gators’ 2022 baseball season ended Monday with a 5-4 loss in the regional finals of the NCAA Championship Tournament against Oklahoma. The year was filled with ups and downs, but being six outs away from a Super Regional berth isn’t too shabby for a team with 16 new players on the roster.

Pitching was a bit of a disappointment early on, but a few freshmen started to stand out from the bunch. That depth allowed the Gators to make a deeper run than most expected in the playoffs and finish the year 42-24.

Conference play was a bit of a struggle. UF finished the regular season .500 against the SEC, including series losses to Georgia (sweep), LSU, Tennessee (sweep) and Vanderbilt. A 9-3 finish against the weaker members of the conference (Kentucky, Mississippi State, Missouri and South Carolina) allowed Florida to finish with a respectable record, but things didn’t really turn around until Texas A&M beat them via the mercy rule.

After that 10-0 loss, Florida played like the team it needed to be all year. It even got legendary performances from the likes of Carsten Finnvold, a freshman who hadn’t seen game action since April when he got the start against Tennessee in theSEC Tournament.

Then there’s the offense. At times, the veteran group didn’t back up the young pitching staff as it was expected to. Jud Fabian was a disappointment down the stretch, hitting just .185 against the conference and going 1-for-30. To his credit, Fabian struck out 10 times less than he did a year ago in about 40 more plate appearances. Walks were also up considerably, so his eye definitely improved despite the low average.

On the other side of things, Wyatt Langford made a complete transformation over the offseason and became one of the best leadoff guys in baseball. He led the team in most major offensive categories and tied Matt LaPorta’s 2005 school record of 26 homers in a season.

There’s a lot to celebrate about with this team, and a lot to address moving forward. Many of them have played their final games in the Orange in Blue, and others are just starting to tell their story.

What will the team look like next year? There’s only one way to properly answer that question and it’s long-winded. Feel free to jump to the sections that interest you the most as we break down the team position by position.

Florida baseball faces elimination following regional loss to Oklahoma

Florida fell to Oklahoma Saturday, so that means the Gators need to beat Central Michigan and win a rematch against the Sooners on Sunday to stay alive.

Florida couldn’t get it done Saturday against Oklahoma, and the Gators will now have to take the difficult route to the Super Regionals following a 9-4 loss to the Sooners.

The scoring came often in this one with runners crossing the plate in every inning but the first and last. Florida threw freshman [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag], but Kevin O’Sullivan had him on a short leash and pulled him the third after giving up back-to-back home runs to surrender the early lead. Peyton Graham and Blake Robertson did the damage and erased the 2-0 lead created by [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] and [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag]’s solo shots in the second. Heading into the bottom of the third, the Sooners led, 3-1.

Tanner Tredaway scored a valuable fourth run on a wild pitch that batter Jackson Nicklaus appeared to interfere with [autotag]Mac Guscette[/autotag] on. After discussion and a visit from O’Sullivan, the run was ruled fair and Condron Ballpark woke up. The crowd booed every time Nicklaus came to bat for the rest of the night.

Tredaway was the first batter attributed to [autotag]Fisher Jameson[/autotag] who came in relief of Neely with one out in the inning. Kendall Pettis created another run on the basepaths in the fourth. After singling to lead off the inning, Pettis stole second, forced a balk to advance to third and slid in safely to home on another wild pitch.

That brought Sully back out and the third freshman of the day came out to the mound for Florida, [autotag]Tyler Nesbitt[/autotag]. He worked out of the inning and through the fifth despite giving up a homer to Crooks. [autotag]Nick Ficarrotta[/autotag] — freshman No. 4 of the night — was in for the sixth and pitched one of the few clean frames of the night for the Gators. Crooks got him in the seventh for a two-run shot to put OU up 8-3 heading into the stretch.

Florida tried to mount a comeback in the bottom of the seventh, but only Guscette’s home run affected the scoreboard. Oklahoma added one more run in the eighth and forced [autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] to come in for Ficarrotta.

LSU may have pulled off an insane 10-run comeback on Friday, but that wasn’t in the cards for the Gators Saturday night. UF went down 1-2-3 in the ninth and will play for their lives in an elimination game Sunday.

The loss means that Florida will need to beat Central Michigan again at 1 p.m. on Sunday to force a rematch against Oklahoma later on in the day. If UF wins that, a rubber match will be played Monday to decide who goes to the Super Regional.

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