Tag: Rene Lastres

Florida handles UNF in final game before SEC play

Florida got off to a slow start at the plate, but the bats eventually came around and the Gators won their seventh game in a row.

The Florida Gators won their seventh game in a row Tuesday night against the North Florida Ospreys, 7-2, but it took a while for UF’s bats to come around in the final game before conference play begins on Thursday.

UNF’s starter, right-hander Clayton Boroski, was perfect through the game’s first four innings, but things unraveled in the fifth after he surrendered a leadoff walk to Florida shortstop [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag]. [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] — who was playing first base today — singled, and right fielder [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] singled Rivera in.

Catcher [autotag]Rene Lastres[/autotag] tripled in the tying and go-ahead runs after a pitching change, and center fielder [autotag]Michael Robertson[/autotag] brought him in with a single.

That was enough for Florida to take a 4-2 lead, but Evans brought in two more in the sixth for some insurance. He later stole home after [autotag]Deric Fabian[/autotag] baited UNF’s catcher to throw on a delayed steal. Fabian got another start in left field with [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] still on the mend. He was hit in the groin on a foul ball Friday.

Florida wouldn’t need more than seven runs to win the game, and that’s a good thing because the offense didn’t provide much else through the final three innings of the game.

Right-hander [autotag]Tyler Nesbitt[/autotag], only pitched the first two innings of the game, but he gave up a run in the first, hit a batter and allowed three hits.[autotag]Fisher Jameson[/autotag] came in for the third but ended up giving up that second run. Fortunately, he settled down and pitched two clean innings before handing the ball over to [autotag]Nick Ficarrotta[/autotag] for another three strong innings of relief.

[autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] threw 23 pitches two days before a big series against No. 24 Alabama, but he should be fine as a former starter that’s used to throwing more pitches.

Kevin O’Sullivan was resting his arms this week with just one game between weekend series, but it will be all hands on deck against the Crimson Tide.

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Florida bats bounce back against Siena in mercy-rule victory

After playing a surprisingly competitive ballgame against Siena on Friday, Florida needed just seven innings to win via the mercy rule on Saturday.

After a closer-than-expected win against Siena on Friday night, the Florida Gators swung the bats well and took care of the Saints in seven innings, 11-0.

Florida scored in every inning but the second. [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] got things started in the first with an RBI triple to score [autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag], and [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] singled him in three pitches later.

[autotag]Richie Schiekofer[/autotag] doubled in a run in the third, but he ended the inning on the base paths trying to advance to third base. Kurland singled in [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] in the fourth, and Rivera drove in his 30th run of the season after a pitch hit Caglianone. [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] doubled in Kurland to make it 6-0.

The Gators put up another three-spot in the fifth inning. Halter hit a two-run home run to right field with [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] on base, and Kurland scored again on an error. Evans brought the lead to double digits in the sixth with an RBI triple that scored Shelnut, and Halter added another run on a single for good measure.

With an 11-0 lead, [autotag]Ryan Slater[/autotag] closed out the game for Florida as part of a three-inning save. He struck out seven while giving up just three hits.

[autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag] pitched four scoreless innings for the Gators while striking out seven and walking two. The Saints only managed a pair of hits off of him, but Waldrep probably wanted to be a bit more efficient with his pitch count.

Kevin O’Sullivan is clearly planning on short outings for his starters this weekend, and 77 pitches was enough from Waldrep a week out from SEC play.

[autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] didn’t play in this game after taking a foul ball off the groin Friday night. Schiekofer will play left in his place but expect him to be back either on Sunday or during the week.

[autotag]Luke Heyman[/autotag] also sat after coming up lame with an apparent hamstring injury while rounding first base on Friday night. [autotag]Rene Lastres[/autotag] caught the last inning of the game as Riopelle shifted to first base.

This was the kind of win Florida was looking for against Siena last night, and it’s good to see the team bounce back after its worst-hitting performance of the season.

The Gators will go for the sweep on Sunday at noon EDT. Remember to move the clocks forward.

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2023 Florida Baseball Preview: Catchers

BT Riopelle is back for another year at Florida and is the clear starter to begin the 2023 season, but there’s plenty of talent behind him too.

It’s officially baseball season in Gainesville, and Gators Wire is previewing each position on the team leading up to the season opener on Feb. 17 against Charleston Southern.

Up first are the catchers. Florida has four catchers on the roster: senior [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag], sophomore [autotag]Rene Lastres[/autotag]  and true freshmen [autotag]Salvador Alvarez[/autotag] and [autotag]Luke Heyman[/autotag]. The hierarchy here should follow seniority, but Riopelle saw time at first base last year and could play there again if the team can’t figure things out at the position.

Sure, last year’s primary backup, [autotag]Mac Guscette[/autotag], is no longer in town after transferring to the Alabama Crimson Tide, but Lastres looks like he’ll be ready to serve in the role after recovering from Tommy John surgery. If he’s not, Florida has a pair of talented freshmen that could compete for playing time early on in the year.

The addition of former Gator Mike Rivera to the staff this year should benefit the catchers the most. He committed just five errors in his three-year career at Florida.

Here’s a look at each of Florida’s catchers heading into the 2023 season.

Two Gators announce return to baseball team for 2023

It’s official. Florida is getting both BT Riopelle and Colby Halter back next year. Could we see any more returns?

The 2022 MLB draft is in the books, and while a number of Gators are set to start their pro careers, there were a handful of players that didn’t hear their names called over the three-day event. Two of them, catcher [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] and infielder [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag], have already indicated their intentions to return to Gainesville for another year.

Halter didn’t wait for the third day of the draft to commence and announced his return on Instagram.

“See you in August Gator nation,” Halter captioned his post. “Unfinished business.”

Halter started off 2022 as one of the hottest bats in the lineup, but he underperformed for most of the year after his 14-game hit streak subsided. He finished the year slashing .240/.338/.380 with eight home runs, 11 doubles, 44 runs, 27 RBI and seven stolen bases.

He’ll look to build on those numbers enough to improve his draft stock and hopefully get him drafted in the first 10 rounds of next year’s draft. He’s batting .305 through 95 at-bats in the Cape Cod League with the Falmouth Commodores, but those numbers don’t always translate to SEC play. Halter should be the frontrunner to hold down second base next year for Florida, but he’ll have plenty of competition to stave off.

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Riopelle, on the other hand, made his intentions to return to Florida known almost immediately after the 2022 season ended, according to Gators Online’s Nick de la Torre. That’s one of the reasons [autotag]Mac Guscette[/autotag] entered the portal. Riopelle picked up an NIL deal with the Gator Collective already and was open about his desire to return, which is likely the reason he went undrafted.

Florida got lucky and saw incoming catcher [autotag]Luke Heyman[/autotag] go undrafted, so he should learn a ton behind Riopelle this year as [autotag]Rene Lastres[/autotag] recovers from Tommy John surgery.

Shortstop [autotag]Joshua Rivera[/autotag] is another name that went undrafted that many in Gator Nation are wondering about. He could return, but he could also sign a free-agent deal for decent money or head to the independent leagues. More information should be available on him in the coming week or so.

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Tracking Florida baseball’s 2022 transfer portal movement

It could be a busy offseason for Florida baseball in the transfer portal. Here are the latest moves being made.

It could be a busy offseason for the Florida Gators in the transfer portal, including additions and subtractions from the 2022 team. A few players have made their intentions to depart known early and the Gators are expected to at least compete for some of the top talent in the portal (yes, Tommy White is still an option but FSU is the favorite).

[autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] tested the waters a year ago by bringing in catcher [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] and that worked out beautifully. Riopelle was an All-SEC First Team selection and is now expected to return, according to Gators Online’s Nick de la Torre. It’s worth pursuing some more talent after a success like that, and Florida will have holes after losing [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] and [autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag] among others to the draft and graduation.

Florida did have 16 new faces join the team last year with all but one being freshmen, so some were bound to transfer out. Gators Wire will keep track of those roster movements as they come in and keep an eye on where they land.

It will be interesting to see just how much Florida utilizes the portal this offseason. The new rules changed the game immediately for football and basketball, but it seems that baseball is just now catching up.

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.