Tag: ty evans

Florida Baseball 2024 Position Preview: Outfielders

With Wyatt Langford now in the pros, Florida is lacking some star power in the outfield. Here are the Gators who will be manning the grass in 2024.

The final group to discuss in our 2024 Florida baseball season preview are the outfielders.

The group lacks the kind of star power Gator Nation has grown used to with players like Jud Fabian and Wyatt Langford roaming centerfield, but the stage is set for another Florida legend to be born.

Kevin O’Sullivan has a talented group of returning players to turn to, but some new faces should see the field as well.

Letโ€™s take a look at Floridaโ€™s outfielders for the 2024 campaign.

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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Florida mercy rules Mizzou to kick off weekend series

Florida is back to its winning ways against the SEC. The Gators finished things in seven innings Friday night with an 11-1 win over the Missouri Tigers.

Florida looked dominant once again in an 11-1 win over Missouri Friday night that only needed seven innings to reach a conclusion.

[autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] pitched a complete game, striking out seven over as many innings while allowing just three baserunners. His only walk of the night came in the top of the seventh, and he threw 70% strikes. The changeup was dynamite tonight and the fastball had some nice run on it early on.

The offense did most of the scoring in the second inning when both [autotag]Tyler Shlenut[/autotag] and [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] each hit three-run homers. Shelnut is getting his shot in right field in place of a struggling [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag], and a 2 for 4 night with four RBIs should keep him there through Sunday.

Caglianone’s homer was his 24th of the year, and he is now three away from breaking the program record that Wyatt Langford tied a season ago. It’s not a question of if but when with Caglianone, and it might get done within the next week if he can stay hot.

[autotag]Michael Robertson[/autotag] hit his first collegiate home run, and everyone in the stadium was happy for him. Robertson is a fantastic center fielder with elite speed, but he’s not exactly a power hitter. He got a hold of this one, though, sending it 374 feet and 105 mph off the bat.

[autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] homered in the fifth and had a nice 2 for 3 night with a walk after struggling recently. If Riopelle can return to First Team All-SEC form just ahead of the playoffs, the Gators will be better for it and have a real shot at winning it all.

[autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] drove in [autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] in the sixth, Riopelle scored on a wild pitch in the seventh and Shelnut walked it off with an RBI single to put the run rule into effect.

This was the kind of night Florida needed, even if it is against a Missouri team that might not be up to par with the rest of the SEC. The Gators are back at it on Saturday at noon to avoid some nasty weather coming in later in the day, so set your alarms!

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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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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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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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Major takeaways from Florida’s first SEC series vs Alabama

Florida started off the SEC schedule with two strong wins over the Alabama Crimson Tide. Here’s what we learned about the team during the series.

Florida’s first SEC series is in the books and the Gators walked away from a three-game set with Alabama Crimson Tide with a winning record of 2-1.

Both teams faced some adversity from Mother Nature. With a storm set to roll into Gainesville on Saturday, the final game of the series was moved to Friday, forcing the teams to play a doubleheader. For the position players, this isn’t the worst thing in the world, but it’s no easy task to manage a pitching staff when there are 18 innings being played in a day.

Of course, both teams were already figuring out their pitching plans due to starting the series on a Thursday, a day earlier than the rest of Florida’s weekend series this season.

UF played two very good games to start the series. On Thursday, [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] did what aces do and threw a complete-game one-hit shutout to lead Florida to a 3-0 victory. The early game on Friday was a different story, though.

Alabama had the lead for most of the ball game, but Florida kept chipping back until finally delivering a walk-off, 8-7, win in the bottom of the ninth. Unfortunately, the Gators fell flat in the second game of the day, 6-3.

It was an encouraging first weekend of conference play in many ways for the Gators. Here’s what we learned about the team.