Tag: ty evans

Series Preview: Florida set for home-and-home series with USF

Florida’s first midweek series is a home-and-home matchup with the USF Bulls. Will the Gators start 2023 off 5-0?

The Florida Gators will play a two-game series against the University of South Florida on Tuesday and Wednesday, but both games will not be at the same venue.

Tuesday’s matchup is in Tampa at USF, and Wednesday’s is in Gainesville. It’s a fun way to make a series between two schools separated by no more than two hours on I-75 unique.

The Gators are coming off a dominant performance against Charleston Southern, but the Bulls should provide a bit more of a challenge. Still, USF was picked by D1Baseball.com to finish seventh in the American Athletic Conference, so it’s not like facing an East Carolina or UCF.

The Wednesday arms are still to be decided, but Florida will throw freshman left-hander [autotag]Cade Fisher[/autotag] on Tuesday. [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag], who was expected to compete for a spot in the starting rotation, is taking over the closer role, so young players like Fisher will have a chance early.

Offensively, the Gators are simply looking to keep hitting after outscoring the Buccaneers 37-5 and invoking the mercy rule twice over the weekend. Right fielder [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] led the team with a .500 batting average and 10 RBIs in the Charleston Southern series, and several other Gators collected multiple hits as well.

Third baseman [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] is still looking for his first hit. He should be in the lineup Tuesday with USF throwing a right-hander, so he’ll get a few chances to break the seal and get the season going. Wyatt Langford is always a name to look out for, but he might be a bit angry after going 0-for-4 on Sunday.

USF shouldn’t be taken too lightly. The Bulls beat No. 13 Maryland to start the season but lost the next two games of the series. There are a few dangerous bats on the team, so Florida needs to take its opponent seriously to enter the second weekend of the season undefeated.

5 major takeaways from Florida’s opening-series sweep over Charleston Southern

We learned a lot about the 2023 Florida baseball team over the weekend, and the good news is they might be even better than we thought before the season started.

Florida baseball began its season the right way over the weekend with a sweep of Charleston Southern that saw the Gators outscore the Buccaneers 37-5 over three games.

Things could have been even more one-sided, too. Both programs agreed to a 10-run mercy rule for the series, and Florida ended each of the first two games by the seventh. The Gators threatened a third-straight mercy-rule win on Sunday, but only scored eight runs and played the first nine-inning game of the season.

It’s too early to declare the team Omaha-bound, but Florida looked strong in every phase of the game through the first weekend of the season. That said, there’s an entire season left to play and the players have to endure a tough SEC schedule before getting to the postseason. Things could look very different in just a few weeks.

But right now, Florida looks just as good as advertised and there aren’t many negatives to take away from opening weekend.

2023 Baseball Season Preview: Outfielders

Wyatt Langford is not just the guy to watch on the Gators this season, he’s one of the best college baseball has to offer. But what about the rest of Florida’s outfield?

Florida’s outfield returns two starters after losing [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] and [autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag] to the MLB draft, but one of them is [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag], who should be a top-five pick in this year’s draft.

Langford rose to stardom a year ago after hitting 36 home runs and tying the school’s season record. He hit leadoff and in the middle of Florida’s lineup throughout the season, finishing the season as one of the best in college baseball. This year, he’ll be the guy the rest of the SEC is planning for, so there won’t be any doubt about him when the draft rolls around.

Alongside Langford are presumed starters [autotag]Michael Robertson[/autotag] and [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] in center field and right field, respectively. Robertson sat out all of last year with an injury, but he should bring elite speed to the team in 2023. Evans took over in right field at the end of last year once Thompson moved to second base, so he should start the season off there again.

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 falls in regional finals to Oklahoma following 5.5-hour delay

Wyatt Langford tied the school record for home runs in a season, but Florida couldn’t pull off the ninth-inning comeback after blowing the lead late in the game.

It wouldn’t be a Gainesville Regional without a rain delay, and Mother Nature made her presence felt in a big way during the final game of the tournament on Monday. Florida and Oklahoma waited out a five-and-a-half-hour weather delay only for the Gators to blow a 2-1 ballgame and fall, 5-4.

Before the break, [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] was on pace to get through seven innings of work without a ton of trouble. Aside from a Kendall Pettis home run in the fifth, the Sooners struggled to figure him out despite knocking Neely out of Saturday’s game in 2 1/3 innings. He allowed just one run through 6 2/3 innings on four hits and no walks while striking out five. At 97 pitches on the night, and nearing 150 pitches on the weekend, Neely’s night was likely done after that batter regardless of the rain.

Designated hitter [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] got Neely the early lead in the second inning with a solo shot โ€” home run No. 7 on the year for the freshman. Things stayed relatively quiet after that until Pettis’ bomb in the fifth prompted the Gators to get the lead right back in the bottom of the frame. [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] reached on an error to start the inning off, and [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] drove him in three batters later.

Then, the rain came and changed everything.

Pettis struck out on the first at-bat back from the delay, but there would be plenty of scoring to come. Halter walked on four pitched to lead off the bottom of the seventh and was eventually driven home on a [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] sacrifice fly. Gators lead, 3-1.

That’s when the Sooners put up a four-spot to take total control of the game with only six outs to go. [autotag]Ryan Slater[/autotag], who came in for Neely in relief, gave up four straight hits, including a two-run, game-tying homer from Peyton Graham. Josh Rivera was forced to trade the go-ahead run for out No. 2 of the inning, and Jackson Nicklaus came through with an RBI single to the right side.

[autotag]Fisher Jameson[/autotag] came in to get the final out of the eighth, but Florida’s lead and morale was long gone. [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag], in what will likely be his final out as a Gator, flew out to right, Rivera grounded out to second and Guscette line out to deep right-center on a ball that had a chance.

Jameson got the Sooners down quickly in the ninth and Florida came up to the plate with three outs left in the season. Halter struck out looking, but Wyatt Langford sent home run No. 26 out of the ballpark to put things within one run and to tie Matt LaPorta’s single-season home run record at UF. Sterlin Thompson grounded out to first for an unassisted out on a 3-2 count, and up came Riopelle with everything on the line.

The transfer from Coastal Carolina did a lot for Florida in 2022, but he couldn’t extend the season once more and struck out swinging to end the Gators’ season.

Oklahoma advances to its first super regional since 2013, and Florida once again falls short of a trip to Omaha.

[mm-video type=video id=01g4x9sxkqj5b02yvm0n playlist_id=01eqbz250mdknqvm5z player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g4x9sxkqj5b02yvm0n/01g4x9sxkqj5b02yvm0n-1f23b1406a5a63277a7998d2b1493c0d.jpg]

Follow usย @GatorsWireย on Twitter and like our page onย Facebookย to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Let us know your thoughts and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today!

Game Preview: Florida baseball faces elimination against Central Michigan

The Gators are now in do-or-die mode. One loss ends the season. One win gets them to the regional finals later on in the day.

After losing to the Oklahoma Sooners, 9-4, on Saturday, the Florida Gators baseball team needs to knock out Central Michigan in a rematch to advance to the regionals finals against the Sooners later on in the day. If Florida beats OU, then a third and final tiebreaker on Monday will be played to determine who advances to the Super Regional matchup. First things first, though, Florida needs to beat CMU again.

The Gators took down the Chippewas ace and bullpen last time around, and CMU is running thin on pitchers going this deep into the tournament. Florida will trust [autotag]Nick Pogue[/autotag] with the ball and has already shown that it has better depth than most thought in its run to the SEC Tournament championship game. That said, Sully used up four relief guys on Saturday and their availability is up in the air.

Offensively, [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] has struggled in particular, going 0-for-9 with five strikeouts so far in regional play. Florida needs him to be a factor at the top of the order like he’s been all year to make a difference.

On the other hand, moving [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] into the four-hole and [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] back to the five seems to have worked. Evans knocked in two runs with a big fly Saturday and has been one of the better freshmen on the team along with [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag], who appeared around the same time.

[autotag]Mac Guscette[/autotag] also hit a solo shot on Saturday, which creates an argument to keep playing him at catcher and letting [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag]’s knees rest for at least one game. Having [autotag]Kendrick Calilao[/autotag] off the bench for a clutch pinch-hit is also nice to have in this kind of setting.

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] โ€” freshman No. 4 of the night โ€” 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.

[mm-video type=video id=01g4nwam6n2tj1yzmb4v playlist_id=01eqbz250mdknqvm5z player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g4nwam6n2tj1yzmb4v/01g4nwam6n2tj1yzmb4v-054ba541572cfcbfc9cdc9027eca7e01.jpg]

[lawrence-related id=85004]

Follow usย @GatorsWireย on Twitter and like our page onย Facebookย to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Let us know your thoughts and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today!

Game Preview: Florida baseball looking to down Oklahoma, advance to regional championship game

The last time Brandon Neely was on the mound for the Gators, Florida was mercy ruled. Here’s hoping things go differently this time around against Oklahoma.

Florida made it past Central Michigan on Friday thanks to a dominant outing from [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] on the mound to outduel the Chippewas’ ace, Andrew Taylor. The Gators won that game 7-3 and earned the right to face Oklahoma on the winners’ side of the bracket for a shot at the regional final.

If Florida takes this game against OU, the Gators will face the winner of Oklahoma and whoever wins the Saturday matinee between Liberty and Central Michigan. If UF loses, the team will play in that early game for a chance to rematch with Oklahoma.

With Sproat used up, [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] will turn to freshman [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] on the bump. Neely has stepped into the role nicely since joining the rotation against Arkansas and moving into the No. 2 spot once [autotag]Hunter Barco[/autotag] went down. Barco, since we’re talking about him, could be seen on the bench encouraging Sproat with a full arm brace. It appears the Tommy John surgery was a success.

Back to Neely, though. He seemed to hit his stride in the final game of the regular season against South Carolina, striking out 10 and hurling seven scoreless innings. Facing Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament, the first time around, was a different story, though. Neely left after 4 1/3 innings and three earned runs. The Gators would get mercy rules and have flipped a switch since.

If Neely has another short outing, the bullpen is ready to go. [autotag]Nick Ficarrotta[/autotag] is coming off an impressive 6 1/3-inning, 90+ pitch outing against Alabama in the conference tournament, and [autotag]Blake Purnell[/autotag] is available to eat some innings too. Winning this game is crucial because whoever loses will have to play two on Sunday to force a final tiebreaker game on Monday.

Offensively, [autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag] broke out of his little slump with a game-tying solo shot in the third Friday night and [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] went big fly to put the Gators out front. Those were two of the hottest bats for Florida at the start of the season (Thompson has been good all year), so it’s good to see them going.

[autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] struggled against CMU, going 0-for-5 with three strikeouts. Chalk that up to some nerves or pressure and expect him to bounce back against Oklahoma. [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] continues to be the best non-redshirt decision of Sully’s lifetime. He drove in three on a pair of hits Friday, and fellow freshman [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] has also been a difference-maker at the plate and in the field.

Oklahoma is a good team. They beat up on Liberty en route to a 16-3 victory, and Gator Nation isn’t forgetful of the fact that the Flames took two of three to start UF’s season off sour. If Neely and Co. can keep the Sooners’ offense at bay, the Gators should have a chance to win this game.

Game Preview: Florida baseball opens regional play against Central Michigan

This could be a great pitching duel if Sproat and Taylor are both on their game.

After a surprising run to the championship game of the SEC Tournament, the Florida baseball team is ready to start regional play, and first up are the Central Michigan Chippewas. Liberty and Oklahoma will square off in the early game, and the Gators get the nightcap on Day 1 of the Gainesville Regional at 6:30 p.m. EDT.

Both teams will be throwing their respective aces. [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] has, of course, stepped into the role for the Gators over the last month or so since [autotag]Hunter Barco[/autotag]’s injury. He’s performed well, but he’ll have to outduel another legitimate ace in Central Michigan’s Andrew Taylor. His fastball touched the upper 90s and he can rack up strikeouts in a hurry.

Florida should be going with its new and improved lineup that features [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] in the designated hitter spot and [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] in right field or off the bench depending on the matchup. [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] has also moved into the three-hole in the lineup and pushed [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] down to fifth. Both have excelled in their new spots.

Riopelle also played first base toward the end of the SEC Tournament which gave his knees rest but also allowed [autotag]Mac Guscette[/autotag] to come in and hit the ball as well as he ever has. [autotag]Kendrick Calilao[/autotag] was utilized as a pinch hitter for a struggling [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] late in a game too, so he’s not totally out of the mix if Florida decides to go with that lineup at any point.

Hitting-wise, Caglianone and [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] have been stellar. Since moving into the leadoff spot, Langford is slashing .420/.547/.877 and leading the team in almost every major offensive statistic. He’s now on the hunt to break the single-season record of 26 set by Matt LaPorta (who was also a sophomore at the time) in 2005.

It won’t be easy, but Florida has set itself up to compete in this regional and advance to supers. Starting things off with a win is crucial, though.

Florida falls short in SEC Tournament championship game against Tennessee

The Vols were clearly the better team, but Florida’s run to the SEC Tournament championship game had the team in much better spirits heading into regionals.

Florida fell just short of winning it all in Hoover, Alabama, on Sunday losing to the Tennesee Volunteers, 8-5, in the final round of the SEC Tournament.

The Gators threw [autotag]Carsten Finnvold[/autotag], a freshman out of American Heritage Del Ray in Palm Beach County, Florida, and he kept Tennessee quiet through four innings. His low-speed fastball kept the Volunteers off balance and quiet through four innings, but the No. 1 team in the country got going in the fifth.

[autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] sent a ball to first that [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] couldn’t snag to put a runner on second with no outs. Blake Burke singled Evan Russell over to second and Finnvold got Cortland Lawson swinging. Seth Stephenson bunted for an RBI-base hit on a ball that Finnvold could’ve made a play on if he wasn’t tripped up by his own team. Luc Lipcius took strike three looking for out two in the inning.

[autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] decided to walk the bases loaded for Tennessee’s No. 4 hitter Drew Gilbert and it almost paid off. Finnvold got a fly ball to left field, but [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] came in on the ball and let it go over his head to clear the bases. Four runs were scored in the inning and none of them were earned for Finnvold.

[autotag]Blake Purnell[/autotag] came in to get out of the inning, but he’d get back into trouble in the sixth. The Vols put up a three-spot on the Gators’ best reliever and took a commanding 7-0 lead. [autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] pitched the eighth for UF without much trouble. Only a Stephenson single threatened throughout the inning.

[autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] finally broke through in the bottom of the eighth with a two-run shot against Ben Joyce, who was throwing over 100 mph. Joyce was Tennessee’s fourth pitcher of the night after lefty Camden Sewell gave the Vols a five-inning start. Will Mabrey and Mark McLaughlin were first out of the bullpen, then Joyce and Zander Sechrist, and finally Kirby Connell finished it up through eight.

The Gators added one more run on a two-out [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] single, but [autotag]Mac Guscette[/autotag] hit a weak grounder to third for an easy tag out of Jud Fabian.

Gilbert got ahold of another one in the ninth and made it 8-3 with a solo shot. Lipscomb doubled and knocked Abner out of the game for [autotag]Tyler Nesbitt[/autotag]. Russell almost took another ball out, but Langford got it on the warning track.

Redmond Walsh finished it off for the Volunteers. Pinch hitter Kendrick Calilao popped up on a 2-2 count into foul territory for the first out of the inning. Langford doubled to start the final push, and [autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag] doubled him home.

Riopelle moved Thomspon over to third, and [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] drove him in on an error by the second baseman who was shifted out of position. [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] gave a ball a ride, but the left fielder tracked it down and Florida’s rally fell short. It’s a disappointing end to a great run by the Gators, especially considering four of Tennessee’s runs came unearned.

Going into the tournament, Florida’s postseason hopes looked bleak. A win or two in the regional round seemed to be the best possible outcome, but this SEC Tournament run has Florida in the conversation to host a regional. The NCAA will announce hosts at 8:30 p.m. EDT Sunday night.

[mm-video type=video id=01g2tjy72gxzzkgtemb2 playlist_id=01eqbz250mdknqvm5z player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g2tjy72gxzzkgtemb2/01g2tjy72gxzzkgtemb2-58e19f3de57855c69ec31ad89976581f.jpg]

[lawrence-related id=84717,84665,84627,84577,84425]

Follow usย @GatorsWireย on Twitter and like our page onย Facebookย to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Let us know your thoughts and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today!