Tag: Tyler Nesbitt

PHOTOS: Highlights from Tyler Nesbitt’s 2023 campaign

Here’s a quick look at Florida’s Tyler Nesbitt’s handful of highlights from the 2023 regular season.

Florida baseball swingman [autotag]Tyler Nesbitt[/autotag] saw his workload cut in half in 2023 in comparison to his redshirt freshman campaign in 2022 but saw some improvement in his numbers.

The right-handed hurler LaBelle, Florida, appeared in only 10 games during the regular season this spring — down from 20 last year — but posted a 1-0 record and a 2.95 ERA in 21 1/3 innings that included three starts, striking out 17 while walking eight with five hit-by-pitches and two wild pitches. However, the opponent’s batting average against rose to .259 — a significant increase from .230 the season prior.

Nesbitt also logged three putouts, three assists and an error for a .857 fielding percentage.

Take a look below at several photographic highlights of right-handed relief pitcher Tyler Nesbitt’s 2023 season with the Orange and Blue.

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 mercy ruled in series finale against No. 11 Tennessee

Florida still won the series, but the Gators are leaving Knoxville with a bitter taste in their mouth after falling, 14-2, in eight innings against Tennessee on Saturday.

Florida hasn’t swept the Tennessee Volunteers since 2011, and the Gators will have to wait at least another year before breaking that streak after dropping the 2023 series finale, 14-2, on Saturday in eight innings.

Unlike the first two games of the series, Florida struggled to get UT’s starter, Drew Beam. He lasted seven innings for the Volunteers, giving up just two runs on a seventh-inning home run from Florida catcher [autotag]Luke Heyman[/autotag].

Beam nearly had a shortened complete game as Tennessee threatened a mercy-rule win with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh, but the Gators held on to play eight. The duo of Kirby Connell and Aaron Combs got the Vols through the eighth.

Things started off badly on the mound for Florida. [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] didn’t make it out of the first inning, allowing three runs to score on six walks and no hits. Caglianone has struggled over recent weeks with his fastball command, but he’s at least made it to the fourth inning in his last two starts.

After this one, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Cags get a weekend off, but Georgia might be the perfect get-right opponent for him. It will be interesting to see how Kevin O’Sullivan approaches the situation. Yes, location is a problem, but Caglianone is in his head and that problem doesn’t typically disappear on its own.

[autotag]Tyler Nesbitt[/autotag] pitched the next three innings for Florida, giving up five runs overall but only two earned. An error from [autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] in the third inning led to all three unearned runs and served as a turning point in the game.

Griffin Merritt smashed a two-run shot off Nesbitt in the fourth, bringing the lead to eight, and Florida turned to [autotag]Nick Ficarotta[/autotag] to get through the fourth and fifth. Fic had the only scoreless [autotag]Chris Arroyo[/autotag] came in to pitch the sixth and walked both batters he faced. Sully quickly replaced him with [autotag]Fisher Jameson[/autotag], who allowed three runs to score. It hasn’t been a good year for Jameson.

Blake Purnell walked three but got through the seventh without giving up a run. Unfortunately, he gave up a go-homer (a walk-off home run that delivers a mercy-rule victory, as defined by D1Baseball.com’s Stephen Schoch), and the Gators walked off the field looking like a completely different team than they were over the first two games of the series.

There’s no doubt that rain played a role in this game, but that score can’t be blamed on Mother Nature entirely. A bad pitching day killed any momentum Florida had early and the Gators seemed fine with losing.

It’s a disappointing finish to an otherwise great series win for UF, and the mercy rule might keep the Gators from taking over the No. 1 spot in the country.

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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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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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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.

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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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.

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