Tag: Tyler Shelnut

Shelnut homer gives Florida series win over Texas A&M

Another strong outing from Jac Caglianone kept Florida in it with TAMU and outfielder Tyler Shelnut hit a series-deciding homer.

Florida defeated Texas A&M, 4-2, on Sunday to win a three-game series that opened SEC play.

After two nights of early scoring, Sunday’s affair stayed at a 2-2 tie until the penultimate frame. Left fielder Tyler Shelnut delivered a go-ahead, two-run home run in the eighth to cap off a massive weekend and give Florida the win.

Several questionable losses through the first 17 games of the season had experts asking questions about Florida and its bullpen, but beating Texas A&M in a three-game series supports the top-10 ranking UF has held onto since the start of the year. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Gators climb in certain polls, even though it was a 2-2 week.

Jac Caglianone struggled in the opening frame, needing 29 pitches to get his first three outs. An error by Cade Kurland — his fourth of the year at second base — scored an unearned run, but Caglianone got out of the bases-loaded jam without further issue. Kurland made up for his mistake with an RBI single up the middle in the second, scoring Tyler Shelnut.

Both teams struggled to move runners around the bases over the next few innings. Shelnut doubled to lead off the fourth, but it was Texas A&M that broke the tie in the fifth with a Braden Montgomery home run, his second in the past 24 hours.

Florida responded quickly, though. Luke Heyman hit a solo shot to tie it back up. Heyman entered the at-bat 1-for-11 over the weekend, but he ended up making a difference in the series. Caglianone provided the only hit for Florida after between Heyman’s home run and his next at-bat, and he was tagged out trying to stretch it into a double.

Heyman singled through the left side top open the bottom of the eighth, but it looked like Florida would strand another batter after two quick outs. Shelnut sent a missile of a line drive to the left field wall. It cleared the left fielder’s glove by inches and was hit hard enough to zoom over the wall too.

The home plate umpire signaled home run immediately, but Shelnut got caught in a rundown between second and third base before realizing the call. Two-run homer. Shelly celly. Florida leads, 4-2. But could the bullpen finish the job?

Caglianone left the mound after 107 pitches and 5 1/3 innings pitched. He gave up two runs (one earned) on four hits and five walks while striking out seven. It’s not his best line of the year, but keeping the Aggies’ lineup quiet for five innings is impressive. More importantly, he looked like an ace ready to pitch a big series’s deciding game.

Ryan Slater took over for him to get through the sixth, and then Kevin O’Sullivan turned to his close, Brandon Neely, in the seventh for the second time this weekend. Neely wouldn’t finish off the game, but he left in line for the win.

Freshman Luke McNeillie earned his first career save in dramatic fashion. He gave up a leadoff single after not getting a strike three call, but McNeillie struck out Jace LaViolette and got Montgomery to ground into a fielder’s choice.

Montgomery’s ball nearly ended up being a game-ending double play, but a review confirmed that he beat the throw to first in time. McNeillie locked back in to induce another ground ball to end the game for real.

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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.

Let’s take a look at Florida’s outfielders for the 2024 campaign.

PHOTOS: Highlights from Tyler Shelnut’s 2023 campaign

Tyler Shelnut’s 2023 campaign was his first with the Gators after playing two seasons down the road at Santa Fe College.

Florida baseball’s [autotag]Tyler Shelnut[/autotag]’s 2023 campaign was his first with the Gators after earning his way to the state’s flagship university playing two seasons down the road at Santa Fe College. The infielder from Ft. White, Florida, saw action in a decent amount of playing time this spring, appearing in 40 games total — starting in 37 of them.

At the plate, the junior put together a solid slash line of .279/.371/.504 in 129 at-bats, which included 11 doubles and six home runs. Sheltnut scored 24 runs while driving in 23 while drawing 17 walks (plus three hit-by-pitches) and striking out 37 times. He also grounded into three double plays and notched a pair of sac flies.

In the field, he recorded 56 putouts and 12 assists while committing two errors for a .971 fielding percentage.

Below are a few photographs from Tyler Shelnut’s junior campaign with the Florida Gators.

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, but [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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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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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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Florida baseball survives surprising test from Siena

Florida’s first game in a series against the Siena Saints didn’t go as expected, but the Gators still came out on top on Friday night.

Very few expected No. 6 Florida and Siena to be tied heading into the sixth inning on Friday, but that’s exactly where the two teams found themselves after a 90-minute rain delay prevented the game from starting on time.

The Saints entered the game with an overall record of 2-10 and just one player hitting .300 or better, but right-hander Arlo Marynczak held the Gators to just two runs across five innings of work.

Florida hit Marynczak fine. He ended the night giving with seven hits allowed and two walks, but the Gators just couldn’t score against him after plating a run in each of the first two innings.

The second inning could have been much bigger for Florida as [autotag]Wyatt Langford [/autotag]came up with the bases loaded and one out, but Marynczak got him to foul out and then induced a pop-up from [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag].

Florida’s top two hitters are supposed to come through in a situation like that, especially against a team such as Siena, and it’s the first time fans have seen them fail in 2023.

The Gators had another bases-loaded opportunity in the bottom of the seventh but again failed to come through.[autotag]Tyler Shelnut[/autotag] struck out and [autotag]Matt Prevesk[/autotag], who entered the game for [autotag]Luke Heyman[/autotag] after a presumed injury to his hamstring, flew out to strand three baserunners.

[autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] also left the game in the sixth inning; a foul ball hit off him earlier in the game, but there was no official word on why he left.

Shelnut did contribute earlier in the game, though, hitting a go-ahead home run in the sixth inning off of left-handed reliever Billy Rozakis. Noah Rodriguez came in next and was the one to get out of the second bases-loaded jam of the night.

Fortunately, Florida’s bullpen didn’t implode and held on to a one-run lead after [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] finished off four scoreless innings.

It wasn’t Sproat’s best day. He couldn’t locate his fastball, and his slider was off too. He gave up three hits and three walks while striking out seven and hitting two batters.

[autotag]Cade Fisher[/autotag] was first out of the bullpen for Florida. He struck out five through two innings but also gave up a pair of runs, only one of which was earned. The Gators committed two errors on Friday night, which is unusually sloppy for this team.

[autotag]Nick Ficarrotta[/autotag] was next out of the bullpen. He allowed just two hits through two scoreless innings while striking out a pair, and then [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] came in to shut the door.

Neely struck out each of the first two batters he faced but gave up a single to Matt Livingston before getting out No. 3 to end the inning.

The silver lining here is that Florida’s bullpen shined for perhaps the first time this season, but the lack of offense was unexpected, to say the least.

If Florida struggles to put runs on the board again on Saturday, it might be something to get worried about. Conference play starts in less than a week, and Florida needs to be at its best.

The Gators and Saints go again on Saturday at 4 p.m. EST.

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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.

Florida baseball handles USF with 3-homer ninth

Florida has two talented Cades on the baseball team, and both of them shined in Tuesday’s road victory over the USF Bulls.

Florida took care of business on the road for the first time in 2023 as the Gators defeated the USF Bulls Tuesday night, 6-1.

[autotag]Cade Fisher[/autotag] made his first collegiate start and went four innings strong against USF. Fisher struck out the side in each of the first two innings of the night, bringing his season total to seven through five innings (12.6 K/9). He gave up four hits, one unearned run and threw 41 strikes out of 64 pitches overall. The only blemish of the night was a hit batter in the first inning.

It’s clear that Fisher is at the top of the list when it comes to freshmen pitchers on the team Kevin O’Sullivan is willing to let pitch. If he keeps pitching like this, he could find himself with a significant role on the staff after non-conference play ends.

While Fisher was good, the offense didn’t do enough early to give him a decision. [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag]’s solo home run came in the top of the fourth, but that only ensure that Fisher wouldn’t get the loss. Florida has a few chances to score in the first few innings of the game.

[autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] got caught trying to stretch a single into a double in the first, and Caglianone just missed a home run in the next at-bat. Caglianone’s double surely would have scored Langford had he not made the base-running gaffe. [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] struck out to end the inning with a runner in scoring position.

Bulls starter Jack Cebert shut Florida down in the second and third, retiring seven straight Gators in a row. Caglianone broke the shutout in the fourth, but [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] left the bases loaded to start his season off 0 for 10. The Bulls were forced to go to the bullpen though, which matched up with Fisher’s departure from the game.

Ryan Slater pitched the next three innings for the Gators and looked just as good as Fisher. He struck out four and allowed just one hit while holding the Bulls scoreless. He did it with incredible efficiency too, needing just 37 pitches to get through three frames.

Sophomore left-hander Ethan Brown was the first pitcher out of the bullpen for USF. He got through the fifth with little incident. Caglianone got hit No. 3 of the night to put him a triple away from the cycle, but he didn’t score. [autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] did get to him in the sixth for an RBI single to give Florida the lead, though. The freshman continues to make a strong argument for a daily spot in the lineup.

Speaking of freshman, [autotag]Luke Heyman[/autotag] pinch hit for Halter with a lefty on the mound, meaning the junior third baseman will have to wait another game to collect his first hit of the year. [autotag]Dale Thomas[/autotag] subbed in for him to play third base for the rest of the game.

Southern Florida turned to Riley Skeen in the eighth and ninth. Florida couldn’t get to him in the eighth, but Kurland and [autotag]Tyler Shelnut[/autotag] hit back-to-back home runs to kick off what ended up being a brutal ninth. That’s Shelnut’s second in a Gators uniform and the first of Kurland’s first-career big fly.

The Bulls turned to redshirt junior Tanner Mink after Skeen got Thomas to strike out. Mink had some trouble with his pick-off move and balked before throwing the ball into centerfield on the very next attempt. Florida’s fastest player, [autotag]Michael Robertson[/autotag], rounded the bases with ease and scored on the error.

Finally, Langford hit his first home run of the 2023 season and officially began the chase to 27. Florida began the ninth with just a one-run lead, but South Florida needed five to tie things up by the middle of the inning.

[autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag], who came in to pitch the eighth and struck out the side, returned for the ninth after a lengthy rest on the bench. He walked a Bull to start the final frame of the night, but Neely ended up cruising to the final out of the ball game. He’s supposed to be the team’s closer, but he didn’t really need to be the one to put the lid on this one after the big inning.

The score makes this win look better than it was, but at least the bats came alive at the end. Fisher didn’t get the win, but he looked good on the bump and it’s always good to have a promising, young freshman left-hander on the staff. Kurland was the offensive MVP of the night for driving in the go-ahead run in the sixth and adding an insurance run with a solo shot in the ninth.

Up next is a rematch with USF in Gainesville on Wednesday at 6 p.m. EST.

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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.