Tag: Tyler Shlenut

Florida can’t complete comeback, drops series to Kentucky

Florida submitted another bid for a comeback win against an SEC opponent, but the Kentucky Wildcats won the 10th and final frame of the game (and series).

Florida battled back from a three-run deficit against Kentucky on Sunday to force extra innings but the 10th frame was unkind to the Gators who fell, 7-5, and dropped a sixth straight series for the first time during the [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] era.

The Wildcats plated the only three runs of the first six innings, scoring first on an error in center field, then on a single and again on a ground out. [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] wasn’t his sharpest early on, getting in several 2-0 counts. Still, he worked into the seventh inning and delivered a quality start.

It’s hard to deny that Cags is a legitimate two-way prospect with the draft only two months away. His command is much more refined and he’s learning how to really draw the swing and miss with his secondaries — notwithstanding today’s three-strikeout performance.

Florida finally got on the board in the bottom of the seventh off a pinch-hit double from [autotag]Ashton Wilson[/autotag]. Two runs scored, pulling UF within one run. Before Wilson’s double, Kentucky starter Mason Moore had retired 11 straight batters.

[autotag]Jake Clemente[/autotag] was the first arm out of the bullpen for Florida. He faced five batters before handing the ball over to [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] in the eighth. Neely held the score at 3-2 in the ninth and [autotag]Tyler Shlenut[/autotag] tied things up in the bottom of the inning with a solo home run — No. 13 on the year.

O’Sullivan decided to stick it out with his closer in the 10th. Most relievers don’t get more than two innings, but Neely is a starter-closer hybrid who can usually go four or five strong, if needed. The Wildcats got to him immediately, putting the first two men on the corners.

A walk loaded the bases, but Neely had a chance to get out of it after drawing a foul out. He got the ground ball he needed, but it was hit softly between second and the mound. Neely laid out to make a play, but Caglianone also went for it leaving first base uncovered. Everyone advances. Kentucky leads, 4-3.

A strikeout brought Neely closer to getting out of the jam without much damage, but a double over Shelnut’s head in right cleared the bases. Shelnut got a bad jump on it, but the ball probably clears him no matter what.

Neely hit the next batter, forcing Sully to the bullpen. Luke McNeillie struck out the only batter he faced to end the top of the 10th.

Caglianone singled to start off the bottom of the frame and eventually scored on a Hayden Yost double down the left-field line. [autotag]Colby Shelton[/autotag] also scored on Yost’s double, but Landon Russell struck out to end the game as a pinch hitter for [autotag]Michael Robertson[/autotag] (defensive replacement for Guy Wilson).

With the loss, Florida’s record is now 26-25 with three games remaining against the Georgia Bulldogs. Florida must finish the season with a .500 record or better to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. This is a must-win series.

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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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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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Ninth-inning collapse leads to Florida’s first loss of season

An epic ninth-inning collapse led to Florida’s first loss of the season Wednesday night. USF splits the season series with a 10-9 win.

Florida (4-1) led for most of the game against USF Wednesday night, but a ninth-inning meltdown led to the Gators blowing a five-run lead and taking the loss, 10-9.

There was plenty to like from UF, including a decent outing from freshman right-hander [autotag]Yoel Tejeda Jr[/autotag]. in his first-career start, but the late collapse is going to overshadow any positives from the evening. For what it’s worth, every Florida starter got a base hit, and [autotag]Nick Ficarrotta[/autotag] was stellar out of the bullpen.

Game Recap

Tejeda got the start for Florida and lasted three innings. He had a clean first inning despite walking Bobby Boser on four pitches, but the second and third were tough for Tejeda. He got out of a jam in the second, stranding a pair of Bulls in scoring position, but wasn’t as lucky in the third.

Tejeda started what should have been a 1-6-3 double play, but shortstop [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] made an errant throw to first and allowed a run to score. The 6-foot-8-inch freshman should have been out of the inning, but he surrendered another run after giving up a walk and a single instead.

At that point, Florida’s offense hadn’t gotten going yet and only managed to score a single run through the first two innings. [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] homered in the first, but it took until the second time through the lineup for Florida to add some more runs.

[autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] hit a long sac fly into foul territory to tie things up in the bottom of the third, and Rivera came through with a single to left-center that scored him and gave Florida the lead. Caglianone was intentionally walked in between the two at-bats.

Ficarrotta was strong in relief for the Gators. He lasted 3 2/3 innings, striking out seven without giving up a base on balls. Ficarrotta surrendered just one run on the evening and limited damage to get out of a fifth-inning jam that started with three-straight singles.

Florida also had a big fifth inning and scored three runs. [autotag]Dale Thomas[/autotag], who got his first start of the season at second base, started things off with a double, and [autotag]Michael Robertson[/autotag] moved him over to third on a bunt single.

Langford struck out looking at three pitches, but Caglianone drove in Thomas with a single to right field. Rivera followed that up with his second RBI single of the day, and [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] singled in a run as well. A double play from [autotag]Tyler Shlenut[/autotag] ended the run.

Left-handed freshman [autotag]Chris Arroyo[/autotag] got the final out of the seventh for Florida after Ficarrotta allowed a pair of baserunners. Arroyo returned for the top of the eighth but was immediately pulled after giving up a base hit to start the inning. Kevin O’Sullivan gave him a pat on the back after taking the ball from him, which probably means that he was pulled to fit the matchup against a pinch hitter rather than for poor performance.

[autotag]Blake Purnell[/autotag] was the third arm out of the bullpen for Florida and got out of the eighth without issue. He did walk USF’s No. 9 hitter with two out but nothing came of it.

[autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] could have earned his second save of the season, but Florida added what it thought was a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth.

[autotag]Luke Heyman[/autotag] scored after doubling and getting knocked in by Thomas. Robertson extended the lead to five runs with an RBI single of his own, and Langford doubled on a checked swing to put men on the corners. Caglianone drew his second intentional walk of the night, but Rivera couldn’t come up big again despite entering the at-bat hitting .660 with runners in scoring position.

Purnell came back out to pitch the ninth but things went south pretty quickly. He gave up a leadoff home run to start the inning and never recorded an out after an error in right field and walking a batter. O’Sullivan turned to [autotag]Fisher Jameson[/autotag] next, which turned out to be a mistake.

Jameson struck out the Bull with the highest average on the team for out No. 1, but it was all downhill from there. USF catcher Nelson Rivera singled in a run to cut the lead to three, and then center fielder Jackson Mayo sent the ball out of the yard to tie things up.

Disaster.

[autotag]Anthony Ursitti[/autotag] replaced Jameson but gave up a two-out triple to blow the lead. To rub some salt in the wound, USF scored what wound up being the deciding run on a passed ball.

[autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] pinch hit for [autotag]Deric Fabian[/autotag], who entered as a defensive replacement at third base for Tyler Shelnut, and drew a one-out walk to start a ninth-inning rally. USF ignored him on the base paths, so he easily got to third while [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] pinch hit for Heyman.

Riopelle struck out, but [autotag]Matt Prevesk[/autotag] batted for Lastres and singled in Kurland to put the Gators within one of a tie game. Unfortunately, [autotag]Richie Schiekofer[/autotag] grounded into a fielder’s choice on the very first pitch he saw to end the game.

Key Takeaway

The bullpen completely melted down after Purnell struggled to start the ninth. Jameson and Ursitti can’t afford to pitch like that when Sully puts them in a tense spot, and he’s unlikely to forget what happened.

The question is whether O’Sullivan will adjust or not. There were several times throughout the 2022 season when Florida made the wrong call out of the bullpen, and there were shades of that tonight. To be delicate, the only way Florida’s bullpen is below average in 2023 is through mismanagement.

The undefeated season may no longer be feasible, but at least Florida has now faced some adversity and can prove itself over the weekend against Cincinnati.

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