Florida baseball’s spectacular run within the SEC Match continued Saturday with an 11-6 defeat of No. 11-seed Alabama at Hoover Met Stadium, setting the Gators up with a rematch at roughly 5:30 p.m. with No. 2 seed Texas A&M within the semifinal spherical.
Florida’s return to the diamond will happen roughly half-hour after the conclusion of No. 12 Kentucky vs. LSU on Saturday afternoon.
The Gators jumped out to a four-run lead within the first inning, with Wyatt Langford’s solo residence run to left middle subject opening the scoring. Freshman Jac Caglianone’s double with two outs added one other run, and Josh Rivera’s two-RBI single to left gave the Gators a 4-0 benefit earlier than the Crimson Tide had stepped to the plate.
Stay rating updates:Observe alongside as Florida baseball faces Texas A&M in SEC Match
Advertisement
Scores and extra:2022 SEC Baseball Match bracket, schedule, recreation occasions, scores, TV data
Florida softball:Stay rating updates as Florida Gators face Virginia Tech in NCAA softball tremendous regional
Nick Ficarrotta spectacular for Gators
However UF couldn’t get comfy as Alabama managed 4 runs of its personal off three hits in opposition to Florida freshman starter Anthony Ursitti, erasing the Gators’ cushion.
With the highest of the order again up, Langford added his second residence run in as many innings to place Florida again in entrance, 5-4, and Langford scored Mac Guscette within the third inning on a groundout to push the result in 6-4. Nevertheless, Alabama as soon as once more erased UF’s two-run lead within the backside half of the inning with a two-run residence run by Drew Williamson, and Ursitti quickly made approach for Nick Ficarrotta on the mound.
After a pair of scoreless innings by every group, the Gators retook the lead within the sixth inning regardless of Riopelle grounding right into a double play; in the meantime, the Crimson Tide have been having much less success on the plate in opposition to Ficarrotta.
Jud Fabian was walked with one out within the ninth, and a single by Caglianone despatched Fabian to 3rd, bringing Rivera to the plate. Rivera added his third RBI of the day on a fielder’s option to the shortstop, although not earlier than a replay problem by Alabama, which believed the tag got here in time. The Crimson Tide’s problem was unsuccessful, pushing UF’s result in 8-6. Guscette stepped to the plate and proceeded to ship a three-run blast over the left subject, placing the Crimson Tide in a five-run gap.
Advertisement
“He advised me to place swing on the ball, and it simply went out,” Guscette stated within the postgame broadcast. “It occurs in baseball.”
Ficarrotta remained on the mound within the ninth and secured the win for the Gators, establishing a rematch with the Aggies, who run-ruled UF, 10-0, in Thursday’s second spherical.
“Fic, that was phenomenal,” Guscette stated. “Me and Fic have been shut all year long, and that was phenomenal, I do not even know what to say about it.”
Listed below are takeaways from the sport.
Wyatt Langford additionally inches nearer to report
Wyatt Langford added a pair of residence runs in Florida’s first contest of the day Saturday, bringing him to 23 residence runs on the season.
Advertisement
That places Langford atop the SEC in residence runs, and the Trenton native is now tied for second all-time with Ryan Shealy and Brad Wilkerson in single-season residence runs in UF program historical past.
Matt LaPorta’s report of 26 stays this system report, and Langford’s probabilities of catching — or exceeding — LaPorta’s report grew to become all of the extra sensible Saturday.
Mac Guscette will get first hit in 25 days, after which some
Mac Guscette hadn’t had a success since Florida’s contest in opposition to South Florida on Could 3, however the sophomore made probably the most of his insertion again into UF’s lineup.
Guscette began at catcher in opposition to the Crimson Tide instead of Riopelle, who moved to first base, and went 3-for-5 on the plate, together with the three-run residence run to left subject that in the end capped the scoring. He was a triple in need of hitting for the cycle.
Jud Fabian takes just a few for the group
Fabian was credited for only one at-bat in opposition to the Crimson Tide, however that doesn’t almost inform the complete story. Fabian was hit by a pitch within the first, second and seventh innings, making him the primary participant in SEC Baseball Match historical past to be hit by a pitch 3 times or extra in a single recreation.
Advertisement
Jac Caglianone has one other sturdy efficiency
Whereas the lineup modifications made Saturday are absolutely notable, they could not evaluate to the choice to insert 6-foot-5 freshman Jac Caglianone, who is predicted to be a pitcher on the subsequent degree, into the order.
Caglianone joined Guscette in having a three-hit day for the Gators, together with a double within the first inning that scored Riopelle for the second run of the day. Caglianone additionally reached base on a stroll, giving him 4 profitable plate appearances in opposition to the Crimson Tide.
His day ended after a single within the ninth inning as freshman Corey Robinson got here on to pinch run for Caglianone.
Western Carolina Catamounts (2-2) at Florida State Seminoles (6-1)
Tallahassee, Florida; Tuesday, 7 p.m. EST
Advertisement
BOTTOM LINE: Western Carolina plays Florida State after Cord Stansberry scored 20 points in Western Carolina’s 82-69 loss to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
The Seminoles are 3-1 on their home court. Florida State is 5-1 when it wins the turnover battle and averages 12.4 turnovers per game.
Western Carolina finished 11-8 in SoCon action and 10-6 on the road a season ago. The Catamounts averaged 11.3 assists per game on 28.2 made field goals last season.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
It’s been a good couple weeks for the Florida Gators.
First, they take down No. 22 LSU, 27-16, with a bend but don’t break approach. Then, they follow that up by upsetting No. 9 Ole Miss, 24-17. With that latter win, heads really began to turn. It was one thing to put up fights against Tennessee and Georgia, but now, they’re beginning to take down these formidable opponents.
The analysts are starting to talk them up. ESPN’s College Gameday analyst Kirk Herbstreit is ready to hand head coach Billy Napier the award for coach of the year. He made sure to include that he thinks quarterback DJ Lagway is going to be something special.
“Can a guy with a team that will finish 7-5 win the coach of the year award? He should!!” Herbstreit said in a tweet. “Billy Napier and [the Florida Gators, after being 4-5 and losing two straight, have beaten LSU and Ole Miss. So impressive to see this fight from the Gators and their fans after having a tough year. And, oh yeah, DJ Lagway is the REAL DEAL!”
Advertisement
Big Cat from Barstool Sports jumped on X (formerly Twitter) and said, “The Florida Gators may need a playoff berth.”
Now, that can be written off as two guys getting excited, but key writers are noticing too. Florida received votes in the latest AP Poll.
Brian Brian Fonesca of the NJ.com/Star-Ledger and Ian Kress of WLNS-TV (a CBS affiliate in Lansing, Michigan) ranked them No. 25. David Paschall of the Chattanooga Times Free Press ranked them No. 24. It’s only four points, but they’re the only five-loss team to receive votes.
Unofficially, they’re ranked No. 33 in the country. If they had beaten Tennessee or Georgia to have that slightly better 7-4 record, could very well be in the top 25 right now. It’s hard to vote for a 6-5 team, that’s totally fair, but the willingness to do so by a handful of writers is a good starting point. If they win out, including a quality bowl win, to finish 8-5, finishing ranked is realistic.
Those who are signing on now are seeing what could be on the horizon in 2025. This is how they are playing now. This team might have won eight or nine games had this been yearlong. Wait until they play the portal some more this summer to bring in more talent, Napier gets that offensive coordinator and Lagway comes in with nearly a year of play under his belt.
Advertisement
The Florida Gators have put the country on notice. They gave Napier the time to rebuild after Dan Mullen’s collapse, and that time is beginning to pay off.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida players eager to celebrate their latest victory, the one that made them bowl eligible for the first time in two years, found a suitable prop on the sideline.
Ole Miss left behind its basketball hoop, which the Rebels use to salute big plays during games.
The Gators set it up, grabbed some footballs and held their own dunk contest near the end zone. It provided an apt stage — perfect for showcasing finishing moves — after they closed out another ranked opponent.
Florida (6-5, 4-4 Southeastern Conference) dominated the second half for the second consecutive week and got to party in the Swamp following a 24-17 victory over then-ninth-ranked Mississippi on Saturday.
Advertisement
Not only did the Gators knock the Rebels (8-3, 4-3) out of the College Football Playoff picture, they won their fourth consecutive home game and raised expectations for coach Billy Napier’s fourth season in Gainesville.
And the manner in which they accomplished it mattered. Napier has been preaching about “finishing,” something that had mostly eluded the Gators in the past two years.
Florida lost four games in 2023 after leading in the second half, including three — against Arkansas, Missouri and Florida State — in the fourth quarter.
Florida quarterback DJ Lagway (2) and teammates Trikweze Bridges (7), Aidan Mizell (11) and Jadan Baugh (13) celebrate their 24-17 win against Mississippi in an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Gainesville, Fla. Credit: AP/Phelan M. Ebenhack
And no one following the program has forgotten how close the Gators were to upsetting Tennessee and Georgia earlier this season, losing 23-17 to the Volunteers in overtime and fading against the Bulldogs after being tied at 20 with five minutes to play.
Advertisement
Napier hoped all those gut punches would ultimately lead to something better, and they finally did — with late-game knockouts against LSU and Mississippi.
“Eventually you get sick of that,” receiver Chimere Dike said. “To be able to get these last two wins is huge for our team and our program. I’m proud of the resilience the guys showed, the way that we performed.”
Florida held Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin’s high-scoring offense to three points in the second half. The Rebels turned the ball over twice — interceptions by Bryce Thornton on the final two drives — punted twice and got stuffed on another fourth-down run.
Florida defensive back Bryce Thornton (18) intercepts a pass on Mississippi’s final drive during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Gainesville, Fla. Credit: AP/Phelan M. Ebenhack
“I thought we were better on both sides up front, and short-yardage defense is a big component,” Napier said. “Those are identity plays. I think we had guys step up and make plays.”
Added defensive tackle Cam Jackson said: “Everybody just pinned their ears back. That was great.”
Advertisement
It was reminiscent of the previous week against then-No. 21 LSU. Florida held the Tigers to six points in the second half and forced a fumble, a punt and a turnover on downs in a 27-16 victory.
“We just all came together and wanted to change how Florida was looked at,” Thornton said. “That’s the biggest thing with us, just trying to show everybody that we can do it.”
The Gators ended the afternoon showing off their basketball moves.
Cornerback Trikweze Bridges, receiver Marcus Burke, defensive end Justus Boone, tight end Tony Livingston and linebacker Shemar James delivered monster dunks. Aidan Mizell passed a football between his leg in midair before his slam, and fellow receiver Elijhah Badger bounced it off the backboard before rousing teammates and fans with his finish.
“Belief is the most powerful thing in the world,” Napier said. “At some point there, midseason, we figured (that) out and we started to believe. Look, we can play with any team in the country.”
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25739950/247386_Elon_Musk_Open_AI_CVirginia.jpg "Inside Elon Musk’s messy breakup with OpenAI")
