Florida baseball enacted revenge on Texas A&M within the semifinal spherical of the SEC Baseball Match, downing the Aggies 9-0 Saturday in UF’s second contest of the day.
UF (39-21) advances to the SEC Match last in opposition to the winner of late Saturday evening matchup between No. 1-seed Tennessee and Kentucky, with first pitch set for Sunday at 3 p.m. in Hoover, Ala.
The No. 7-seeded Gators returned to Hoover Met Stadium lower than 4 hours faraway from a 11-6 victory over Alabama, and simply two days from struggling a 10-0 loss by run-rule to TAMU (37-18) in Thursday’s second-round matchup.
Following a scoreless first inning, Florida plated runs in six consecutive innings. Jud Fabian’s twenty second residence run of the season put UF up, 1-0, within the second inning, and a sacrifice fly by BT Riopelle within the third inning scored Wyatt Langford and put the Gators in entrance 2-0.
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Fabian walked to guide off the fourth, and Jac Caglianone proceeded to achieve first on a fielding error by the Aggies. After Josh Rivera superior Fabian and Caglianone to 3rd and second, respectively, Mac Guscette hit a two-RBI single down the left-field line to double Florida’s whole.
An RBI groundout by Ty Evans within the fifth inning scored Sterlin Thompson, and Wyatt Langford’s single to proper area within the sixth inning prolonged UF’s result in 7-0.
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Caglianone hit a sacrifice fly within the seventh inning to attain Riopelle, marking UF’s eighth run of the evening, and Caglianone once more scored Riopelle within the ninth inning to place the Aggies in a nine-run gap.
Listed here are takeaways from the semifinal sport.
Timmy Manning retains Aggies scoreless in return
Timmy Manning made eight appearances in his freshman 12 months, however it had been almost two months since Manning had taken the mound for the Gators in a significant contest. And it wasn’t essentially a formidable efficiency, contemplating Manning allowed three runs on as many hits whereas committing a fielding error in only one inning of motion in UF’s 13-3 win over Florida A&M.
However the Gators referred to as on Manning to make the beginning in opposition to the Aggies, and the Pompano Seaside native answered the decision.
Manning stored the Aggies scoreless throughout his 5.0 innings of motion. He struck out six batters and allowed simply 5 hits in his 90-pitch outing.
Manning exited to a standing ovation from his teammates after permitting a single to begin the underside of the sixth inning.
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Mac Guscette stays sizzling on the plate
Mac Guscette hadn’t registered successful in 25 days previous to Florida’s 11-6 win over Alabama within the fourth spherical, and Guscette didn’t calm down through the lull between video games.
Guscette went 1-of-2 on the plate with 2 RBI, with the Aggies opting to stroll Guscette in his different two plate appearances.
Gators may once more face nation’s finest
With the victory over the Aggies, the Gators await phrase on their opponent. Florida will both face the Wildcats, or UF can have one other rematch alternative on their fingers – solely this time, it could be in opposition to the nation’s high staff and the final opponent to comb UF in a weekend collection.
The Vols are a staggering 51-7 and have suffered simply 5 losses in convention play — two of which got here by the hands of the Wildcats.
Western Carolina Catamounts (2-2) at Florida State Seminoles (6-1)
Tallahassee, Florida; Tuesday, 7 p.m. EST
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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.
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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!”
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.”
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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.”
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