Beyond the Scorebook: Florida Gators finish season sweep of UNF

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators opened up a 7-0 lead through four innings and cruised to a 13-4 win over UNF to finish 2-0 against the Osprey this season. Florida turned to freshman right-hander Alex Philpott, who made his first career start.

The Gators (2-1) received a scoreless top half of the first from Philpott. Florida then plated two quick runs on the Ospreys (1-3) in the bottom half on a two-out, two-run single through the left side by Evans.
 
Florida pushed the lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the second, beginning with a one-out single to left by Robertson. After swiping second base, Robertson came home on an RBI single to center off the bat of Jac Caglianone.
 
Following three shutout frames of work, Philpott was replaced by southpaw Robert Satin at the onset of the fourth. The left-hander navigated around a pair of base hits to produce a zero, passing the baton to the offense to put up a four-spot.

Wednesday’s key players

Michael Robertson: The third-year outfielder exploded at the plate tonight. Robertson finished with a career-high four hits during a 4-5 night at the plate. He doubled twice, scored a run, and drove in three runs, also a career-high.

Alex Philpott: The freshman from Tampa made his first career start and notched his first career win. In a controlled start, Philpott struck out two and walked two over three scoreless innings.

Tyler Shelnut: The senior outfielder drove in three runs and scored one run while walking twice during a 2-3 night at the plate. Shelnut has played a solid left field and is batting .444 through three games.

Quotes of the night

Kevin O’Sullivan on the game

“I’m really pleased with how Alex (Philpott) pitched and the defense we played behind them. Jac (Caglianone) made three really good plays tonight. He turned the double play 3-6, then the catch over the shoulder. He played great defense

Kevin O’Sullivan on Jac Caglianone’s defense

On Caglianone’s improvements on defense…
“He’s always been a good defensive first baseman, which is the reason why we have never hesitated on him pitching on Sundays. It gives him the opportunity to play the first two games on the weekend. If you pitch him on Friday or Saturday, not that it would have happened last year, but certainly this year, if we wanted to do that then it would limit his options of playing first base on the weekend, so this allows us to use him twice on the weekend.”

Stats of notes

• Making his starting pitching debut, Philpott tossed three scoreless innings on two hits and two whiles while striking out two to earn the win in a controlled start.
• Robertson notched a career-high four hits and three RBI.
• Satin threw two scoreless innings on two hits and one walk while fanning one.
• Florida scored in 11 of 15 innings against North Florida across the last two games.
• Dating back to last season, Florida is 24-4 in regular season non-conference games and has won 15 of its last 16 such contests.
• The Gators have now won 11-straight midweek contests dating back to last season.
• Florida improved to 21-7 all-time against North Florida including 5-3 on the road
• The Gators rise to 16-3 vs. the Ospreys under head coach Kevin O’Sullivan, featuring a 16-4 mark at home.
• Florida has won 16 of the last 17 meetings in the series vs. UNF including an active eight-game winning streak.

What’s next for the Gators

Florida hosts Columbia of the Ivy League this weekend from Feb. 23-25. Friday’s series premiere is set for 6:30 p.m. while Saturday is on the books for 6 p.m. and Sunday is scheduled for 11 a.m. All three matchups stream on SEC Network+.