Florida Baseball: What was the turning point for the Gators?

OMAHA, Neb. — It was a matchup of top-10 teams with the Florida baseball team taking its new No. 3 ranking into Columbia to face the No. 6 South Carolina Gamecocks.

The Gators were 31-7 and 11-3 in the SEC. They had won nine-consecutive weekend series and 13-in a row dating back to the 2022 season. The Gators were hot and wanted to keep that rolling into this test. South Carolina came into the weekend with a 21-1 record at home. The Gamecocks have an incredible home-field advantage at Founders Park.

Complicating things for the Gators was not having closer Brandon Neely. The stopper was thrown out of a game the Sunday before the series, meaning he had to serve a suspension and wouldn’t be with the team.

The Gators went into Columbia with confidence but were swept right out of the stadium.

What went wrong?

The Gators were served a reality check.

Florida hit just .198 (18-91) on the weekend. When they were able to get runners on, they weren’t able to capitalize and get the big hit. The Gators hit just .167 (7-42) with runners on base and .143 (2-14) with runners in scoring position.

The foursome of Wyatt Langford, Jac Caglianone, Josh Rivera, and BT Riopelle went 6-42 (.143) on the weekend. It was a down week at the plate overall but a learning experience for a team that has relied heavily on home runs and extra-base hits.

On the mound, Florida’s starting pitching staff posted a 7.98 ERA. Florida, admittedly, didn’t react well to not having Neely. The bullpen hadn’t established roles yet outside of him and when Brandon Sproat and Hurston Waldrep faltered, they didn’t have answers in the bullpen. Florida was out of sorts.

Growing after Columbia

Since that weekend, Florida has settled in on clearly defined roles in the bullpen. Neely is their closer. Lefties Philip Abner and Cade Fisher have proven they can and will compete. They aren’t left-handed specialists who will only be called on to get a batter or two out. Fisher threw seven innings of one-run baseball in a win-or-go-home regional matchup against Texas Tech. Abner hasn’t allowed a run to cross the plate since May 20 and just two since May 2.

Ryan Slater round out the four horsemen in the bullpen. The draft-eligible right-hander has been nails this offseason. After wearing the loss at the end of the 2022 season, he helped pitch Florida to the College World Series. Slater has allowed just three earned runs over 10.2 innings in the postseason.

Florida has been one of the best teams all season long. Even the best teams in the country need a wake-up call every now and then. It didn’t seem like it at the time, but that weekend in Columbia went a long way in helping the Gators get to Omaha as one of the last eight teams still playing.

Florida baseball vs South Carolina game recaps

Game 1

No. 3 Florida dropped the opening matchup of a three-game set to No. 6 South Carolina by a 13-3 tally in seven innings at Founders Park on Thursday night. 

The Gators and Gamecocks traded runs in the first inning. Florida loaded up the bases on a Josh Rivera single sandwiched between walks to Wyatt Langford and BT Riopelle. Luke Heyman put Florida on the board with a sacrifice fly. Ethan Petry evened the score in the bottom half with a solo home run to left-center field. 

Using a sacrifice fly to center by Evan Stone, Cole Messina crossed home as the Gamecocks took a 3-2 advantage in the fourth. Brandon Sproat rebounded in the fifth, striking out the side in order on 13 pitches. 

The Gamecocks tacked on five more runs in the seventh to end the game at 13-3 via the run rule. Braswell and Messina provided RBI doubles, with the latter’s bringing home a pair of Gamecocks to cement the game one loss for the Orange & Blue. 

Sproat (5-2) was handed the loss after forfeiting four earned runs on four hits and three walks across 5 2/3 frames. The righty struck out eight batters. 

South Carolina starter Will Sanders (4-1) earned the victory, tossing six innings with three runs (two earned) allowed on three hits and three walks. He struck out 10.

Game 2

Florida fell to No. 6 South Carolina, 5-2.

Jac Caglianone put the Gators (31-9, 11-6 SEC) on top in the first, launching a mammoth home run to right field on the first pitch he saw to open a 1-0 lead. The big fly marked Caglianone’s nation-leading 23rd blast of the campaign.

Similarly to game one, the Gamecocks (33-6, 12-4 SEC) had an answer in the bottom of the frame. After a Braylen Wimmer walk, Cole Messina popped a two-run shot to left field to give South Carolina a 2-1 edge.

Waldrep kept rolling into the bottom of the fifth, setting down Carolina in order to reach 10-straight batters retired. The right-hander ran into some trouble in the sixth, but stranded a pair by striking out three-straight Gamecocks to raise his total to 10 on the night.

Clete Hartzog relieved Waldrep in the seventh and worked a scoreless inning to hold the score. Blake Purnell took over in the eighth and stranded the bases loaded to send the matchup into the ninth, but the Gators stranded a lone baserunner in the final frame as the game ended in a 5-2 tally. Waldrep (6-2) dropped his second decision of the campaign after allowing five earned runs across six frames. He was charged with six hits and three walks while striking out 10.

Gamecocks starter Jack Mahoney (4-1) earned the win after going five innings with two earned runs allowed on five hits and three walks. He fanned three.

Game 3

Florida battled for nine innings but ultimately dropped game three to No. 6 South Carolina 7-5 at Founders Park on Saturday afternoon.

The Gamecocks (34-6, 13-4 SEC) jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first on a two-run homer to left field by Braylen Wimmer. Cade Kurland quickly got one back for the Gators (31-10, 11-7 SEC), blasting a long home run to right-center field to cut the deficit to one run.

South Carolina regained a two-run lead in the second. Wimmer produced an RBI groundout to shortstop to bring home Will Tippett. Ethan Petry later added a two-run double in the fourth to make it 5-1.