Florida Gators' season on the brink after loss to Oklahoma State
Sometimes in baseball, you run into a buzzsaw. Saturday night the Florida Gators ran into a 5-10, 190-pound buzzsaw in the form of pitcher Brian Holiday. The Tampa native was brilliant, throwing a complete game, two-hitter allowing just one run in a 7-1 win for the Oklahoma State Cowboys, sending Florida to the loser’s bracket and a rematch with the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Oklahoma State jumped on Florida’s Jac Caglianone early with back-to-back home runs in the first and second innings to open a 4-0 lead. It was more than Holliday would need, the junior right hander allowed just one hit and four base runners through eight innings. It wasn’t until a ninth-inning home run by Caglianone — which set a new SEC record — that Holliday would look mortal. He finished the game with 10 strikeouts on 131 pitches.
Player of the Game
Sometimes you just have to tip your cap.
Brian Holliday:
Notes
- Saturday night’s official attendance was 5,593.
- Caglianone struck out nine batters across five innings – tied for his second-highest total of the season (March 10 vs. St. Mary’s).
- In two-career Regional starts, Caglianone has allowed four runs in 11 innings, allowing 11 hits and five walks.
- He has fanned 16 total batters in those two Regional starts (vs. Florida A&M, vs. Oklahoma State).
- Caglianone extended his on-base streak to 43-straight contests with a ninth-inning homer – his 30th of the season.
- Caglianone has hit safely in 54 of 57 games while reaching safely in all but one contest.
- Caglianone is the first player in SEC history with multiple 30-homer seasons, doing so in back-to-back campaigns in 2023 and 2024.
- Robert Satin made his first appearance on the mound since March 26 vs. Florida State.
- Florida’s scoring streak of 136-consecutive games is the third-longest in program history (May 27, 2022-present).
- The Gators are 130-86 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
- UF wields an 87-52 record across 39 NCAA Regional appearances.
- Florida is now 2-5 all-time vs. Oklahoma State (1-3 away).
- The Gators are 0-1 against the Cowboys under head coach Kevin O’Sullivan.
What’s next for the Florida Gators
Florida will face Nebraska at 2:00 pm ET on Sunday afternoon with their season on the line. The winner of the game will advance to play Oklahoma State on Sunday night and would need to beat the Cowboys twice to advance out of the Stillwater Regional.
