Florida Gators won't have Brandon Neely this weekend vs South Carolina
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The No. 3 Florida Gators have a top-10 matchup this week but they won’t have their closer available. Brandon Neely was ejected from Sunday’s win over Georgia, which brings a four-game suspension, per NCAA rules.
The rule comes from the NCAA 2-26 Ejection and Post-Participation Ejection which reads:
e. Whenever a pitcher is ejected for disputing an umpire’s decision or for unsportsmanlike conduct or language directed at an opponent or umpire (including a post-participation ejection), the suspension will be for a total of four (4) games. This applies whether the ejection occurs while the player is serving as the current game pitcher or after having been removed from the game and his last listed position was that of a pitcher. If a player is removed as pitcher but remains in the game in another capacity such as a designated hitter or at a defensive position and is then ejected, the suspension penalty is one additional game.
“He’s got a suspension so that’s what it is,” Kevin O’Sullivan said after Tuesday’s win over FAMU.
Neely’s four-game suspension began on Tuesday night against FAMU. Neely is not allowed to be in the dugout while serving the suspension and won’t be on the bus when the Gators leave Gainesville at 10 am on Wednesday morning.
Neely’s ejection on Sunday
Neely entered Friday’s game against Georgia with a comfortable lead but the sophomore couldn’t get out of the inning. He allowed seven runs, five earned, as the Bulldogs came back to upset the Gators and take the series opener.
Sunday Neely was back on the mound, called on in a huge spot. He entered the game with the bases loaded and two outs. Nelly struck out Parks Harber, turned toward the Georgia dugout, and shouted “C’mon” several times. Home plate umpire Brian DeBrauwere had already warned Jac Caglianone and Florida when Caglianone stared at a batter after an inning-ending strikeout.
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Whether or not Caglianone and the Gators deserved a warning there is questionable, at best. What it did is paint DeBrauwere into a corner where he then felt the need to eject Neely.
It will have an effect far bigger than having to figure out who would pitch the ninth inning on Sunday. Neely leads the SEC with seven saves on the season. South Carolina leads the nation in home runs with 86. The Gamecocks are hitting .289 and slugging .565 on the season.
“The bottom line is it gives somebody else an opportunity to finish up games until we get Brandon back,” O’Sullivan said. “It’s just another challenge.”