Have Mercy: Gators run-rule Canes to take the series

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — On the heels of a 14-6 Saturday night loss, the Florida Gators came out firing on all cylinders in the series finale against Miami. Florida (10-3) used a walk and four RBI singles to open up a 4-0 lead in the first, one they wouldn’t relinquish on the way to a 14-4

Florida’s first inning got off to a slow start. Wyatt Langford wore a fastball on the shoulder with one out. Jac Caglianone’s turned a fastball around at 115 MPH but Condron Ballpark held in the screaming liner that Edgardo Villegas tracked down. With two outs the bats came alive. Josh Rivera worked a walk, his fourth of the weekend, before consecutive singles from BT Riopelle, Ty Evans, Michael Robertson, and Deric Fabian blew the game open.

On the other side, Jac Caglianone retired the first six batters he faced and held Miami hitless through three.

“I think it was important for us to get off to a good start, obviously. The first inning, offensively was really good. We had some really good at bats against a really good arm in [Alejandro] Rosario, especially with two outs,” Kevin O’Sullivan said. “It may not seem like a lot, but Jac [Caglianone] went 3-0 on the leadoff hitter and came back and threw three-straight strikes and got a ground ball to second. He pitched great, offensively we were really good. It was just a really clean game, both teams didn’t make an error defensively. Obviously, Jac pitched really good tonight. We got three quality starts this weekend. That’s all we can ask for.”

The Gators used a grand slam from Riopelle to double its lead to 8-0 in the second inning.

Miami broke through in the fourth with a Zach Levenson sacrifice fly to right-center field. Caglianone worked through the remainder of the frame with no damage, raising his strikeout total to six. He would finish the game with eight strikeouts and just one earned run over six innings.

Florida turned to closer Brandon Neely, who had been battling with flu-like symptoms. Neely was sharp in his first inning but ran out of gas in his second frame, allowing three earned runs.

Florida launched three more home runs in the ninth inning with Ty Evans’ two-run blast ending the game due to a 10-run mercy rule that was established prior to the weekend.

🥱🥱🥱#GoGators // 💪 @TyboEvans pic.twitter.com/d2e3dTLXKD

— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) March 5, 2023

Notes

• Florida welcomed a crowd of 6,896 fans on Sunday, bringing the series total to 22,830 – a new program series record.
• Sunday’s 14-4 win vs. No. 22 Miami marked Florida’s largest victory over the Hurricanes in over 25 years – since Feb. 14, 1998 (19-5).
• The Gators have now won eight of the last nine regular-season series against the Canes.
• Florida’s four-run first tied a season-high for the first inning (four vs. Cincinnati, Feb. 25)
  • The Gators picked up two-out RBI singles in four consecutive at bats in the first.
• Through three starts apiece, all three of Florida’s weekend starters (Brandon Sproat, Hurston Waldrep, Caglianone) have struck out at least 23 batters.
• Florida has struck out 157 batters in 111 innings – translating to 12.7 per nine innings.
• Kurland extended his team-leading hitting streak to 11 games.
  • Kurland tied his career high with three hits.
• Making his third-career start and second, as both a hitter and pitcher, Caglianone allowed just one run on four hits and one walk across six innings to earn the win.
• Florida’s run differential of plus-75 is the team’s best through 13 games since the 2003 season.
  • The Gators have scored in 63 of 106 batted innings this season (60.2%).
• For the 11th time in 13 games this year, the Gators recorded double-digit hits.
• The Gators have 164 hits through 13 games (12.6 hits/game).
• The Gators improve to 132-134-1 all-time vs. Miami including 79-50-1 at home.
  • Florida is 39-17 in the series under Head Coach Kevin O’Sullivan featuring a 21-9 mark in home games.
  • UF has won 20 of the last 27 meetings.