Summer Ball Roundup: How did the Florida Gators do over summer break?

The fall semester will officially start at the University of Florida on August 24. With that date looming, the Florida Gators baseball players will be wrapping up their summer seasons and returning to Gainesville.
 
This past offseason, Gators competed as part of the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, Cape Cod League (CCBL), Coastal Plains League, Valley League (VBL), and Florida Collegiate Summer League (FCSL).

How the Gators fared this Summer

USA Collegiate National Team

OF Wyatt Langford

Prior to joining Team USA, Langford opened his summer in the Coastal Plains League where he led the Pilots in batting average, slugging, and on-base plus slugging. In his nine games with the team, Langford slashed .394/.474/.697 with two homers, three triples, two doubles, seven runs, five RBI, and three stolen bases.
 
Shifting gears to Langford’s involvement with the Collegiate Nation Team, the First Team All-American hit .333/.381/.407 with one double, four runs, three RBI, and two steals in 21 at bats spread across seven starts at Honkbalweek Haarlem in the Netherlands as Team USA claimed a bronze medal.

RHP Hurston Waldrep
Florida’s incoming transfer right-hander repped the Stars & Stripes alongside Langford and saw action on the hill in parts of two games. Waldrep made his first appearance during the intrasquad series that took place during training camp, firing three shutout frames with one hit allowed and three strikeouts. His second outing came during Honkbalweek Haarlem against Curacao, where he allowed three runs over 2 1/3 innings on four hits, one walk and two strikeouts.

Cape Cod League

LHP Phillip Abner – Falmouth Commodores

Concluding the offseason with a 3-0 record across eight appearances (four starts), Abner pitched to the third-lowest ERA in the entire CCBL at 1.92. That pristine mark came over the course of 28 innings, during which the Gators southpaw punched out 20 batters and surrendered just 22 hits.

OF Ty Evans –  Wareham Gatemen

Playing in seven games for Wareham, Evans batted a respectable .273 while slugging .409. The rising sophomore outfielder tallied one homer, four runs, four RBI and one stolen base.

INF Deric Fabian – Wareham Gatemen

Fabian racked up 90 at-bats over the course of 31 games with Wareham, batting .211/.267/.294 with one home run, two doubles, 11 runs, seven RBI, and five stolen bases. The Ocala, Fla. native found his swing at the tail-end of the summer, putting together a seven-game hitting streak and hitting .323 in the final nine games of the season.

INF Colby Halter – Falmouth Commodores

Halter experienced arguably the best offensive summer of any of the Gators, tying for the top mark in the CCBL with seven home runs while slashing .307/.407/.507 with 19 RBI across 140 at bats. The UF infielder also ranked sixth in batting average, seventh in hits (43) tied for eighth in runs (22) and ninth in stolen bases (12). That output earned Halter CCBL All-Star honors, as the Jacksonville, Fla. native barely missed out on being named the league’s MVP.

RHP Blake Purnell – Harwich Mariners

Purnell totaled 12 1/3 frames over nine relief appearances for Harwich, turning in a 4.37 ERA and 12 strikeouts. The 2022 Freshman All-American produced scoreless outings in six of his nine appearances and surrendered multiple runs on just one occasion. In his final outing of the summer on July 20, Purnell struck out the side for a clean frame against Falmouth.

OF Michael Robertson – Wareham Gatemen

After missing all of 2022, Robertson returned to health this summer and appeared in nine games for Wareham while suiting up with fellow Gators Evans and Fabian. Robertson notched one double and two stolen bases during his time on The Cape.

RHP Ryan Slater – Falmouth Commodores

Slater enjoyed an excellent summer in Cape Cod, finishing with a 1-0 record, 2.34 ERA and 16 strikeouts across 15 1/3 innings. He allowed just three walks in eight relief appearances while never allowing more than one run in any of his outings.

Valley League

RHP Anthony Ursitti – Strasburg Express

Having thrown the second-most innings this summer of any Gator, Ursitti pitched to a 5.48 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 23.0 frames. All six of his appearances came as a starting pitcher, with his most-notable outing coming in the form of 3 2/3 shutout innings with five strikeouts against Woodstock on July 14.

LHP Carsten Finnvold – Strasburg Express

Florida’s late-season hero made two starts on the hill for Strasburg, allowing 13 runs on 13 hits and four walks while fanning seven batters across 9 1/3 frames.

RHP Fisher Jameson – Charlottesville Tom Sox

Pitching in six games (five starts) during the regular season, Jameson posted a 1-1 record with a 5.75 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 20 1/3 innings. The soon-to-be sophomore right-hander also played a role in Charlottesville’s 2022 Valley League Championship, as he made one postseason start and received a no-decision after allowing two runs with three strikeouts in four innings of work.

OF Matt Prevesk – Charlottesville Tom Sox

As another vital component in Charlottesville’s 2022 VBL Championship, Prevesk collected two hits including one home run and four RBI across nine postseason at bats. Prevesk appeared in 25 total games for the Tom Sox, registering a .313 batting average with two homers, six doubles, 22 RBI, 12 runs and three stolen bases over 87 at bats. That included a .322/.372/.325 slash line during the regular season.

INF Tyler Shelnut (Sante Fe transfer) – Charlottesville Tom Sox

Prior to joining the Gators as a transfer from Sante Fe Community College, Shelnut had the opportunity to lace up the spikes for five games alongside two of his new college teammates in Jameson and Prevesk. Although his summer was limited to just 15 at bats, Shelnut picked up two hits, three runs, two RBI and five walks.

Florida Collegiate Summer League

INF Dale Thomas – Winter Park Diamond Dawgs

Transferring to the Gators from Coastal Carolina, Thomas carries a hot bat into Gainesville after hitting .333/.447/.560 across 84 regular season at bats with Winker Park. Thomas popped three homers and 10 doubles in that span, earning him an FCSL All-Star nod as well as inclusion in the Southeast Collegiate Prospect Showcase. Thomas stayed locked in across five postseason games as well, hitting .643 with three home runs to earn FCSL Championship Game MVP honors as the Diamond Dawgs claimed the league title.