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2023 Baseball & Softball Thread

CWS Finals Preview: UF vs LSU​

Gators 53-15 (20-10 SEC) vs Bayou Bengals 52-16 (19-10 SEC)

PROBABLE STARTERS

Saturday: Brandon Sproat (8-3, 4.66 ERA vs. Ty Floyd (7-0, 4.45 ERA)

Sunday: Hurston Waldrep vs. TBD

Monday: Jac Caglianone vs. TBD

Every appearance and pitch count by LSU’s pitching staff this College World Series - courtesy of Gator Country

RHP Paul Skeens: June 17 (123), June 22 (120)

RHP Ty Floyd: June 19 (97)

LHP Nate Ackenhausen: June 20 (93)

LHP Griffin Herring: June 21 (80)

RHP Thatcher Hurd: June 19 (65), June 22 (47)

LHP Riley Cooper: June 17 (22), June 20 (40), June 21 (20)

LHP Javen Coleman: June 21 (40)

RHP Gavin Guidry: June 17 (1), June 21 (20),

RHP Blake Money: June 21 (6)

Due to eight strong innings from Skeens on Thursday night, RHP Thatcher Hurd was the only other pitcher to make an appearance for LSU in the 11-inning battle, tossing 47 pitches in the contest.

With Friday off, the majority of the Tigers’ bullpen has had two full days of rest, meaning LSU enters the series relatively healthy.

https://www.gatorcountry.com/florid...ollege-world-series-finals-preview-uf-vs-lsu/
 

Florida’s early action in the college baseball transfer portal​

RHP AUSTIN KELLY / UCLA -- Maybe -- Kelly is draft eligible, so there is a chance that the right hander decides to turn pro instead of enrolling at Florida.

CATCHER TANNER GARRISON / COASTAL CAROLINA - Home of BT Riopelle

INFIELDER COLBY SHELTON / ALABAMA
The true freshman hit .300 while blasting 25 home runs in 2023, setting the freshman home run record at Alabama.

Across 59 starts, Shelton recorded 61 hits, 51 RBIs, 10 doubles, and 33 walks while working to an OBP of .419 and a slugging percentage of .729.

Shelton played third base for the Crimson Tide despite being recruited as a shortstop. It’s unclear where the Gators will fit him in, but Shelton will start on the Gators’ infield in 2024.

On paper, Florida baseball has the following infield for next season:
  • Jac Caglianone (.325 BA, 31 HRs)
  • Cade Kurland (.290 BA, 16 HRs)
  • Colby Shelton (.300 BA, 25 HRs Bama Xfer)
  • Colby Halter (.253, 3 HRs, but a human vacuum with a glove in his hand)
Combined with Tyler Shelton and Luke Heyman also being able to play in the infield as needed, the 2024 edition of the Florida Gators will be just fine on the diamond.

Let’s just hope they get to raise a banner as 2023 National Champions.


https://www.gatorcountry.com/florid...tion-in-the-college-baseball-transfer-portal/
 
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Our 1-3 guys need to get the bats going against LSU.

Gators CWS Totals by Batting Average (3 games)
Player AB Hits Batting Avg.
Evans 8 3 0.375
Heyman 11 4 0.364
Rivera 12 4 0.333
Halter 9 3 0.333
Shelnut 11 3 0.273
Riopelle 9 2 0.222
Langford 11 2 0.182
Kurland 15 2 0.133
Caglianone 12 1 0.083
Thomas 2 0 0.000
Schiekofer 2 0 0.000
Team 102 24 0.235
 
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ocalaman said:
Our 1-3 guys need to get the bats going against LSU.

Gators CWS Totals by Batting Average (3 games)
Player AB Hits Batting Avg.
Evans 8 3 0.375
Heyman 11 4 0.364
Rivera 12 4 0.333
Halter 9 3 0.333
Shelnut 11 3 0.273
Riopelle 9 2 0.222
Langford 11 2 0.182
Kurland 15 2 0.133
Caglianone 12 1 0.083
Thomas 2 0 0.000
Schiekofer 2 0 0.000
Team 102 24 0.235
Click to expand...
When they were rolling they were getting pitches to hit and hitting them hard. Get in a count, get a fastball, hit it hard.

Cags swings at 99 percent of first pitches. Book must be out on him big time. See some pitches and drive one. Don’t worry about hitting the ball out. Hit it hard and that will take care of itself.

Kurland same thing. He swings at everything. Those two guys are the difference. Langford’s sputtering, but he’s hit some balls hard.
 
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bradleygator said:
When they were rolling they were getting pitches to hit and hitting them hard. Get in a count, get a fastball, hit it hard.

Cags swings at 99 percent of first pitches. Book must be out on him big time. See some pitches and drive one. Don’t worry about hitting the ball out. Hit it hard and that will take care of itself.
Click to expand...
Sounds like Cags needs a new batting coach; natural ability will only take you so far when you batting against the upper echelon of CBB pitching.
bradleygator said:
Kurland same thing. He swings at everything. Those two guys are the difference. Langford’s sputtering, but he’s hit some balls hard.
Click to expand...
Brad

Too late for this CWS, maybe some help that Kurland a FR &
Cags a Soph & don't think they can't be drafted.
Langford a JR, & could be drafted.

Cags, 1 for 12 = 0.083 AVG - didn't face Skenes or Lowder; Gators didn't play LSU this season.

Cags only CWS pitching appearance a VERY ROUGh 4 1/3 innings. Cags has not distinguished himself against the top flight pitching & hitting in this CWS.

Since Cags & Kurland are NOT draftable this year,
MLB can wait & see how they perform in subsequent years.

All of them could benefit from extra coaching & by playing against the best levels of college baseball competition.
 
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bradleygator said:
LSU makes me very nervous. They all of a sudden are finding pitching everywhere and they obviously will hit.

However you can’t ask for a much better set up than to be sitting there, rested, pitching set up, while LSU has to burn the best starter in the country and half their bullpen on Thursday.

It’s all there for the Gators. Whatever happens, it has been a hell of a season. I’m very proud of this program and hope they get to experience winning a chip for UF!
Click to expand...
I have to say that Sully has done a good job in Omaha for UF.
I’ll be watching tonight!
 
ocalaman said:
floridagators.com

Walton Selects Chelsey Dobbins to Lead Pitching Staff - Florida Gators

Florida softball Head Coach Tim Walton announced Chelsey Dobbins as the program's next pitching coach.
floridagators.com floridagators.com
Click to expand...
Ocala,

Read the article & to an unenlightened (with regard to women's sports) ole guy like me sounds pretty good.

Checked OK State Cowgirl Softball archives for 2006 & 2007 - but no mention of her.
https://okstate.com/sports/softball/archives?season=2006&path=softball

She didn't appear in the listings for 2020 U.S. Olympic softball team or any other references I could find
BUT
hopefully Walton has found a good pitching coach.
 
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"I am humbled by the opportunity to join such a prestigious university and athletic department," Dobbins said. "I am excited about being a part of Gator Nation and the culture of excellence Scott Stricklin has built here at the University of Florida. I would like to thank Coach Walton for the invitation to be a part of his staff and trusting me to lead the pitching staff to new heights. I am thrilled to start on this path to getting Gator Softball to another national championship! Go Gators!"

https://floridagators.com/news/2023/6/24/softball-walton-selects-dobbins-to-lead-pitching-staff.aspx
 

How offspeed pitches have changed the Gator (& MLB's) rotation - Off Speed Kills​

On April 21, Hurston Waldrep was on the wrong end of a two-run home run in the first inning and a three-run shot just one frame later against South Carolina.

Looking back on it, the Florida junior righty couldn’t help but laugh.

“Yeah,” he said, “I learned something that day for sure.”

A more slider-heavy approach that emphasizes the use of offspeed pitches rather than a four-seam fastball that can touch triple digits.

Still chuckling as he attempted to reconcile the impact of the tweak, Waldrep said it might have changed his career.

“Big fastball-splitter guy,” one of his teammates quipped.

“No,” Waldrep retorted. “Big slider-splitter guy.”

High-octane heaters are becoming the rule, not the exception. And batters are figuring it out.

As the average fastball velocity at the Major League level has climbed, the usage of the pitch has trended the opposite direction.

The 2022 Major League season marked the first since such data was tracked that the percentage of offspeed pitches thrown outweighed the fastballs, a role reversal that had been unfolding over a number of years.

The need to create speed differentials earlier on in counts to keep batters off the heater has simply become too important. Thus, secondary pitches have become primary pitches.

It’s trickled down to the college game, too, especially at its highest level.

“The ability to slow the ball down and manipulate the baseball is more important than ever,” Kopp said. “Look at (LSU starter) Paul Skenes. He throws 100 but he used his changeup more than he ever used it against a good Tennessee lineup. He said that was part of the game plan that he had to switch to.”

https://247sports.com/college/flori...ators-baseball-pitching-paul-skene-212011999/
 
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Jeff from Jax said:
Sounds like Cags needs a new batting coach; natural ability will only take you so far when you batting against the upper echelon of CBB pitching.

Brad

Too late for this CWS, maybe some help that Kurland a FR &
Cags a Soph & don't think they can't be drafted.
Langford a JR, & could be drafted.

Cags, 1 for 12 = 0.083 AVG - didn't face Skenes or Lowder; Gators didn't play LSU this season.

Cags only CWS pitching appearance a VERY ROUGh 4 1/3 innings. Cags has not distinguished himself against the top flight pitching & hitting in this CWS.

Since Cags & Kurland are NOT draftable this year,
MLB can wait & see how they perform in subsequent years.

All of them could benefit from extra coaching & by playing against the best levels of college baseball competition.
Click to expand...
I would almost tell them to take the first pitch. Sully must not believe in that, because I would have had these guys taking two weeks ago. I understand sometimes you’re passing up a get it over fastball, but Cags and Kurland start out 0-1 every at bat.
 
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Jeff from Jax said:
Sully may have to make a move to keep Gators with a chance.
Click to expand...

Yeah, lsu has got our pitching down.....as if it were already the 7th inning. It also looks like a game where uf is gonna struggle getting base runners out there in scoring position and needing to rely on homeruns.
 
Probably a wrong time to be impressed with LSU, but they really are a fine-tuned team that will make you pay for any opportunity you give them. Very methodical....very surgical in the small ball....reminds me of the 2017 uf team


As Jeff said, so much danger....and really UF is not doing itself any favors.
 
Would be nice if we could have an inning of not being scored on OR have an inning that the game is one pitch away from being potentially put away.


Or we dont start the bottom of the inning with an out right away.
 
Jeff from Jax said:
A pitiful games by the Gators.

Too busy trying to hit HRs to use their brains & put the ball in play.

A tremendous pitching game by Ty Floyd.
Click to expand...
Regardless. A line drive hit just 3 inches higher into left center field would have ended up another walk off win. This game was just piss poor luck of the draw. Every game in the CWS has been one of inches. Cags has been off his game the entire series. It is what it is.
 
Their pitchers were way more efficient than ours and their batters were way more disciplined at the plate than ours. We got key outs over and over and over to get out of jams, but just couldn't deliver the big hit when we had opportunities to win the game. 2 bad pitches to White & Beloso did us in. Our hitting has just been horrible of late, but give them credit for keeping the pressure on us until we finally broke. Just have to regroup and come back tomorrow. LSU hasn't won it yet. Florida has won 2 straight many times this year.
 
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g8rpaul1 said:
Corn dogs will win it all, sucks but it's a fact
Click to expand...

Well it's not over till it's over....but Ive come to accept that potential outcome. Truth be told, its amazing UF even made the cws to begin with considering the team might be the worst small ball team weve had in the last 6 years.
 
Cags has been embarrassing this whole mcws he’s 6’5 and would have to be 7ft to even foul tip that last pitch he swung at
 
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