Friday Night News & Notes: May 12, 2023
No. 7 Florida Dismantles No. 5 Vanderbilt. Brandon Sproat fired six shutout innings while Deric Fabian homered and drove in four.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 7 Florida run-ruled No. 5 Vanderbilt in seven innings with a 10-0 victory backed by 13 hits to take game one in front of 6,970 fans at Condron Family Ballpark on Friday night.
Making his first SEC start of the season, Deric Fabian paced the Gators offense in the premiere. Fabian drove in a career-high four runs, finishing 2-for-3 with one home run. Tyler Shelnut (2-for-4) swatted a pair of doubles and scored two runs while Cade Kurland (3-for-3) reached base in all five plate appearances for the first time in his career.
Starter Brandon Sproat blanked the Commodores (35-14, 17-8 SEC) through the first two frames, opening the door for the Gators (38-12, 16-9 SEC) to edge in front in the bottom of the second. After a leadoff double to right-center by Shelnut, Fabian uncorked a two-run homer to left-center field. Wyatt Langford then doubled home Kurland to open a 3-0 Gator lead.
Fabian struck again in the third to extend Florida's advantage to 5-0. Luke Heyman and Shelnut reached via a single and double, with Fabian driving both runners home on a clutch, two-out single to left-center.
The Gators scored for the third-straight inning in the fourth, beginning with a sacrifice fly to right field by Jac Caglianone – his 70th RBI of the campaign. BT Riopelle followed with a two-run homer to left field to extend the score to 8-0.
Sproat shut down the Dores through the sixth, finishing with six scoreless innings and five strikeouts. Freshman Cade Fisher took over for Sproat in the seventh and stranded a pair to hold the score.
In the bottom of the seventh, Florida loaded up the bases for Caglianone on a trio of walks. On the first pitch of the at bat, Caglianone smacked a single down the left-field line to plate Kurland and Michael Robertson effectively ending the game at 10-0 via the run rule.
Sproat (7-2) earned the victory thanks to six shutout innings with five hits allowed and three walks. The right-hander struck out five.
Vanderbilt starting pitcher Patrick Reilly (3-2) was saddled with the loss after forfeiting eight earned runs across four innings. He allowed 10 hits and three walks while fanning five.
NOTABLES
* The Gators posted their largest victory over Vanderbilt since April 15, 2017 (20-8).
* The win marked the largest margin of victory in the series by either team since Vanderbilt's 15-2 win on March 22, 2019.
* Florida won its 10th game via the run rule this season.
* The Gators surpassed their SEC win total from last season (15), improving to 16-9 in conference play.
* Making his first SEC start of the season, Fabian homered to left-center in his first at bat.
* Fabian finished with a career-high four RBI en route to a 2-for-3 night.
* Caglianone drove in his 70th run of the season with a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning, becoming the first Gator to drive in 70 runs in a season since JJ Schwarz in 2015.
* Sproat improved to 12-2 across his last 19 starts dating back to last season.
* Florida is 16-3 in those 19 starts.
* Florida has struck out 514 batters in 424 innings – translating to 10.9 per nine innings.
* The Gators have 508 hits through 50 games (10.2 hits/game).
* The Gators have scored in 47.0% of batted innings (188 of 400).
* Florida is now 144-78-1 all-time vs. Vanderbilt including 82-24 at home.
* The Gators are 31-20 in the series under Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan featuring a 17-5 mark in Gainesville.
FROM HEAD COACH KEVIN O'SULLIVAN
On the pitching in game one…
"I think Brandon kept his emotions in check. Obviously, it was a big strikeout there to end the first. But he's been really good. He's been really good the second half of the year. I know there's been a few starts where he probably wishes he could do over, but all in all, he's set the tone for us for the most part of the season, and had a really good night tonight. And Cade (Fisher) coming in, did a nice job there in the seventh. It was important to hopefully score those two runs in the seventh, because now he only threw 19 pitches. We want to be careful so we use our bullpen in a way so that there isn't anyone unavailable tomorrow."
On Fabian's performance…
"I'm not going to say I called it, but I did. I talked to Chuck (Jeroloman) last night and the thing about Deric is, obviously he's been disappointed he probably hadn't played as much as he'd like to, and he played a lot more last year. But the one thing he has not done, he has not put his head down. He's always been a good teammate. And I can't tell you how many extra reps he's done before and after practice to put himself in that position to have a game like this. And I just felt like, there was a feeling that something good was going to happen for him tonight. Luckily for us, it did."
On the value of production off the bench…
"I think we've talked about it the entire year, the depth of our lineup. Knock on wood, we've been really healthy up until Josh slid into second last Sunday. Shelnut, he had the big double there. Obviously, Deric followed up with the home run and then had the two-out RBI to pick us up there, too. I think in order to win at the highest level, you got to be good in all three-phases: offensively, pitching-wise and the pen, which I think we've figured out, and you got to play good defense. Tonight was probably one of the most complete games we've played all year long."
UP NEXT
Florida and Vanderbilt meet again in game two on Saturday with coverage on SEC Network+ at 6:30 p.m. Right-hander Hurston Waldrep (6-3, 5.07 ERA) gets the nod for the Orange & Blue while southpaw Devin Futrell (6-2, 2.42 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Dores.
NCAA First Round Press Conference
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Junior attacker Danielle Pavinelli scored three of her game-high five goals in the fourth quarter and led sixth-ranked and sixth-seeded Florida to a 13-7 victory over Jacksonville in Friday's opening-round play of the NCAA Tournament at Dizney Stadium.
Pavinelli, the junior from Northport, N.Y., helped the host Gators break open a close game and in doing so became the 11th player in UF history to reach 200 points for her career and first since Brianna Harris and Shannon Kavanagh got there in 2021. Pavinelli, now with 201 career points, finished the afternoon with those five goals (on seven shots), plus an assist, but it was the overall goal of the day - advancing in the tournament - that mattered most for the Gators and Coach Amanda O'Leary
"This team is so experienced," said O'Leary. "They know what it takes to win. They have the fight, the grit and this is how they've played all season. Regy [Thorpe] and Nicole [Levy] did a great job of putting together two defensive game plans - Regy on the defensive end and Nicole on the offensive end. When you surround yourself with the best coaches and the best players, it's a pretty special group. It was fun to be out there today."
With the win, Florida (17-3) will take on either Notre Dame (13-5) or Mercer (17-2), who were scheduled to meet in Friday's nightcap, in Sunday's round of 16, with the winner of that match moving on to the NCAA quarterfinals. UF improved to 5-0 all-time in NCAA games that precede the Sweet 16.
Sophomore attacker Emily LoPinto had a pair of goals and three assists, while junior attacker Maggie Hall was good for a goal and three assists, with Hall's goal the 96th of her career and pushing her closer to the program's 100-goal club.
Fourth-year junior keeper Sarah Reznick meanwhile, was terrific in goal. She faced 35 shots from the Dolphins (12-8) and finished with a program single-game record 17 saves for a .708 save percentage.
The Gators appeared to take control in the final eight minutes of the second period by scoring all four goals before the half to take a 7-2 advantage into the locker room. UF's lead was 3-2 when it seized on a JU turnover near midfield and used the miscue to convert a breakaway. Pavinelli controlled the loose ball, threw ahead to Emily Heller who in turn dished to LoPinto, who beat Dolphins' keeper Addy Tysdal for the score and 4-2 advantage.
Just 92 seconds later a foul on JU defender Kaila Stasulli set up a free position attempt that Hall converted for her 43rd goal of 2023. At the 4:30 mark, LoPinto stripped defender Maddie Sturgell behind the Jacksonville goal, then circled the cage and threw past Tysdal for her second goal in three minutes and a 6-2 Florida lead. Junior Madison Waters's free-position score with 2:57 to go gave the Gators their 7-2 cushion at intermission.
Pavinelli's goal 7:29 into the third quarter stretched the Florida advantage to 8-2, but the Dolphins reeled off four consecutive scores - all unassisted, with two from grad attack Sarah Elms - to make things interesting (and make the home crowd a little antsy) at 8-6 with just over a minute to go in the period.
Turned out to be plenty of time for the Gators.
Actually, UF only needed a span of 13 seconds to open a four-goal advantage, with Pavinelli having a hand on a quick pair of goals. She assisted on a score by Hall with 18.9 to go, then, after the Gators controlled the ensuing draw, Emily Diaz took a pass from Pavinelli for a second quick score, this one with just 5.8 seconds left for a 10-6 lead.
Less than six minutes into the fourth period, again it was Pavinelli cutting through the 8-meter area, taking a dish from Gonzalez and beating Tysdal for a five-goal cushion with just over 14 minutes remaining. Pavinelli's third goal of the final quarter doubled up the Dolphins, 12-6, and came with 10:35 left on an assist by Hall. Her fourth was tallied at 8:24, courtesy of a pass from LoPinto.
Records
No. 6 Florida (17-3)
RV Jacksonville (12-8)
Notables
* Sarah Reznick recorded 17 saves in the game, setting a new program record and a new career-high
* With her fifth point of the afternoon, Danielle Pavinelli eclipsed the 200-career point mark
* The Gators improve to 13-11 all-time in the NCAA Tournament
* UF is now 14-1 against Jacksonville, including a 2-0 record during the 2023 campaign
* Florida owns an impressive 126-22 (.851) record in the confines of Donald R. Dizney Stadium
* The Gators are 13-0 this season against teams not ranked in the IWLCA/ILWomen Top-25 poll and move to 148-5 (.967) in against those teams in program history
* Florida extends its win-streak to 12-straight games, dating back to the March 22 win against Mercer
* Hat Trick Counter:
* Danielle Pavinelli: 5
* Maggi Hall is now just four goals away from hitting 100 career
* Streaking: Sarah Reznick has recorded a save in 71-straight games, a new program record
* Streaking: Maggi Hall has dished out an assist in 13-straight games, the third-longest streak in program history
Career-Highs
* Sarah Reznick set a career-high in saves (17)
Daniel Boice Joins Florida Women’s Basketball Coaching Staff. Boice comes to Gainesville following stints at Kentucky and Arizona
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida women’s basketball coach Kelly Rae Finley has announced the addition of Daniel Boice to the staff as the Director of Player Development.
“We are excited to welcome Dan, his wife Ali, and their daughter McKale to Gainesville!” Finley said. “Dan brings a wealth of knowledge to our staff and will lead our efforts with game analytics and player development.”
Boice heads to Gainesville following seven seasons on staff with SEC foe Kentucky. Boice served as the Director of Player Development the past couple seasons, while also being an interim assistant coach during the 2020-21 season.
During his time with the Wildcats, Boice helped Kentucky reach the NCAA tournament four times and won the SEC Tournament during the 2021-22 campaign.
Prior to Kentucky, Boice was the coaching video coordinator at Arizona, where he was an undergraduate student manager for three years before being promoted to video coordinator for two seasons.
Boice played basketball for Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa for one season before transitioning to a student assistant coach. As a student assistant he coordinated summer and team camps as well as recruiting. Boice also implemented player development workouts for the team including five players who were named to NAIA All-Conference teams.
A graduate from the University of Arizona in 2014 with a Bachelor’s degree in literacy, learning and leadership from the College of Education, Boice qualified for the dean’s list on three separate occasions and earning cum laude honors.
“He is a selfless, hard worker who will elevate the Gators with his knowledge and passion as a for the game as a whole.”
New NCAA Coaching Limits
The Division I Council supported an increase of two coaches in men’s and women’s basketball this past January. These additional coaches may engage in coaching activities but may not recruit off campus. The rules change codified a waiver in those sports that allowed noncoaching staff members to engage in skill instruction.
(Special to 1st & Ten Florida by Florida Athletics)
No. 7 Florida Dismantles No. 5 Vanderbilt. Brandon Sproat fired six shutout innings while Deric Fabian homered and drove in four.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 7 Florida run-ruled No. 5 Vanderbilt in seven innings with a 10-0 victory backed by 13 hits to take game one in front of 6,970 fans at Condron Family Ballpark on Friday night.
Making his first SEC start of the season, Deric Fabian paced the Gators offense in the premiere. Fabian drove in a career-high four runs, finishing 2-for-3 with one home run. Tyler Shelnut (2-for-4) swatted a pair of doubles and scored two runs while Cade Kurland (3-for-3) reached base in all five plate appearances for the first time in his career.
Starter Brandon Sproat blanked the Commodores (35-14, 17-8 SEC) through the first two frames, opening the door for the Gators (38-12, 16-9 SEC) to edge in front in the bottom of the second. After a leadoff double to right-center by Shelnut, Fabian uncorked a two-run homer to left-center field. Wyatt Langford then doubled home Kurland to open a 3-0 Gator lead.
Fabian struck again in the third to extend Florida's advantage to 5-0. Luke Heyman and Shelnut reached via a single and double, with Fabian driving both runners home on a clutch, two-out single to left-center.
The Gators scored for the third-straight inning in the fourth, beginning with a sacrifice fly to right field by Jac Caglianone – his 70th RBI of the campaign. BT Riopelle followed with a two-run homer to left field to extend the score to 8-0.
Sproat shut down the Dores through the sixth, finishing with six scoreless innings and five strikeouts. Freshman Cade Fisher took over for Sproat in the seventh and stranded a pair to hold the score.
In the bottom of the seventh, Florida loaded up the bases for Caglianone on a trio of walks. On the first pitch of the at bat, Caglianone smacked a single down the left-field line to plate Kurland and Michael Robertson effectively ending the game at 10-0 via the run rule.
Sproat (7-2) earned the victory thanks to six shutout innings with five hits allowed and three walks. The right-hander struck out five.
Vanderbilt starting pitcher Patrick Reilly (3-2) was saddled with the loss after forfeiting eight earned runs across four innings. He allowed 10 hits and three walks while fanning five.
NOTABLES
* The Gators posted their largest victory over Vanderbilt since April 15, 2017 (20-8).
* The win marked the largest margin of victory in the series by either team since Vanderbilt's 15-2 win on March 22, 2019.
* Florida won its 10th game via the run rule this season.
* The Gators surpassed their SEC win total from last season (15), improving to 16-9 in conference play.
* Making his first SEC start of the season, Fabian homered to left-center in his first at bat.
* Fabian finished with a career-high four RBI en route to a 2-for-3 night.
* Caglianone drove in his 70th run of the season with a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning, becoming the first Gator to drive in 70 runs in a season since JJ Schwarz in 2015.
* Sproat improved to 12-2 across his last 19 starts dating back to last season.
* Florida is 16-3 in those 19 starts.
* Florida has struck out 514 batters in 424 innings – translating to 10.9 per nine innings.
* The Gators have 508 hits through 50 games (10.2 hits/game).
* The Gators have scored in 47.0% of batted innings (188 of 400).
* Florida is now 144-78-1 all-time vs. Vanderbilt including 82-24 at home.
* The Gators are 31-20 in the series under Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan featuring a 17-5 mark in Gainesville.
FROM HEAD COACH KEVIN O'SULLIVAN
On the pitching in game one…
"I think Brandon kept his emotions in check. Obviously, it was a big strikeout there to end the first. But he's been really good. He's been really good the second half of the year. I know there's been a few starts where he probably wishes he could do over, but all in all, he's set the tone for us for the most part of the season, and had a really good night tonight. And Cade (Fisher) coming in, did a nice job there in the seventh. It was important to hopefully score those two runs in the seventh, because now he only threw 19 pitches. We want to be careful so we use our bullpen in a way so that there isn't anyone unavailable tomorrow."
On Fabian's performance…
"I'm not going to say I called it, but I did. I talked to Chuck (Jeroloman) last night and the thing about Deric is, obviously he's been disappointed he probably hadn't played as much as he'd like to, and he played a lot more last year. But the one thing he has not done, he has not put his head down. He's always been a good teammate. And I can't tell you how many extra reps he's done before and after practice to put himself in that position to have a game like this. And I just felt like, there was a feeling that something good was going to happen for him tonight. Luckily for us, it did."
On the value of production off the bench…
"I think we've talked about it the entire year, the depth of our lineup. Knock on wood, we've been really healthy up until Josh slid into second last Sunday. Shelnut, he had the big double there. Obviously, Deric followed up with the home run and then had the two-out RBI to pick us up there, too. I think in order to win at the highest level, you got to be good in all three-phases: offensively, pitching-wise and the pen, which I think we've figured out, and you got to play good defense. Tonight was probably one of the most complete games we've played all year long."
UP NEXT
Florida and Vanderbilt meet again in game two on Saturday with coverage on SEC Network+ at 6:30 p.m. Right-hander Hurston Waldrep (6-3, 5.07 ERA) gets the nod for the Orange & Blue while southpaw Devin Futrell (6-2, 2.42 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Dores.
NCAA First Round Press Conference
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Junior attacker Danielle Pavinelli scored three of her game-high five goals in the fourth quarter and led sixth-ranked and sixth-seeded Florida to a 13-7 victory over Jacksonville in Friday's opening-round play of the NCAA Tournament at Dizney Stadium.
Pavinelli, the junior from Northport, N.Y., helped the host Gators break open a close game and in doing so became the 11th player in UF history to reach 200 points for her career and first since Brianna Harris and Shannon Kavanagh got there in 2021. Pavinelli, now with 201 career points, finished the afternoon with those five goals (on seven shots), plus an assist, but it was the overall goal of the day - advancing in the tournament - that mattered most for the Gators and Coach Amanda O'Leary
"This team is so experienced," said O'Leary. "They know what it takes to win. They have the fight, the grit and this is how they've played all season. Regy [Thorpe] and Nicole [Levy] did a great job of putting together two defensive game plans - Regy on the defensive end and Nicole on the offensive end. When you surround yourself with the best coaches and the best players, it's a pretty special group. It was fun to be out there today."
With the win, Florida (17-3) will take on either Notre Dame (13-5) or Mercer (17-2), who were scheduled to meet in Friday's nightcap, in Sunday's round of 16, with the winner of that match moving on to the NCAA quarterfinals. UF improved to 5-0 all-time in NCAA games that precede the Sweet 16.
Sophomore attacker Emily LoPinto had a pair of goals and three assists, while junior attacker Maggie Hall was good for a goal and three assists, with Hall's goal the 96th of her career and pushing her closer to the program's 100-goal club.
Fourth-year junior keeper Sarah Reznick meanwhile, was terrific in goal. She faced 35 shots from the Dolphins (12-8) and finished with a program single-game record 17 saves for a .708 save percentage.
The Gators appeared to take control in the final eight minutes of the second period by scoring all four goals before the half to take a 7-2 advantage into the locker room. UF's lead was 3-2 when it seized on a JU turnover near midfield and used the miscue to convert a breakaway. Pavinelli controlled the loose ball, threw ahead to Emily Heller who in turn dished to LoPinto, who beat Dolphins' keeper Addy Tysdal for the score and 4-2 advantage.
Just 92 seconds later a foul on JU defender Kaila Stasulli set up a free position attempt that Hall converted for her 43rd goal of 2023. At the 4:30 mark, LoPinto stripped defender Maddie Sturgell behind the Jacksonville goal, then circled the cage and threw past Tysdal for her second goal in three minutes and a 6-2 Florida lead. Junior Madison Waters's free-position score with 2:57 to go gave the Gators their 7-2 cushion at intermission.
Pavinelli's goal 7:29 into the third quarter stretched the Florida advantage to 8-2, but the Dolphins reeled off four consecutive scores - all unassisted, with two from grad attack Sarah Elms - to make things interesting (and make the home crowd a little antsy) at 8-6 with just over a minute to go in the period.
Turned out to be plenty of time for the Gators.
Actually, UF only needed a span of 13 seconds to open a four-goal advantage, with Pavinelli having a hand on a quick pair of goals. She assisted on a score by Hall with 18.9 to go, then, after the Gators controlled the ensuing draw, Emily Diaz took a pass from Pavinelli for a second quick score, this one with just 5.8 seconds left for a 10-6 lead.
Less than six minutes into the fourth period, again it was Pavinelli cutting through the 8-meter area, taking a dish from Gonzalez and beating Tysdal for a five-goal cushion with just over 14 minutes remaining. Pavinelli's third goal of the final quarter doubled up the Dolphins, 12-6, and came with 10:35 left on an assist by Hall. Her fourth was tallied at 8:24, courtesy of a pass from LoPinto.
Records
No. 6 Florida (17-3)
RV Jacksonville (12-8)
Notables
* Sarah Reznick recorded 17 saves in the game, setting a new program record and a new career-high
* With her fifth point of the afternoon, Danielle Pavinelli eclipsed the 200-career point mark
* The Gators improve to 13-11 all-time in the NCAA Tournament
* UF is now 14-1 against Jacksonville, including a 2-0 record during the 2023 campaign
* Florida owns an impressive 126-22 (.851) record in the confines of Donald R. Dizney Stadium
* The Gators are 13-0 this season against teams not ranked in the IWLCA/ILWomen Top-25 poll and move to 148-5 (.967) in against those teams in program history
* Florida extends its win-streak to 12-straight games, dating back to the March 22 win against Mercer
* Hat Trick Counter:
* Danielle Pavinelli: 5
* Maggi Hall is now just four goals away from hitting 100 career
* Streaking: Sarah Reznick has recorded a save in 71-straight games, a new program record
* Streaking: Maggi Hall has dished out an assist in 13-straight games, the third-longest streak in program history
Career-Highs
* Sarah Reznick set a career-high in saves (17)
Daniel Boice Joins Florida Women’s Basketball Coaching Staff. Boice comes to Gainesville following stints at Kentucky and Arizona
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida women’s basketball coach Kelly Rae Finley has announced the addition of Daniel Boice to the staff as the Director of Player Development.
“We are excited to welcome Dan, his wife Ali, and their daughter McKale to Gainesville!” Finley said. “Dan brings a wealth of knowledge to our staff and will lead our efforts with game analytics and player development.”
Boice heads to Gainesville following seven seasons on staff with SEC foe Kentucky. Boice served as the Director of Player Development the past couple seasons, while also being an interim assistant coach during the 2020-21 season.
During his time with the Wildcats, Boice helped Kentucky reach the NCAA tournament four times and won the SEC Tournament during the 2021-22 campaign.
Prior to Kentucky, Boice was the coaching video coordinator at Arizona, where he was an undergraduate student manager for three years before being promoted to video coordinator for two seasons.
Boice played basketball for Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa for one season before transitioning to a student assistant coach. As a student assistant he coordinated summer and team camps as well as recruiting. Boice also implemented player development workouts for the team including five players who were named to NAIA All-Conference teams.
A graduate from the University of Arizona in 2014 with a Bachelor’s degree in literacy, learning and leadership from the College of Education, Boice qualified for the dean’s list on three separate occasions and earning cum laude honors.
“He is a selfless, hard worker who will elevate the Gators with his knowledge and passion as a for the game as a whole.”
New NCAA Coaching Limits
The Division I Council supported an increase of two coaches in men’s and women’s basketball this past January. These additional coaches may engage in coaching activities but may not recruit off campus. The rules change codified a waiver in those sports that allowed noncoaching staff members to engage in skill instruction.
(Special to 1st & Ten Florida by Florida Athletics)
