Gator Baseball 2020

[instaGATOR]

Response to last weekend by Gator recruits and signeers...

https://florida.rivals.com/news/uf-signees-and-commits-react-to-the-gators-series-sweep-over-miami

 

[ocalaman]

Response to last weekend by Gator recruits and signeers...

https://florida.rivals.com/news/uf-signees-and-commits-react-to-the-gators-series-sweep-over-miami

Right now we have the #3 ranked recruiting class for 2020, behind Vanderbilt and Miami. That can/will change with additional commits and who signs pro contracts after the summer MLB draft. But on the heels of the #1 class for 2019 and consistently being in or around the Top 5, O'Sullivan truly is in a mode of re-loading every year.
https://www.perfectgame.org/rankings/Recruiting/Rankings.aspx
https://www.perfectgame.org/rankings/Recruiting/CollegeCommits.aspx?ID=1774&g=2020

 

[PacoGator19]

...and we are now ranked #1

 

[ocalaman]

...and we are now ranked #1

In 2 of the 3 polls I saw we are.

 

[LizardGrad89]

Right now we have the #3 ranked recruiting class for 2020, behind Vanderbilt and Miami. That can/will change with additional commits and who signs pro contracts after the summer MLB draft. But on the heels of the #1 class for 2019 and consistently being in or around the Top 5, O'Sullivan truly is in a mode of re-loading every year.
https://www.perfectgame.org/rankings/Recruiting/Rankings.aspx
https://www.perfectgame.org/rankings/Recruiting/CollegeCommits.aspx?ID=1774&g=2020

I LOVE the way Sully recruits. I remember having #1 classes all the time under Lopez and McMahon, but then they would all go pro. But with Sully, he recruits guys who want to come to UF.

 

[ocalaman]

Both midweek games called off. Stetson has been rescheduled for 3/18 in Deland. FAMU postponed for now. This weekend UF hosts 8-1 Troy. While they haven't played anybody of significance, they are off to a great start, hitting .344 as a team and a 3.67 staff ERA. All games televised on SEC+.

 

[ocalaman]

UF baseball ran their record to 9-0 with a 3-2 comeback win over Troy Friday night. Tommy Mace pitched 7 innings for the win, while Nick Pogue & Ben Specht struck out the sides in the 8th & 9th to preserve the victory. Troy's starting pitcher shut out the Gators through 6 innings, but his pitch count was well over 100 so they had to go to their bullpen for the 7th inning with Troy up 2-0. Florida got a 2 out RBI single from Austin Langworthy and an error on the play allowed the runners to advance to 2nd & 3rd. Ocala's own Kirby McMullen followed with a 2-run single to give the Gators the lead and the win. Game 2 is tomorrow at 4 pm.

 

[Countygator1]

Always good to start a 3 game series off with a win.

 

[Justpeachy7]

Wowza....losing 7 to 1 in the fourth.

 

[Countygator1]

Well they weren't going to go undefeated. It's baseball.

 

[Justpeachy7]

Well they weren't going to go undefeated. It's baseball.

True....its a completely different breed of sport compared to others. Making it to 9-0 was a big surprise and accomplishment in it's own right.

 

[Countygator1]

True....its a completely different breed of sport compared to others. Making it to 9-0 was a big surprise and accomplishment in it's own right.

I believe that is our best start under Sully

 

[Justpeachy7]

7-6....bases loaded. One takeaway from this team is that they are no strangers to comebacks.

Hopefully they can do it again.

 

[Justpeachy7]

Uf 10-7.....huge error by Troy....but will gladly take it. Troy will definitely be kicking themselves tonight because of 4 errors, including one that cost them 3 runs to break the tie.

 

[Countygator1]

What inning? Sounds like a football game.

 

[Justpeachy7]

What inning? Sounds like a football game.

Top of the 9th

 

[Justpeachy7]

1 out, runners on first and second.....Specht coming in to pitch.

Sully seems to be grooming him to be in tight situations.

 

[Countygator1]

Need to bring these guys along in these early season games.

 

[Justpeachy7]

And that will do it. Uf rallies with a big 7th inning to win the series and make it 10-0.

 

[ocalaman]

This Gator team has grit and guts. Leftwich didn't have it today, giving up 6 runs in 3 innings. Allintoff gave up another run in the 4th. But then freshman Tyler Nesbitt settled things down on the mound, throwing 2 shutout innings. Luethje, Pogue and Specht shut oyt Troy as well, giving the offense a chance to come back. It was a combination of 5 Troys errors, horrible bullpen pitching and timely Gator hitting that brought the Gators back from a 5-0, then 7-1 deficit to scoring 6 runs in the bottom of the 7th and the 10-7 win. Pitching is deep, bench is deep and O'Sullivan has a lot more options this year than he has in a while. Fun team to watch.

 

[Countygator1]

Not to mention it feels like this is a really young team?

 

[ocalaman]

Not to mention it feels like this is a really young team?

There are definitely some freshmen who are contributing right off the bat, as you would expect from the #1 recruiting class. And some of our sophomore pitchers seem to have made a jump from their freshman year. But in college baseball juniors are draft eligible, so we have a mix of veterans and youth and a couple of last year's starters are scrambling to get in the regular lineup (Smith & Callilao). Langworthy & McMullen are seniors, Mace & Leftwich are juniors who were weekend starters last year and probably will be gone after this season. Young, Fabian, Acton, Callilao all started as freshmen last year. To be consistently a ranked team in D1 baseball, you have to have that constant mix of quality youth and solid veterans and this year's team definitely has that.

O'Sullivan is still evaluating the catcher position. He's given the nod to Greenfield, who had played very little until this year, but handles the pitchers very well. But his hitting is a liability and he hasn't thrown out anybody stealing yet. Smith hit last year, but was weak defensively. Hickey is a highly touted multi-position player who appears to be the catcher of the future, but he's struggling at the plate some. Also, at first base, Kris Armstrong, who came in as a 2-way player, apparently hasn't developed as a pitcher, but was hitting great in fall & winter camps and was given the nod at 1st base over Calilao, who is solid defensively and led the team in RBI's as a freshman. So Callilao started in RF, but Young is a natural outfielder, is leading the team in batting average and seems to have taken over the RF job. Hunter Barco is getting his 2nd Sunday start tomorrow and the hope is he'll be consistent so we have a known weekend rotation, as Pogue was a bust in his first Sunday start, while Barco was really good last week. Also, the midweek starters and bullpen rotation are still to be worked out. So there are a few things that the coach has to decide prior to the SEC grind.

 

[PacoGator19]

10-0 is pretty tough to do in baseball

 

[Justpeachy7]

uf moves to 11-0 with the sweep. great pitching in game 3.

 

[ocalaman]

uf moves to 11-0 with the sweep. great pitching in game 3.

Freshman Hunter Barco threw a lot of pitches, but struck out 9, walked 1 and only gave up 1 run in 5 innings for his 2nd win, as the Gators rolled 7-1. Christian Scott threw 3 innings of shutout ball and freshman Brandon Sproat pitched the 9th to close out the game. Jud Fabian hit a 3-run HR, Calilao had 2 RBI, while Young, Butler and Langworthy had 2 hits each.

The 11 wins to open the season ties 2 other Gator teams for the best start to open a season. Next game is Tuesday night in Boca Raton against 7-3 Florida Atlantic. FAU won their first 7 games, then lost this weekend to Texas Tech 7-1, FSU 5-1, and FSU 16-6. UF hosts a terrible Florida A&M team Wednesday night and then 5-7 USF next weekend.

 

[grommit]

Man I got a sunburn in that Sunday game. Not enjoying life at work right now but happy we are 11-0. Could be 13-0 right now if it wasn't for the bad weather last week.

 

[bradleygator]

Man I got a sunburn in that Sunday game. Not enjoying life at work right now but happy we are 11-0. Could be 13-0 right now if it wasn't for the bad weather last week.

way to tough it out!

 

[instaGATOR]

Man I got a sunburn in that Sunday game. Not enjoying life at work right now but happy we are 11-0. Could be 13-0 right now if it wasn't for the bad weather last week.

Sponge on some organic brown apple cider vinegar to relieve the sting and save the skin.
Put a quart in your bath water and soak for 10-15 minutes. Had you done that last night you'd be much better off today... (no-charge)

It's also very good for your hair and scalp.

 

[Nicktheslick]

Sponge on some organic brown apple cider vinegar to relieve the sting and save the skin.
Put a quart in your bath water and soak for 10-15 minutes. Had you done that last night you'd be much better off today... (no-charge)

It's also very good for your hair and scalp.

Insta you are a wealth of information.

 

[bradleygator]

Sponge on some organic brown apple cider vinegar to relieve the sting and save the skin.
Put a quart in your bath water and soak for 10-15 minutes. Had you done that last night you'd be much better off today... (no-charge)

It's also very good for your hair and scalp.

This is good info. As far as good baseball info., Ocala is my de facto beat writer.

 

[ocalaman]

Gators beat FAU in West Palm Beach Tuesday night 7-3 to improve to 12-0 on the season. Jordan Butler started on the mound for Florida and gave up 3 runs in 2 innings. David Luethje, Christian Scott and Ben Specht shut out the Owls the rest of the way, with Leuthje getting credit for the win. For the offense, Jacob Young went 3-4, Kris Armstrong had 2 hits and 2 RBI's, Kendrick Calilao had 2 hits and an RBI and Austin Langworthy had 2 RBI's. UF hosts 4-5 Florida A&M Wednesday.

 

[instaGATOR]

This is good info. As far as good baseball info., Ocala is my de facto beat writer.

Yep.

And I'm glad to let Ocala carry the Gator'All Sports' torch now days, as I'm getting older by the minute...

PS

Gators at 12-0 have their best season start in 106 years.
GoooooooooGATORS!!!

 

[ocalaman]

4 Florida pitchers (3 freshmen) combined on a 3-hitter with 15 K's as the Gators beat FAMU 5-0 Wednesday night, improving their record to 13-0. Tyler Nesbitt started the game on the mound and went 4 innings, Justin Alintoff threw the next 2, Brandon Sproat pitched the 7th & 8th, then Ryan Cabarcas closed out the game. Nathan Hickey slugged his first HR as a Gator, while Jordan Butler had a 2-run shot and an RBI double. Austin Langworthy, also, added 2 hits for the Gators, who had 9 total hits and played errorless ball again.

 

[grommit]

Sprogue (sp) the pitcher in the 6th and 7th threw a 99mph fastball at FAMU's pinch hitter. That poor guy saw fastballs of 95, 96, and 99 mph and didn't swing at a one of them.

 

[Countygator1]

Love the young guys getting solid mid week experience.

 

[bradleygator]

This is fantastic:

 

[instaGATOR]

Sprogue (sp) the pitcher in the 6th and 7th threw a 99mph fastball at FAMU's pinch hitter. That poor guy saw fastballs of 95, 96, and 99 mph and didn't swing at a one of them.

He didn't swing because HE DIDN'T SEE THOSE FASTBALLS....

 

[ocalaman]

Gators scored 6 runs in the 1st inning, Tommy Mace was great on the mound and UF coasted to a 9-1 win over USF Friday night to run their record to 14-0. Mace went 7 innings, giving up only 2 hits and striking out 6, while Brandon Sproat pitched the final 2 innings, surrendering a solo HR. Kendrick Calilao had a 3 run HR in the first after Jacob Young had a two run single and then Nathan Hickey hit a solo HR for the Gators 6 runs in the 1st. Hickey & Calilao had 3 hits on the night, while Rivera, McMullen and Butler added 2 hits each in Florida's 13 hit attack.

 

[ocalaman]

Baseball keeps rolling, as they pound USF Saturday 15-5. Jack Leftwich had a no hitter through 6 innings before wearing out an giving up 3 runs in the 7th and being relieved by Justin Alintoff, who gave up 2 more in the 8th. Ryan Cabarcas pitched a scoreless 9th. On offense, Jordan Butler was 3-4 with a HR and 5 RBI's, Cal Greenfield was 2-4 with a HR and 4 RBI's, Nathan Hickey hit a HR in his 3rd straight game and had 2 RBI's. Jud Fabian and Josh Rivera had 2 hits each, as UF had 15 hits. They close out the series Sunday at 1 pm with freshman Hunter Barco on the mound.

 

[ocalaman]

UF baseball ran their record to 16-0 Sunday with a 2-1 win over South Florida. Hunter Barco had a no hitter through 5 innings, but gave up a run in the 6th on a single, sac bunt and double. The Gators had taken a 1-0 lead in the 4th inning on singles by Jacob Young and Nathan Hickey and then a 2 out, strike out wild pitch with Kendrick Calilao at bat and Young scoring from 3rd. Christian Scott pitched the 7th & 8th innings, getting the win (2-0), with Ben Specht throwing the 9th for his 3rd save. Nathan Hickey hit a 2-out solo HR in the bottom of the 8th to give the Gators the go-ahead run. Florida only had 4 hits on the day and they struck out 13 times, while USF only had 3 hits with 9 K's.

Florida's next game is 6:30 Tuesday night against Florida State (10-5). And next weekend UF hosts #4 Georgia (13-2). The competition ramps up and at some point, the good guys have to lose. But what an amazing start!!