Calilao, Deric Fabian & Halter have almost become automatic outs and kill us at the bottom of the order. You're right about the bullpen woes, though.
UF Softball & Baseball
- Thread starter ocalaman
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They echoed what I believe Ocala said a couple of weeks ago. Historically 14 conference wins gets you into the tourney. They did mention Florida's strong SOS being helpful. With that said, if 14 is the magic number that means 5-3 in these last 8 games.
Realistically if we can’t go 5-3 the rest of the way then our NCAA trip will be a short one.
UF softball just got beat 3-2 by Florida Gulf Coast, a team that came into the game with 17-33 record, an RPI ranking of #126 and a team that won't even qualify for the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament due to their 9-15 conference record. Natalie Lugo (9-5) started for the Gators and held FGCU hitless through 3 innings, but gave up a HR, single and double in the 4th to put UF down 2-0. They added another run off Rylee Trlicek in the 5th on 3 singles, the last one with 2 outs that could have been ruled an error on SS Skylar Wallace. Meanwhile the Gators were anemic against FGCU's "ace" Ally Hulme (11-13), being held without a hit until the 6th inning. Wallace was hit by a pitch in the 1st inning, but was thrown out trying to steal. Kinsey Goelz was hit by a pitch in the 3rd inning, but was left stranded. Charla Echols walked in the 4th, but was left stranded. Cali Decker and Avery Goelz walked in the 5th, but UF just couldn't deliver with a hit. In the 6th inning, Wallace & Echols led off with back-to-back singles and Cheyenne Lindsey had an RBI sac. fly, but Katie Kistler and Sam Roe could do nothing to get another run across. In the bottom of the 7th, Decker led off with a walk, pinch hitter Emily Wilkie moved her to 2nd on a fielder's choice, Avery Goelz singled to left field and Kendra Falby walked to load the bases. Wallace got an RBI sac. fly, but Echols flied out to right field to end the game. The Gators were outhit 8-3 and stranded 7 base runners in one of their worst losses in recent memory. They finish their regular season around 2:45 against Mercer.
Gator softball finished their regular season 41-15 with a 2-0 win over Mercer (16-38). Elizabeth Hightower (14-7) threw her second straight complete game shutout, allowing only 1 hit (a bunt single) and a walk with 3 K's. Offensively, the Gators continued to struggle against mediocre pitching, as Mercer's pitcher today had only throw 23.1 innings with a 10.03 ERA, yet held Florida to 7 hits and 2 1st inning runs, walking 2 with no strikeouts. Florida's runs came on a leadoff single by Kendra Falby, a stolen base, an RBI single from Skylar Wallace, a stolen base in which Wallace scored when the throw to 2nd went into the outfield. Sam Roe went 2-3, with the other Gator singles coming from Katie Kistler, Cheyenne Lindsey and Reagan Walsh, as UF stranded 7 base runners. Florida's seeding for the SEC tournament in Gainesville won't be decided until tomorrow when all the other games are completed, but they could finish anywhere from 4th to 10th, probably somewhere in the middle. But it won't matter if they don't figure out how to get more production out of their offense. Gator pitching is very good, #2 in the SEC. And we have the best fielding percentage in the conference. But we are dead last in home runs and 12th in slugging percentage. The post season wipes the slate clean and it's an opportunity for all the ladies to get a fresh start, but unless the return of Hannah Adams provides a spark and they start figuring out a way to drive in runs in order to put up crooked numbers every once in a while, the season could end very abruptly. We will host a Regional tournament, no doubt, but the hope of getting a Top 8 seed for Super Regional hosting is almost gone. Still, Gooooo Gators!!!
Agreed, they would need to win the SEC tournament to host a super regional.
Gators baseball had scored enough runs to have won ten or twelve more games. The bullpen has squandered too many late leads.
Glad to see us finally turn the tables in the 9th. So many 9th inning collapses this season love getting one on the road with a big 9th.
Gator baseball improved to 28-18, 10-13 in the SEC by scoring 6 runs in the top of the 9th to break a 3-3 tie and beat Mississippi State 9-3. The home plate umpire's strike zone was all over the place tonight, but the Gator bats finally broke it open from unexpected sources - Jac Caglionone, Kendrick Calilao and Ty Evans. Florida had 11 hits and 10 walks on the night along with 12 K's, but Caglionone had a 2-out 2 run double in the 5th inning to put the Gators up 32- and then had a 1 out double in the 9th that drove in a run. Calilao, who had been hitless on the night, got a 1 out, 2 run double in the 9th after Josh Rivera was intentionally walked to get to him. Ty Evans finished the scoring in the 9th with a 2-out 3 run homer. Wyatt Langford was 2-5 on the night, Sterlin Thompson was 2-4, while Ryan Slater got the win, pitching the final 2.1 innings and giving up nothing but a walk to the first batter he faced. Starter Brandon Neely only lasted 4 innings, giving up 2 runs on 4 hits with 4 walks and 7 K's. Phillip Abner went 1.1 innings, only give up 1 hit with a K. Fisher Jameson went 1.1 innings and gave up a run on 3 hits and a walk. The pitching tonight got themselves into some jams, giving up 8 hits and 6 walks, but they got 2 double plays and left 10 Bulldog runners stranded. The bullpen held up tonight, so congrats to these young pitchers for showy some moxy in front of a huge, hostile crowd. A sweep would be nice.
Home plate ump was inconsistent, but it went both ways. Fabian got rung up 2 separate times on pitches that were way off the plate.
The only way he hits those pitches is if he’s standing in the other batters box.
Caglionone needs more playing time. He’s looks like a hitter. From what little I’ve seen he rarely gets fooled.
He's played in the last 8 Gator games, started the last 7. He had Tommy John surgery last summer and has only recently been cleared to play by the medical staff. He's been a solid addition to the batting order, with 8 hits in 27 at bats. But he's struck out 10 times, so he does get fooled over 35% of the time.
He's expected to be a big time contributor to next year's team and some are comparing him to Gator great Brad Wilkerson in that he can both pitch and be in the regular lineup as a first baseman/DH.
UF softball finished in a 4-way tie for 4th place in the SEC and got the 5th seed for the SEC tournament.
floridagators.com
Florida Earns No. 5 Seed in 2022 SEC Tournament - Florida Gators
The Gators will face the winner of No.12 Texas A&M and No.13 South Carolina Wednesday, May 11, at 5 p.m. (ET) on SEC Network.
floridagators.com
Getting the sweep helps take some of the pressure off. 3-3 in these last 6 should punch our ticket to the ncaas.
If they win 4 or 5 of their final 6 SEC games, plus win their 2 remaining midweek games, they could actually become a Regional host with a Top 16 seed. Improbable, but not impossible.
Really impressive series by Gator baseball. MSU is down but road sweep at a tough venue is still impressive. Particularly when you consider how many good innings they needed from their bullpen. Lineup just kept on coming until they broke through. Good stuff. Would like to see two more series wins and take it from there.
Looks like it took something to pi$$ them off. There was a lot of jawing back and forth between there relief pitcher and a couple of our hitters.
We always do a lot of talking. Usually we play to back it up. This series felt like the first time we did so. Team really seems to have responded well to the mace injury, after getting over the initial shock. I had no idea Sproat was this good.
Any series/sweep win over the defending CWS champs is impressive.
On a side note, it was a relief to see Mississippi State take the CWS from Vandy, especially when NC State got screwed vs Vandy.
Inside the no contest against NC State that sent Vanderbilt to the CWS finals
Vanderbilt is looking forward to getting back on the field tonight against Mississippi State in the College World Series finals (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2/ESPN App) after a chaotic weekend featuring a no contest victory due to COVID-related issues at NC State.
UF baseball (#12 RPI, #2 SOS) won their 30th game of the season and 5th in a row Tuesday night, beating Bethune-Cookman 7-0 behind the 5 hit pitching of Tyler Nesbitt (4), Nic Ficarrotta (4) and Blake Purnell (1). Nic Fic was exceptional in his 4 innings, only allowing 1 hit with ^ K's. The Gators only got 7 hits for the game, led by Sterlin Thompson (2-4, 2 RBI) and Josh Rivera (2-4, 1 RBI). Wyatt Langford had 4 walks and a HR, while Jac Caglionone and Ty Evans each went 1-3. The Gators travel to Missouri for a vital weekend series as they try to work themselves, not only into getting an NCAA tournament bid, but possibly a Regional host.
That #2 SOS is impressive. We have some not so great series, but we also have taken 2 of 3 from a couple of top 10 teams.
Gator softball won their 42nd game of the year by beating Texas A&M 4-1 in the SEC tournament Wednesday night, moving them to the next round to play Kentucky Thursday around 5 pm. Florida jumped on A&M early, getting 3 runs in the first inning on a single from Kendra Falby, a bunt single from Hannah Adams, with Falby going to 3rd and then Adams stealing 2nd while Falby stole home. Charla Echols followed with an RBI single and a Reagan Walsh single. They added a run in the 2nd on a Falby double and an Adams RBI single, but were shut down the rest of the game. Elizabeth Hightower got the win by pitching 5.1 innings and being charged with the lone A&M run on 3 hits, 5 walks and a strikeout. Rylee Trlicek pitched out of a jam in the 6th and went 1.1 innings giving up nothing, with Natalie Lugo getting the final out of the game. Florida got 8 hits on the night, 2 each from Falby, Adams, Echols and Walsh, while Florida pitchers only gave up 3 hits, but 6 walks and only 2 K's. Kentucky will be a challenge Thursday, but having Hannah Adams back in the lineup was a big boost for the Gators.
UF softball advanced to the semifinals of the SEC tournament with a 9-3 beatdown of Kentucky Thursday night. UF got 3 runs in the top of the 1st, 3 more in the 2nd and 3 in the 6th to put the game away. Elizabeth Hightower pitched 4.1 innings and gave up a 2 run HR in the 1st and a solo HR in the 2nd, 5 hits total, but no walks a a strikeout. Rylee Trlicek pitched the rest of the game, giving up only 2 hits with a walk and a K. Kentucky used 5 pitchers and they gave up 11 hits and 7 walks, with their starting pitcher not making it out of the 1st inning. Reagan Walsh went 3-4 with 3 RBI as DH, Kendra Falby went 3-5 with a stolen vase and 3 runs scored. Charla Echols went 1-2 with 2 RBI, Skylar Wallace went 1-2 (HR) with 2 walks and 3 runs scored; Hannah Adams went 1-2 with 2 walks, and RBI and 2 runs scored, and Cheyenne Lindsey went 1-3 with an RBI. The Bottom of the order still remains a problem, but the Top 6 were awesome tonight. The Gators play with winner of Arkansas/Ole Miss Friday.
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Nice. Should lock them into a regional host for sure. Get 2 more Ws and lets see what happens.
They've had a Regional host locked, but they have too many teams to jump to get a Top 8 national seed. Their RPI is 13 and SOS is only 20, so I don't see how they can get a Top 8 seed. But with Adams back in the lineup and Trlicek coming on in the circle, they can make some noise in the NCAA's. Just sure they have enough firepower to win a Super Regional, but we'll see. They looked really good tonight.
UF baseball blasted Missouri 13-1 to open their series in a big way. Brandon Sproat gave up a 1st inning HR, but was dominant in the 6.2 innings he pitched, throwing 91 pitches, allowing only 3 hits, 1 walk and 7 K's. Anthony Ursitti pitched 2.1 innings, allowing no hits, a walk with 3 K's. Gator bats scored 2 in the 2nd, 2 in the 3rd, 3 in the 4th, 5 in the 5th and 1 in the 6th, with 10 hits, 7 walks, 3 HBP and 4 HR's. Every starter except Kendrick Calilao had at least 1 hit. Colby Halter had a 2-run HR in the 2nd, Josh Rivera had a 2-run HR in the 3rd, Jac Caglionone had a 2-run HR in the 5th and Wyatt Langford had a solo HR in the 6th. BT Riopelle went 2-3 with 2 RBI and Jud Fabian and Sterlin Thompson each had an RBI. Solid performance for the Gators as they moved to 31-18, 12-13 in the SEC.
UF softball (43-16) fell to Arkansas for the 4th time this year 4-1 and they now await their seeding and matchups in the NCAA tournament. They will definitely host a Regional, but will have to travel for a Super Regional to advance. The Gators scored their only run in the top of the 1st on a leadoff double from Kendra Falby, a single by Hannah Adams and a sac. fly from Charla Echols. They have a couple more chances to score off SEC Pitcher of the Year Chenise Delce, but just couldn't get the big hit. Lexie Delbrey walked the 1st 2 batters she faced and then got out of the jam in the bottom of the first and had a no hitter going to the 4th inning. But she gave up an infield single, a walk and another infield single to load the bases before being relived by Rylee Trlicek. Trlicek got a bouncer back to her and she forced the runner at home for the 1st out. She then induced another grounder back to her, but she looked to first, hesitated and then made a wild throw home for an error, allowing 2 runs to score. The next batter hit a weak spinner back towards the mound, which Trlicek let go and another run scored. The following batter hit another weak grounder to the pitcher and she didn't hold the runner at third, throwing quickly to 1st, allowing the 4th run to score. And that was the game. 3 unearned runs. Florida had 5 hits to Arkansas' 4 and Rylee made several great pitches that got easy grounders right back to her. But she made 3 bad judgments in a rwo and that made the difference. Now we await the NCAA pairings and hopewe can go on a run and make it to the WCWS.
Gator baseball just couldn't make plays when they needed them all day and lost to Missouri 5-3 in a game where we stranded 9 baserunners. Brandon Neeley pitched 4.2 innings, but didn't quite have his stuff today, getting behind most batters before finally hanging a curve and giving up a 3-run HR in the bottom of the 5th that put Missouri ahead 4-3. MO scored their first run in the 4th when Ty Evans just couldn't make a running catch with 2 outs on a ball down the RF line that hit his glove in fair territory before hitting the ground in foul territory, allowing a runner to score. They added another un in the bottom of the 8th when Ryan Slater relieved Blake Purnell with 2 outs and nobody on and surrendered a double a walk and an RBI base on a ball that a diving Sterlin Thompson got his glove on at 2B, but just couldn't control enough to keep the runner from scoring. Jameson, Ficarrotta, Abner & Purnell didn't pitch cleanly, but didn't allow any runs. On offense B.T. Riopelle went 2-3 with a sac. fly and had all 3 RBI for the Gators. Wyatt Langford went 2-4 and Thompson wet 3-4, Josh Rivera walked 3 times and Kris Armstrong had a single, with Jud Fabian, Jac Caglionone, Ty Evans and Colby Halter doing nothing at the plate, with Halter & Jac stranding 4 runners each. This loss hurt, but the Gators need to regroup and win the series Sunday at 2 pm.
He hit a 2-run HR last night, but you're right. He started off the season red hot, but the last 2 months he's been terrible at the plate. He, Fabian and Caglionone all hit into rally killing double plays today that hurt the team's chances.
Florida baseball improved to 32-19, 13-14 in the SEC by edging Missouri 4-3 in a rain-delayed game Sunday afternoon. Nick Pogue pitched well, going 6.2 innings, giving up 3 runs on 5 hits, no walks with 8 K's. He threw a perfect 3 innings, but gave up back to back HR's and a double to lead off the bottom of the 4th, putting the Gators in a 2-0 hold. He settled down and got out of that inning and Josh Rivera tied the game with a 2 run HR in the top of the 5th. Kris Armstrong, who went 3-4 on the day, put Florida up 4-2 with a 2-out, bases loaded bloop single in the top of the 6th, but that was all the Gators would score. The Tigers got their 3rd when when Pogue hit a batter with 2 outs in the bottom of the 7th, then surrendered back to back singles, brining in Blake Purnell from the bullpen. Purnell got a ground out on the first pitch, but he was relieved by Ryan Slater when he gave up back to back 2 out singles in the 8th. Slater got out of that inning and then picked up his 4th save by giving up only a walk in the 9th. The normally reliable top of the batting order didn't do much for the Gators today, as 6 of their 9 hits and all 4 RBI came from the 7-9 hitters. Jud Fabian continued to struggle, going 0-5 with 4 K's. Ty Evans and Sterlin Thompson went hitless and Wyatt Langford only went 1-5 and BT Riopelle 1-4. But a win is a win, as the Gators now sit in the middle of the SEC pack, have qualified for the SEC tournament and head to the final 4 games of the regular season in solid shape to make an NCAA Regional and with an outside chance to even host, considering their RPI and SOS. They do face a hot FSU team Tuesday night in Gainesville. The Noles are 32-18, having won 6 of their last 7 games, taking 2 of 3 from Miami this weekend. Big game for both teams.
UF gets the #14 seed in the NCAA tournament. First game is against Canisius. Wisconsin and Georgia Tech are, also, in our regional. If we win our Regional, we'll go to #3 Virginia Tech, assuming they win theirs.
