Faced with a 5-1 deficit through four innings in enemy territory, the Gators baseball team fought back to defeat rival Florida State 9-5 Tuesday night.
Florida scored a run in the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh innings before blowing the game wide open in the eighth to capture the midweek victory.
For Florida, it’s dominance in this rivalry is nothing short of impressive. The Gators have won 20 of the last 24 contests in the series.
The Seminoles jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead as Florida starter Tyler Nesbitt didn’t have his best stuff. But the Gators proved to be scrappy and continued to chase down the lead.
Ty Evans’ fourth inning double plated Josh Rivera to put the Gators on the scoreboard. The following frame, Dale Thomas scored on Jac Caglianone’s single to right.
Florida made it a 5-3 game on a triple from Colby Halter that hit the fencing above the outfield wall to score Tyler Nesbitt. In the next inning, Caglianone ripped an RBI double down the right field line to close the gap to just one.
Florida scored five runs in the eighth inning. BT Riopelle and Evans each singled to lead off the inning and Halter reached on a seven pitch walk to load the bases. Pinch hitter Matt Prevesk singlesd through the hole between third and short to score one. Michael Robertson followed with a single to left. Caglianone added an RBI single before Rivera plated two runs with a single through the left side.
Florida’s bullpen was the hero of the game. Nick Ficarrotta and Philip Abner combined to pitch a scoreless 3.1 innings and Brandon Neely closed out the win.
Florida returns to conference play this weekend as they travel to Mississippi to take on the Rebels. The series starts Friday with first pitch slated for 7:30 PM.