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Photo by Brian Fox / ChompTalk.com Florida right-hander Elizabeth Hightower threw her fourth complete game of the season Friday night at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium as the No. 6 Gators prevailed 3-1 over No. 9 Kentucky.
Hightower became just the fifth pitcher in the SEC to reach eight wins already this season. The junior allowed only two baserunners barring the top of the fourth inning when she surrendered a leadoff single and a pair of doubles. A Kentucky sacrifice fly scored a run, but Florida’s top of the lineup answered in the bottom half of the frame.
Second baseman Hannah Adams and third baseman Charla Echols led off with singles before cleanup hitter Kendyl Lindaman drove a two-run double into left field to give the Gators a 2-1 lead. In the bottom of the sixth, Florida added an insurance run after an Adams leadoff single led to an Echols RBI-double into center field.
Final (R-H-E)
No. 9 Kentucky: 1-4-0
No. 6 Florida: 3-6-0
Pitching Decision
Win: Hightower (8-0)
Loss: Humes (8-1)
Individual Stats
Hightower 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
Adams: 2-3, 2 R
Echols: 2-3, 1 R, 1 RBI , 1 2B
Lindaman: 1-2, 2 RBI, 1 2B, 1 BB
SEC Opening Weekend
The three-game series continues tomorrow at 1 p.m.
Tre Mann caught fire. When his fourth three-pointer in a row found nylon with 2:40 to play on Friday, the whole arena knew, too. He had a career-high 30 points, 17 of which in the previous five and a half minutes, as he looked up at the scoreboard.
Florida trailed by 12.
The Gainesville native’s superhuman performance wasn’t enough as the Gators fell, 78-66, to Tennnessee for the second time in six days to end their SEC Tournament run.
Tennessee’s game plan was devastatingly simple and brutally effective.
Step one: Limit Mann. The Florida point guard, a day removed from a 22-point, seven rebound, six assist show against Vanderbilt, didn’t score until the final three minutes of the first half. Tennessee’s guards, the 6-foot-4 Jaden Springer and 6-foot-5 Keon Johnson, matched Mann’s size and gave him no open looks or clear lanes to the basket.
Mann broke loose and caught fire in the second half with 28points to reach 30, his fifth game in a row with at least 19, but it was too little, too late. Especially when only one Gator scored more than six points.
Step two: Establish themselves inside. Tennessee’s interior offense and defense were both head and shoulders above Florida’s. Tennessee scored 34 points in the paint to the Gators 18, but it the defense shifted the game the most.
The Volunteers blocked 11 shots Saturday, including an outstanding nine from senior forward Yves Pons. No Florida forward scored more than six points, including a meek four from standout junior transfer Colin Castleton. Castleton, Omar Payne and Anthony Duruji, Florida’s three prominent forwards, scored just nine points between the three of them on 4-11 shooting.
Step three: Spread the ball and Florida’s defense around to create open looks. On a day only Mann could score for the Gators, the Volunteers authored a complete team effort. The team combined for 21 assists, tripling Florida’s seven, as five Tennessee players amassed double-digit points and two more had at least seven. With quick passes and a balanced attack, one Volunteer seemed destined to be lost in the shuffle every possession, unnoticed until he had a ball and an open shot.
When all three of those steps work as harmoniously as they did Saturday, at least for the first half, Tennessee becomes virtually unbeatable, especially against a one-man army like Mann.
The Volunteers move on to challenge Alabama tomorrow in the conference semifinals, leaving the Gators to twiddle their thumbs until March Madness.
The No.7 Florida Gators had a hard earned win over the No.25 Missouri Tigers earlier today in the first of two matches in the series.
The two-match series was originally scheduled for February, but due to a positive COVID–19 test, the Tigers and the Gators had to postpone the series. Since the originally scheduled match, the Tigers fell in the rankings from 16 to 25 and the Gators moved up from 10 to 7.
This was not even close to an easy victory. Both teams fought tooth-and-nail to attempt to claim a Top 25 matchup win.
How it happened
Set 1: 25-19 Missouri
Despite Florida taking the first point, the beginning of the first set was Missouri’s game. After some early back-and-forth action, Missouri established a 8-3 lead on Florida. Florida had a difficult time bouncing back as the Tigers held on strong to their lead going up 13-6 and forcing a Florida timeout. However, Florida recuperated in the timeout as they began to diminish Missouri’s hold over them and minimized the lead to 14-12. Missouri held Florida back as they kept a consistent two- to three-point lead over the Gators going into the upper portion of the set. However, the Gators were able to catch up at 20-19, and they forced a Missouri timeout. Missouri was able to finish out the set strong and keep their lead over Florida. The Tigers took the first win.
Set 2: 25-23 Missouri
The two teams started off the second set with some toe-to-toe action. The two teams were tied 4-4 when the Tigers began to take off again. Missouri went up 10-6 before Florida began to catch up again. The Tigers and the Gators ties again were tied at 11-11 when Missouri called a timeout. For the middle part of the set, Missouri was able to hold a small lead over Florida. When the lead gap widened to 19-15, Florida was forced to call a timeout. Coming out of their timeout, the Gators repeated their actions. Florida was able to trail closely behind Missouri before the Tigers pulled ahead. This caused another Florida timeout with a score of 23-19. The Gators came out of their timeout to yet again close Missouri’s lead which caused a Missouri timeout at 24-22. However, Missouri came out of the timeout with a final kill to grab their second win of the day.
Set 3: 25-19 Florida
Both teams came out fighting in the third set of the day. The two teams were back-and-forth in their action, often tying the game up. The two teams were 11-11 when Florida was finally able to come out with a lead over the Tigers. The score was 14-11 when Florida won a challenge that a ball was in when it was declared out. At the 15-11 mark, the two teams took a timeout for media. Coming out of the timeout, Florida continued to soar. The Gators were able to advance their lead to 17-12 when Missouri called a timeout to reassess. However, this timeout was not enough as the Gators came back and worked to strengthen their lead. The score was 22-14 when Missouri was forced to call yet another timeout. Missouri was able to tick down the lead held by the Gators some, and this caused a Florida timeout. However, Florida was able to finish strong and cinch their first win of the day.
Set 4: 27-25 Florida
Similar to the third set, the two teams showed equal action in the beginning with neither team grabbing a lead. Florida began to grab a small lead at 10-6, but Missouri did not let them hold on the lead as they tied the game back up at 10-10 after Florida lost a challenge that claimed a ball was in. The tables turned as Missouri came out of the tie with a slight edge. Throughout the middle portion of the set, the two teams followed closely behind each other. They tied again at 18-18, and Missouri called a timeout. Coming out of the Missouri timeout, not much changed as the Tigers and the Gators continued to show that same toe-to-toe action going into the final few points. Missouri challenged a block and lost the challenge, putting the score at 22-20 Florida. Missouri called an additional timeout as the score narrowed to 20-23. Then, Florida called their own timeout as they reached set point. Florida then lost a challenge that a ball was in. The two teams then tied again at 25-25. Florida escaped with a win. A kill from Ceasar and Hall helped them to cinch their second win and force a fifth set.
Set 5: 15-13 Florida
Coming into the final set of the day, Missouri cinched an early lead right off of the bat. The Tigers were up 5-3. However, the Gators came back to tie up the game. Missouri called a timeout at 9-8. Florida followed suit with a timeout at 10-9. The Tigers were able to hold a small lead over the Gators getting into the midway point of the set which forced a Florida timeout. Florida began to eek away the lead which forced another timeout, this time by the Tigers. The two teams were met with another tie at 13-13. Florida went on a 5-0 scoring run to establish their lead over Missouri. The Gators were able to come out with a win.
Leaderboard
Aces
Hammons, 4
Carlton, 1
McKissock, 1
Kills
Ceasar, 24
Hall, 24
Carlton, 12
Digs
Monserez, 20
McKissock, 15
Ceasar, 12
Blocks
Dooley, 6
Hall, 5
Forte, 5
What’s Next?
The Gators will be back in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center again March 13 to take on the Missouri Tigers for the second game of their two-part series. The match is slated to begin at 4 p.m.
With under a minute to play and a one-point lead, the eyes of Gator Nation rested anxiously on Tre Mann. Mann dribbled to his right, stepped back, and threw up a jumper from just under twenty feet.
Swish.
Mann took control late as the Gators staved off Vanderbilt, 69-63, to move ahead to the second round of the SEC Tournament and set a Tennessee rematch Friday.
For the opening eight minutes, the story of the game centered around who wasn’t on the court. Scottie Lewis and Tyree Appleby, two consistent starts for the Gators, found themselves on the bench at tip-off after they reportedly showed up late to team walkthrough.
Without Lewis and Appleby on the floor, freshman Samson Ruzhentsez saw his first career start, but he failed to impress in his debut. The Russian scored just two points on 1-5 shooting, failing to connect on any of his four three-point attempts.
After a slow start, Florida seemed to take command for the third time in three contests against the Commodores this season. Noah Locke buried a trio of threes as the Gators went to the locker room with a 34-22 lead. Vanderbilt was ice-cold from the floor in the opening twenty minutes, shooting just 8-25 from the floor and making just three three-pointers in 15 attempts.
The second half was an entirely different story for the Commodores. They stormed out of the gate on an 8-2 run and carried the momentum across the final twenty minutes. After just 22 points in the first half, Vanderbilt scored 33 points in under 12 minutes to take its first lead in 25 minutes of game time. After leading by 12 in the locker room, Florida found itself huddled in a timeout and trailing 55-54 with 8:39 to play.
The closing minutes were a back and forth battle, with neither team able to take control. Florida turned the ball over four consecutive possessions at one point in the final minutes, but Vanderbilt didn’t score on any of the possessions they earned to keep the Gators in a near-deadlock.
But the Gators refused to surrender the game, and Mann came up huge again and again down the stretch to take control. Mann scored 22 points for the game, seven of which after Vanderbilt retook the lead including the jumper to ice the game. He finished with seven rebounds and six assists.
Vanderbilt didn’t score after the Mann dagger and, three Florida free throws later, the Gators walked away with a six-point victory. A one-possession win over a 13-seed in the conference may not inspire confidence, but it ensures Florida will survive another day in the final tournament before March Madness.
Florida and Tennessee will tip off around 2:30 p.m. Friday.
For the first time since a contentious meeting in 2017, the Florida Gators faced the Stetson Hatters on Wednesday night. The Gators came back from a 5-0 deficit and defeated the Hatters, 10-7.
The two teams met in 2017 (Florida’s national championship season) at McKethan Stadium, and Stetson jumped out to a 10-1 lead before mother nature roared her ugly head, forcing a rain delay that lasted nearly two hours. According to Stetson, Florida refused to complete the game and also refused several attempts to complete the game at a later date.
Wednesday’s contest started eerily similarly with the Hatters quickly leading 5-0 through just two innings of play.
Freshman Timmy Manning got his first career start, but struggled with his command. Manning was tagged for five earned runs in 1.2 innings of work, before turning the game over to his bullpen.
The Florida bullpen was sterling, though. Six relievers combined to throw 7.1 innings allowing just two runs on six hits and allowed the Gators to chip away at the deficit.
And the Gators did so rather quickly. The Gators scores two in the third and Jacob Young added a solo homer in the fourth inning. The Florida offense erupted over the fifth and sixth innings for seven runs and the lead. Kris Armstrong led off the fifth with a solo homer before Young reached with an RBI double that scored Kendrick Calilao. Nathan Hickey plated a pair with a two-out single to left. Florida closed the fifth with a 7-5 lead.
Young opened the scoring in the sixth with a sacrifice fly that scored Colby Halter. Jud Fabian followed with a double to left center that scored Jordan Carrion. Fabian reached third on an error and scored on a Hickey single to right-center to increase the lead to 10-5.
Stetson’s Brandon Hylton helped the Hatters close the gap with an RBI double in the seventh and a solo homer in the ninth, but Stetson could get no closer.
Pitching Decision:
W: Brandon Sproat (2-0)
L: Nick Chiseri (0-1)
Individual Stats:
Hickey: 4-5, 3 RBI, R
Young: 3-5, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
Halter: 2-4, 2B, BB, R
What’s Next:
Florida (11-3) will open a weekend series against Jacksonville. The series kicks off on Friday at 6:30 PM.
The Dolphins are 3-8 on the season but are coming off a sweep of Wofford at home.
Coming off its first loss in over a year, No. 6 Florida eased its way back into the win column at home Wednesday night with a run-rule victory in six innings over Kennesaw State.
“We played really nice, productive softball,” head coach Tim Walton said after the game.
Junior third baseman Charla Echols hit her fourth and fifth home runs and drove in five runs as Florida defeated the Owls 10-2.
“Today was all by design, . . . other than Natalie [Lugo] giving up that two-run home run,” Walton said.
Despite her blunder in the top of the second inning, the senior right-hander recorded the first 11 outs en route to her third win this season.
“Natalie [Lugo] hasn’t had a whole lot of starts lately, so we really wanted to get her back out there,” Walton said.
…
Florida southpaw Katie Chronister entered the circle in Lugo’s relief and struck out five straight betters before junior right-hander Elizabeth Hightower got the final out. Chronister got her mojo back following a rough outing last Saturday against Florida State.
Center fielder Cheyenne Lindsey, who moved up in the lineup from her usual nine-hole spot to leadoff batter, extended her hit streak to 10 games after she hit a leadoff triple in the bottom of the third. “The middle of our lineup has been so just average, so we’re just trying to stretch that lineup as far as we can go,” Walton said.
Second baseman Hannah Adams drew a hit-by-pitch before Echols cleared the bases with her first dinger of the night to give the Gators a 4-2 lead.
Lindsey stayed hot in the fourth inning as she poked an RBI-single up the middle. “I just take it one at-bat at a time and just stay within myself and try to get something going for the team,” she said. On the next at-bat, Adams drove in catcher Julia Cottrill on a sacrifice fly to center field extend the lead to 6-2.
The Gators left two runners stranded in the bottom of the fifth until a hit parade in the sixth secured the run-rule win. Adams led off with a single and Echols went yard again to make it 8-2. A trio of HBPs allowed right fielder Avery Goelz to hit an RBI-Double and left fielder Jamie Hoover to rope a game-clinching RBI-single.
Final (R-H-E)
Kennesaw State: 2-3-0
No. 6 Florida: 10-10-0
Pitching Decision
Win: Lugo (3-0)
Loss: Bennett (5-6)
Individual Stats
RHP Lugo: 3.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K (1.58/0.97 season ERA/WHIP)
LHP Chronister: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K (1.40/0.56)
The Gators will prepare for another ranked opponent this weekend as they host No. 9 Kentucky in a three-game series. The Wildcats are 19-0 overall and carry an 8-0 away record.
After two losses closed the Gators men’s basketball season, Florida lost out on the chance for a double-bye in the conference tournament. The Gators now await the result of Wednesday’s Vanderbilt-Texas A&M game to face the winner the following day.
In a season finale that essentially served as a battle for the fourth seed, Florida jumped out to an early lead against the Tennessee Volunteers on their home court before backsliding to a 65-54 loss after an uninspired and frustrating 21-point second half.
WHAT IS THERE TO PLAY FOR?
The Gators are a near-lock for the NCAA Tournament, regardless of what happens in Nashville this upcoming week. Joe Lunardi, ESPN’s braketology expert, gave Florida more than a 90% chance of being a part of March Madness and listed them as an eight seed Monday.
So, other than the obvious allure of an SEC tournament title, what does head coach Mike White and his team have at stake in the conference finale?
The most consequential and tangible possible improvement is tournament seeding. If the Lunardi prediction of an eight seed holds when March Madness rolls around, the Gators would have to face one of the four best teams in the country as early as the second round.
If the Gators can beat either Vanderbilt or Texas A&M, however, and if they can sneak their way to the conference semifinals or even find a way to bring home hardware, they could be on the move. Alabama and Arkansas, the top two seeds, are both top 10 in the country and projected to be a two and a three seed, respectively. A pair or even a trio of strong victories for Florida could bump the orange and blue up to a seven or a six seed, which could potentially be the difference between a second-round exit or a run to the Sweet Sixteen or beyond.
However, this is a double-edged sword. If Florida comes out flat and loses a third straight game, the Gators could see themselves slip to a nine seed, forced to be the low seed from the opening tip after cracking the top 25 just five short weeks ago.
Florida also needs a chance to right the ship a little bit in the conference tournament. It has won just three of seven games since its statement win at West Virginia Jan. 30. It seemed primed for a postseason success after a Feb. 27 victory at Kentucky, but a soul-crushing buzzer-beater against Missouri and the Tennessee loss means Florida’s opening round matchup will be to prevent entering the tournament on a three-game skid.
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYONE
The 2020 season was halted last March, days before the SEC Tournament could get underway, and Florida boasts one of the youngest rosters in college basketball. This combination creates a bizarre dynamic – most of Florida’s roster hasn’t played an SEC Tournament.
Guard Tre Mann, forward Scottie Lewis and big man Omar Payne were all freshman a season ago, never allowed the chance to finish their debut seasons. Mann’s improvement was one of the stories of the year, as he paced the team with 15.0 points per game and 3.4 assists per game and ranked second in rebounds and three-point percentage and steals. Lewis, who was forced to the bench for two weeks in January for health & safety protocol, fortified the defense with a team-high 1.8 steals and 1.1 blocks a contest.
Older starting staples like Tyree Appleby and Anthony Duruji transferred and weren’t eligible to play for Florida until this season. Star forward Colin Castleton wasn’t even in Gainesville a year ago after he spent the first two years of his collegiate career in Michigan. Castleton’s arrival and assertion was the other major headline for Florida basketball, as the transfer averaged 12.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game and was named SEC Player of the Week twice.
For all intents and purposes, the only Gator who reached the postseason with Mike White before is junior sharpshooter Noah Locke, who competed as a freshman in 2019 when Auburn bounced Florida in the conference quarterfinals. The roster has plenty of experience, but the postseason is uncharted territory for most of them, and how they respond will be crucial.
GAME ONE – WOULD YOU RATHER?
The Gators sit in a strange limbo between now and Wednesday’s Vanderbilt-Texas A&M play-in game, the winner of which will play Florida the following day. So who would Florida rather play?
Texas A&M is a strange case, mostly because there is so little information about the Aggies. They only played 10 conference games in 2021, with their entire February slate postponed due to COVID protocol and contact tracing. The Aggies only won two of those 10 games, but nearly took down No. 8 Arkansas on the road in their final game of the season, just their second game back from the break.
Texas A&M is ranked 129th in KenPom, 16 spots lower than any other SEC team and 34 spots lower than Vanderbilt (95th). It ranks almost 300th in effective field goal percentage allowed (296th at 53.2%), but it a top 50 team nationally at offensive rebounding, an area Florida saw itself outmatched in multiple times in the regular season.
Vanderbilt fared little better in conference play, winning just three of 16 games. However, the Commodores came within seven points of beating the Gators on their home court in January and pulled within just four points with under a minute. The Commodores are a shorter team than the Aggies, which plays to the advantage of the undersized Florida, and ranked outside the top 200 in the country in shooting percentage allowed from all three areas of the floor.
The biggest motivation for not wanting Vanderbilt is clear – no one wants to play Scotty Pippen Jr. The sophomore guard is one of the most lethal offensive threats in the conference, averaging 20.6 points and 4.9 assists per game, both the second-highest marks in the SEC. He had 50 points and 12 assists between his two games against the Gators, including a 32 points in that January comeback effort that fell just short.
Florida’s conference tournament bid will get underway Thursday at 2:30 pm.
Dan Mullen and the Florida Gators added another player to their 2022 recruiting class.
Flower Mound, Texas quarterback Nick Evers announced his commitment to the Gators on social media Tuesday night. He’s listed as a three-star prospect, according to 247 Sports, with offers from programs like Auburn, Boise State, Alcorn State and Cincinnati along with a host of others.
According to 247, Evers is one 13 quarterbacks in the 2022 class offered by the Gators. Florida currently holds three commitments overall, including Evers, and the eighth-ranked class in the Southeastern Conference.
Evers is the No. 20 ranked prostyle QB in the cycle and the No. 447 overall player.
Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan now sits alone as the all-time winningest head coach in program history. With Florida’s 5-1 win over Georgia State on Tuesday, O’Sullivan surpassed Dave Fuller with win No. 557.
Fuller served as head coach for the Gators from 1948-75 and racked up a 556-354 record in those twenty-eight seasons.
While Sully has the opportunity to build on his achievement, OF Jacob Young saw his program-record hitting streak come to a halt. Young finished the game 0-4.
How It Happened:
The Gators got on the scoreboard early, erupting for five runs in the first three innings of play. Kirby McMullen opened the scoring with a two run, no-doubt homer to left.
Freshman Colby Halter doubled down the right field line to lead off the second inning, he advanced on an error and scored three pitches later on a Josh Rivera groundout to short.
Florida added a pair of runs in the bottom of the third. A Jordan Butler sacrifice fly scored Jud Fabian and Nathan Hickey scored on Halter’s fielder’s choice.
The Tigers completed the scoring with an RBI single by J_ Smith off Trey Van Der Weide in the sixth.
The Gators received a solid outing from the pitching staff as well. Garrett Milchin started and tossed four innings allowing just three hits and no free passes. Van Der Weide added three innings, giving up just the one run and Christian Scott closed it out with two innings of work.
Pitching Decision:
W: Milchin (1-0)
L: Seth Clark (0-1)
Individual Stats:
McMullen: 2-3, HR, 2 RBI, BB
Hickey: 0-1, 3 BB, 2 R
Calilao: 2-4
UF Bullpen: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 7 K, BB
What’s Next:
Florida will take on Stetson at Florida Ballpark on Wednesday. The Hatters are 10-3 on the season, following a 10-0 start to 2021. South Florida swept the Hatters last weekend in Tampa.
Carrying a 20-game winning streak into Tallahassee Saturday, the Gators fell to in-state rival Florida State; the Seminoles handed Florida its first loss in 370 days.
Prior to landing in the loss column, Florida defeated the New Mexico State Aggies at home Wednesday 6-2. Florida left fielder Jamie Hoover sparked a productive offensive night for the Gators after she knocked a three-run dinger in the bottom of the first inning. Second baseman Hannah Adams went 3-4 with a solo shot — marking back-to-back games with a home run.
In the first matchup of a home-and-home series against FSU, the Gators shutout the Seminoles 5-0 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium as junior right-hander Elizabeth Hightower improved to 7-0.
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