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KeVaughn Allen sank a pair of three-pointers late in overtime to propel the Gators to an upset of #13 LSU in a hostile road environment.
The Gators opened the game with an 8-2 start in the opening five minutes of play. LSU trailed until finally tying the game at 17 just past the midpoint of the first half. The Tigers took their first lead at 20-19 with 8:41 remaining in the opening half.
The game was a see-saw affair and the largest lead was seven by Florida early in the second half.
LSU took a 60-57 lead with just over three minutes remaining in regulation, but the scrappy Gators team continued to fight, and in less than one minute after a Noah Locke jumper and an Allen trey, Florida was back on top.
LSU’s Naz Reid knocked down the tying jump shot to send the game to overtime.
Allen would be a one man wrecking crew in the extra period. Allen finished with twelve points in OT, including knocking down all four free-throws to seal the win.
Noah Locke and Jalen Hudson each added 15 points. Senior Kevarrius Hayes finished with 10 points and 7 boards while freshman Andrew Nembhard added eight points and eight assists to the cause.
The Gators entered the contest squarely on the NCAA tournament bubble, but a major road win will certainly help their case.
Florida (15-11) returns home to face Missouri (12-13) on Saturday at 4:00 PM.
Gainesville, FL- Florida’s offense was silent for much of the night in Tampa on Tuesday and the Gators followed suit on Wednesday. One day after managing a single run against USF, Florida equaled that performance against a North Florida team that is already making a case for post-season play.
The Gators started freshman RHP Christian Scott on the mound, but he only lasted two innings before giving way to a valiant bullpen effort (until the top of the ninth). Unfortunately, the Gators were unable to fight all the way back after falling behind early.
Florida will host Miami for a three game series. The Gators will have to find an offense rather fast as the Hurricanes outscored Rutgers 35-7 on the opening weekend.
Game Trends
The Ospreys scored a run in each of the first three innings. UNF loaded the bases on freshman pitcher Christian Scott after a taylor-made double play ball was bobbled by second baseman Christian Flint. The error proved costly as UNF’s next batter, Jay Prather singled home the first run of the contest.
UNF SS Tanner May crushed a 2-1 offering from Scott for a solo homer to increase the Ospeys lead to 2-0.
Freshman RHP Ben Spect came on in the third inning only to see the first hitter he faced crush a no-doubt homer into the parking lot behind the left-field stands. Spect settled down, however, and pitched two innings of scoreless ball afterwards.
Florida had an opportunity in the fifth before finally capitalizing in the sixth. The Gators had runners on first and third in the fifth, but SS Brady McConnell lined out to left to end the threat.
In the sixth, Nelson Maldonado led off the frame with a single which was followed by another single from Wil Dalton. Dalton’s base hit moved Maldonado to third and set up a Cory Acton sac fly to move the Gators within two of North Florida.
The Ospreys got a lot of insurance in the top half of the ninth as 3B Chris Berry hit a three-run moonshot that landed on the top half of the scoreboard behind the right field wall. Florida trailed 7-1 going into their final at-bat.
Despite a leadoff walk by Kendrick Calilao, the next three Gators hitters each struck out to end the ball game.
Fast Stats:
Starting catcher Santino Miozzi finished 2-2 with a pair of singles and a walk in only the second start of his career.
RHP David Luethje made his first appearance in relief and retired all nine Ospreys batters he faced.
Florida recorded eight hits one day after only reaching twice on hits.
Freshman Nick Pogue pitched the final two innings of the game and struck out the side in his first inning of work. Pogue finished with five strikeouts in two innings of work.
Quotables:
Head coach Kevin O’Sullivan: “[I] kind of knew that this would be two difficult ballgames… We knew we were going to throw a bunch of freshman [tonight]…the thing that’s been hurting us is some mistakes that we were normally not making coming into the season. We had a double-play ball that we missed [that could have] gotten Christian out of the inning.”
OF/DH Nelson Maldonado: “I dont want to use the excuse that we are young, i feel like each and everyone of these players is ready to play at this level.
The Florida Gators improved to 12-0 on the season after a 5-0 victory on the road against Jacksonville (4-5) on Wednesday. Natalie Lugo threw a gem in the circle and helped Florida navigate a pair of weather delays in earning the W.
Lugo tossed a complete game shutout and struck out thirteen Dolphins on the night.
Lugo had the benefit of pitching with a lead for the entirety of the game after Amanda Lorenz led off the game with a solo homer on the second pitch delivered.
Shortly after Lorenz’s homer the rains started and the game was delayed temporarily.
When play resumed, the Gators struck again. Jordan Matthews added to the lead with a 2-RBI single up the middle that plated Alex Voss and Sophia Reynoso in the second.
Florida added two more runs in the second as Amanda Lorenz scored on a mishandled catch by JU C Genest and Hannah Adams then followed with a bases loaded walk to put the Gators up 5-0.
The lead allowed Lugo to go into cruise control. For the night Lugo tossed seven innings, allowed four hits, struck out a career high 13 while not allowing a single walk.
Matthews finished 2-2 with three walks while Lorenz went 2-5 in the game.
Florida will open the Bubly Invitational on Friday with a bout against Illinois State that is slated for a 5:00 PM start.
Tampa, FL – The Gators opened midweek play with a road bout against South Florida in Tampa. Florida’s offense, save for the bat of a freshman outfielder, appears to have stayed in Gainesville. The Gators fell to the Bulls by a 6-1 score and are now 3-1 on the season.
Florida will make the trek back to campus and face UNF on Wednesday. The Ospreys are 2-1 and took the season opening series against SEC foe Missouri.
Game Trends
The Bulls struck first with a pair of runs in the opening frame of the game. USF managed to load the bases with the first three hitters of the game. A pair of singles and a walk by McMullen allowed for the situation. Joe Genord hit into a fielder’s choice that scored Nick Gonzalez for the first run of the game and that was followed by OF Austin Bodrato singling to score Jordan Santos and put the Bulls up 2-0.
Florida threatened in the third, loading the bases with two outs, but freshman 2B Cody Acton hit a deep fly ball to the deepest part of the park that was tracked down by USF CF Kyle Phillips.
USF added to it’s lead in the third when Genord crushed a solo shot that just barely stayed fair. The next three Bulls batters each reached base via walk, error, and walk, but relief pitcher Justin Alintoff was able to record back to back strikeouts to retire the side.
The Gators had runners on second and third in the fourth, but SS Brady McConnell swung at a pitch that was way outside to end the threat.
Florida finally got on the board in the sixth when Jud Fabian unloaded for his first career homer to left-center and brought the Gators back to within two runs. USF had a chance to add to the lead, loading the bases with no outs against reliever Jordan Butler, but a strikeout and a double-play ended the threat.
While it looked as if momentum had shifted, Florida opened the seventh with runners on first and third with no outs. USF called on lefty reliever Logan Lyle to face the Gators 4-5-6 hitters. All Lyle did was strikeout the side to end the threat and keep the Bulls ahead.
USF DH Chris Chatfield led off the seventh inning with a homer to right center to capitalize on the momentum, but that wouldn’t be all for the Bulls in the frame. USF would add two more runs on a Phillips double and suddenly found themselves with a 6-1 lead on the #5 team in the country.
Florida’s pitching didn’t bail the offense out this time. Hunter McMullen (0-1) started the game, but was yanked in the third inning. In all five pitchers toed the rubber for Florida in this one.
Fast Stats:
Freshman Just Fabian and senior Nelson Maldonado were the only Gators to record a hit in the game.
Freshman Justin Alintoff relieved McMullen and threw 2.2 innings of scoreless baseball.
The two teams combined to walk 13 batters (Six by Gators pitchers.
Florida ace Kelly Barnhill was named the SEC Pitcher of the Week for the second consecutive week, the conference announced on Monday.
Per the SEC press release:
SEC Pitcher of the Week – Florida’s Kelly Barnhill, a senior right-hander from Marietta, Ga., posted two wins and two saves at the Littlewood Classic. Barnhill struck out a season-high 14 batters in the complete-game win over #14/16/24 Arizona State. For the week, she fanned 28 batters in 13.0 innings of work.
Barnhill is 6-0 with a 0.88 ERA in 32 innings of work so far. The senior has recorded 54 strikeouts while only walking seven batters. Barnhill has also recorded three saves this season in relief roles. Barnhill has recorded a decision in all nine appearances she has made in 2019.
The Gators will travel to Jacksonville to take on the Dolphins on Wednesday, but will return home for the Bubly Invitational beginning this Friday.
Florida point guard Andrew Nembhard was named the SEC co-Freshman of the Week, the conference announced on Monday.
Per the SEC press release:
SEC Co-Freshmen of the Week –Florida guard Andrew Nembhard,a 6-foot-5, 191-pound freshman from Aurora, Ontario, andVanderbilt guard Aaron Nesmith,a 6-foot-6, 213-pound freshman from Charleston, S.C., were named SEC Co-Freshmen of the Week. Nembhard averaged 15.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in wins over Vanderbilt and at Alabama. Nembhard shot a team-best 92.8 percent (13-of-14) from the field for the week, including a perfect 9-for-9 performance at Alabama. Nesmith averaged 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals against Florida and Auburn. He had a career-high 26 points against Florida and a career-high 14 rebounds against Auburn.
The Aurora, Ontario native is averaging 7.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game and has started all 25 games for Mike White’s squad this year.
Florida travels to the Bayou for Wednesday’s contest against #19 LSU. The game will be nationally televised on ESPNU and will tip off at 7:00 PM. The Gators are looking to make a late push for an at-large NCAA Tournament bid and a win would go a long way to helping those odds.
Florida softball completed the Littlewood Classic with a trio of victories on Saturday and Sunday. The Gators completed the tournament with a 5-0 record including a win over #14 Arizona State on Friday.
Florida defeated San Diego 12-4 to open Saturday’s play and finished the day with a 13-1 win over Utah State. Both games were started by true freshmen pitchers.
On Sunday, the Gators also run-ruled Central Michigan by an 8-0 final and moved to 11-0 on the season.
SATURDAY (GAME ONE):
FLORIDA 12, SAN DIEGO 4
RUNS
HITS
ERRORS
GATORS
12
15
1
USD
4
7
0
Tempe, AZ – The Gators began the second day of the Littlewood Classic with a matchup against the University of San Diego. The Toreros were little competition as the Gators scorched them for 15 hits. Florida improved to 9-0 with the victory.
Game Trends
Florida opened the game with three runs before the Toreros had a chance to bat. Kendyl Lindaman hit a 2-0 pitch back up the middle for the first score of the game. Hannah Adams drew a bases loaded walk that scored Danielle Romanello and Sophia Reynoso singled home Lindaman to get to the 3-0 score.
Florida added a run in the second with a single by Jordan Roberts that scored Amanda Lorenz.
San Diego broke through in the bottom of the second when Sophia Bjerk turned on a 3-2 pitch from freshman Danni Farley for a solo homer.
Lorenz doubled in Hannah Sipos to increase the lead to 5-1.
Florida added three runs in the fourth inning and four runs in the fifth frame highlighted by Jaimie Hoover’s two-run triple.
The Toreros got a couple back in the fifth inning including a two-run blast by Lindsay Clare, but it wasn’t enough to avoid a run-rule. The Gators finished the contest with a 12-4 victory through five innings of play.
Farley pitched a complete game and earned her first career decision. Her final line read as: 5 innings, 4 runs (3 earned), 7 hits, 3 strikeouts, and 3 walks.
Fast Stats:
Amanda Lorenz went 2-3 with a double, 2 RBI, and a run scored.
Sophia Reynoso finished 3-4 with 3 RBI.
Kendyl Lindaman went 2-2 with a walk and an RBI.
Florida went 10-18 (.556) with runners in scoring position.
W: Farley (1-0)
L: Madison Earnshaw (1-5)
SATURDAY (GAME TWO):
FLORIDA 13, UTAH STATE 1
RUNS
HITS
ERRORS
GATORS
13
11
0
USU
1
2
3
Tempe, AZ- The Gators finished the Saturday portion of the Littlewood Classic with another rout over inferior competition, this time in Mountain West foe Utah State. Freshman Elizabeth Hightower started the game and pitched all five innings in the run-rule victory for Florida.
Game Trends
Florida scored nine runs in the first two innings to put away the Aggies early. Catcher Kendyl Lindaman crushed a three run homer to open the scoring in the first inning.
Jaimie Hoover followed in the second inning with a three run homer of her own that increased the lead to 9-0.
The Gators added two runs in the third when Amanda Lorenz singled in Alex Voss to increase the lead to 10-0. Jordan Roberts added a sacrifice fly later in the inning to further increase the Florida advantage.
The Gators added a run in both the fourth and fifth innings as well.
Elizabeth Hightower received her first career start and held a perfect game one time through the Aggies lineup. Hightower ran into a problem in the fourth however. Utah State got their only run on a bases loaded walk to Erin Kuba.
Fast Stats:
Elizabeth Hightower finished with a statline of: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 10 Ks, 2 BB.
Amanda Lorenz went 2-3 with two runs scored and an RBI
Kendyl Lindaman finished 2-2 with 3 RBI and 2 runs scored.
Jaimie Hoover finished 3-4 with 4 RBI in the game.
W: Hightower (1-0)
L: Kapri Toone (0-2)
SUNDAY:
FLORIDA 8, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 0
RUNS
HITS
ERRORS
CMU
0
2
3
GATORS
8
6
0
Tampa, FL- Florida finished the Littlewood Classic with an 8-0 victory over the Central Michigan Chippewas. Florida improved to 11-0 with the victory.
Game Trends:
The Chippewas actually managed to get out of the first inning unscathed, but Florida would strike in the second inning. Jordan Roberts homered to center to open the scoring and Sophia Reynoso hit a sacrifice fly that scored Danielle Romanello.
In the third inning, Roberts hit an RBI single that scored Jordan Matthews which was followed by a Romanello single that scored Kendyl Lindaman and pushed the Gators lead to 4-0.
Jordan Matthews capped the night with a two run homer in the bottom of the fourth that put the game in run-rule territory.
Kelly Barnhill pitched four innings in picking up her sixth win of the season. Natalie Lugo pitched the fifth inning and the two combined for 11 strikeouts in the contest.
Fast Stats:
Jordan Matthews went 2-3 with 2 RBI on the afternoon.
Jordan Roberts also went 2-3 with 2 runs scored and two RBI as well.
Kelly Barnhill pitched four innings, allowing only one hit and walked one Chippewas batter.
The Gators went 8-11 (.727) on advancement opportunities against Central Michigan.
Gainesville, FL- The Florida Gators opened the 2019 season with a sweep of Long Beach State. Florida defeated the Dirtbags 8-2 on opening night and then rolled to 5-2 and 3-1 victories to cap the weekend. Sunday’s win represented the 500th Kevin O’Sullivan victory since taking over at Florida.
Friday:
Final: Florida 8, LBSU 2
The Gators opened the 2019 season with a bang as Florida dropped the Dirtbags 8-2 to open the season 1-0.
Junior OF Wil Dalton opened the scoring with a 2-RBI single. Brady Smith added another 2-RBI single later in the inning as Florida took a 4-0 lead after one at-bat.
Long Beach would get on the board in the fourth inning as the Dirtbags scored on a passed ball and a wild pitch in consecutive at-bats.
Florida added to it’s lead in the seventh. Nelson Maldonado scored after a balk by Basilio Pancheo. Then, with the bases loaded, freshman Jud Fabian sent one to the heavens that was misplayed by Dirtbags LF Calvin Estrada and cleared the bases.
Junior Tyler Dyson struggled with his command and threw only 3.1 innings while walking four hitters. He was also tagged for both runs (one unearned).
W: Jordan Butler (1-0)
L: Adam Seminaris
__________
Saturday:
Final: Florida 5, LBSU 2
The Gators earned the series victory with a 5-2 win on Saturday.
Florida started the scoring with a four run second inning and added a run in the third.
2B Blake Reese opened the scoring with a 2-run double to right that scored Brady Smith and Kendrick Calilao. CF Jud Fabian followed with a double as well, which brought Reese home. Austin Langworthy followed with his first hit of the season, a single up the middle that scored Fabian and gave UF a 4-0 lead.
In the third, Wil Dalton hit a sacrifice fly to right that scored Nelson Maldonado from third.
The Dirtbags would get on the board in the fourth with a pair of runs, but starting pitcher Tommy Mace proved to be too much on this night.
Mace threw seven innings allowing only five hits and struck out seven. Christian Scott and Nolan Crisp pitched a perfect inning in relief each to finish the game.
Crisp earned his first save and was named the closer by O’Sullivan after the game.
W: Mace (1-0)
L: Zak Baayoun (0-1)
S: Crisp (1)
__________
Sunday:
Final: Florida 3, LBSU 1
Florida completed the sweep with a 3-1 victory over Long Beach State on Sunday.
Florida starter Jack Leftwich pitched a good game and the bullpen preserved the lead.
For the first time this season, Florida trailed as LBSU LF Aidan Malm crushed a solo homer in the second inning to give the Dirtbags a 1-0 lead.
The Gators, however added a pair of runs in the second to take the lead back and seize control of the contest.
Jud Fabian worked a two out walk to force in a run, and 3B Roberto Pena followed that up by reaching on an error that allowed Maldonado to score.
In the fourth frame, SS Brady McConnell doubled in C Santino Miozzi to increase the lead to 3-1.
Leftwich threw six innings for the Gators and allowed only five hits while striking out five. Leftwich didn’t allow a walk in the game.
Redshirt freshman Hunter Ruth got his first action as a Gator, pitching two innings while Nolan Crisp closed his second straight game.
NOTE: In the sixth inning, Blake Reese suffered a shoulder injury while diving for a ball. He was taken out for the rest of the game, but O’Sullivan said he should be back in time for next weekend’s series against Miami.
__________
What’s next:
Florida will have a busy week. The team will travel to Tampa to take on USF on Tuesday and will return home Wednesday to face the UNF Ospreys. On Friday, the Gators will open a three game set with rival Miami at McKethan Stadium.
The Florida Gators earned an important victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday.
Freshman point guard finished with 21 points and couldn’t miss from the field. Nembhard went 9-9 from the floor including 2-2 from beyond the three point line to lead the Gators.
Fellow freshman Keyontae Johnson added 14 points and 13 boards for the first double-double of his career.
The Gators controlled the game with a 17-point lead with just over 13 minutes to play, but Alabama made a run to cut the deficit below ten. The Tide had several chances to close the gap further but failed to make baskets when needed.
Florida still has a chance at an NCAA tournament berth, but they will travel to LSU for a matchup with #19 LSU (21-4) which serves as nearly a must win game for Mike White’s squad.
The Gators are now 14-11 overall and 6-6 in conference play.
The Gators softball team is spending the weekend in Arizona to compete in the Littlewood Classic. On Friday they defeated Illinois State and tournament host, Arizona State to improve to 8-0 on the season.
(GAME ONE):
FLORIDA 2, ILLINOIS STATE 1
RUNS
HITS
ERRORS
ILL ST
1
1
2
GATORS
2
7
0
Tempe, AZ – Florida opened the Littlewood Classic in Tempe, Arizona by defeating Illinois State 2-1. The Redbirds, who UF faced in the USF Opening Weekend Tournament last weekend, fought until the end and almost came away with a victory. Natalie Lugo improved to 3-0 on the season while Kelly Barnhill picked up her third save of the season.
Game Trends
Florida scored both runs in the bottom of the second. Jordan Roberts doubled to left field with one out while Jaimie Hoover reached on an error to put a pair of runners on. Alex Voss then singled through the hole between short and third to load the bases. Sophia Reynoso was hit by a pitch which scored Roberts for the first score of the game. Hannah Sipos then followed with a ground out to short, but it allowed Hoover to score.
The two run lead would prove to be enough as Lugo worked five perfect frames before allowing a leadoff walk and a double in the sixth inning. The Redbirds would score on that double as Shannon Felde plated Michele Calabreese.
Kelly Barnhill entered the circle for the seventh inning and promptly struck out the side in order to seal the win for Florida.
Fast Stats:
Lugo once again made up for a quiet offensive game. Lugo threw 6 innings, allowing one hit and striking out six while walking only one.
Barnhill recorded her third save of the season, which is also only the seventh of her career.
1B Amanda Lorenz went 2-2 with a walk
Florida has struggled with runners in scoring position going all the way back to the season opening contest between the two teams, that didn’t change as the Gators were 1-11 (.091) against the Redbirds.
W: Lugo (3-0)
L: Ali Domkuski (0-1)
S: Barnhill (3)
(GAME TWO):
FLORIDA 7, ARIZONA STATE 2
RUNS
HITS
ERRORS
GATORS
7
9
0
ASU
2
4
2
Tempe, AZ- Florida closed the opening day of the Littlewood Classic with a dominant effort against #14 Arizona State. Amanda Lorenz led the offensive effort with a pair of homers while Kelly Barnhill operated in the circle for the complete game. The Gators improved to 8-0 with the victory and the win also represented the third of the season for Florida against Top-25 teams.
Game Trends
Florida, playing as the visitors, got on the board right away as Amanda Lorenz cranked her first homer of the season to right-center to lead off the game.
The Sun Devils did rebound however, and tied the game up with a solo shot from their leadoff hitter, Kindra Hackbarth.
The Gators added another run in the second as Sophia Reynoso, who was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, scored on a Danielle Romanello single to right.
Arizona State would again tie the game up in the bottom of the third as the Sun Devils manufactured a run after a leadoff single. M. Howe doubled home Hackbarth to knot the game at two a side.
The tie didn’t last long, however, as Lorenz crushed a homer to left to open the fourth inning of play.
The Gators then added four insurance runs in the fifth frame to take control of the game. Hannah Adams homered to center for her second of the year, a few batters later, Lorenz walked with the bases loaded to score Alex Voss, Matthews followed Lorenz and was hit by a pitch to force Reynoso home. The Gators added one more run when Kendyl Lindaman was hit by a pitch that forced Hannah Sipos to score and pushed the Florida lead to 7-2.
That was all the support Barnhill needed as she threw three perfect innings to close out the victory.
Fast Stats:
Amanda Lorenz went 2-3 with two homers, a walk, and 3 RBI
Hannah Adams finished 2-3 with a homer and an RBI and added a walk as well.
Senior Kelly Barnhill pitched a complete game and registered a season high 14 strikeouts despite the two earned runs.
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