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Florida’s Condron Family Ballpark will host Florida A&M (29-28), Texas Tech (39-21), and UConn (43-15) in this weekend’s regional action.
The Gainesville regional winner will pair with the Columbia, SC regional winner in Gainesville next weekend. The Gamecocks swept Florida in a three game series at South Carolina in April.
2023 is Florida’s fifteenth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and comes on the heels of the Gators’ sixteenth regular season conference championship.
The NCAA regionals serve as a double elimination tournament with one team advancing to the super regionals.
Check back this week for our in-depth preview of this week’s NCAA regionals.
HOOVER, Ala. – The Gators powered their way past the Vanderbilt Commodores 6-3 in the third round of the SEC Tournament, with all six runs coming by way of the long ball. B.T. Riopelle had a two homer night, giving him three homers in two games this tournament.
Florida starter Brandon Sproat tossed six innings, giving up two earned runs and fanning six. The Commodores got out to an early lead in the first before Sproat settled in and cruised.
Luke Heyman tied the game at one with a blast to dead center field in the bottom of the second. Riopelle stayed hot with another solo shot in the fourth to give the Gators a 2-1 lead.
Cade Fisher took over for Sproat in the seventh and recorded two outs before giving way to Ryan Slater to finish off the inning.
With the game tied at two, Riopelle stepped to the plate and hit a go-ahead grand slam in the bottom of the seventh. Josh Rivera, Jac Caglianone and Cade Kurland all came around to score.
Slater earned the win in relief after finishing off the eighth, allowing only one run on a solo shot from Jonathan Vastine. Philip Abner slammed the door in the ninth striking out the side in order to earn the save.
With the win the Gators advanced to the semifinals. The game will take place on May 27th at 1 p.m.
HOOVER, Ala. – B.T. Riopelle’s walk-off homer in the bottom of the eleventh powered the No. 1 seed Gators past the No. 9 seeded Crimson Tide in the second round of the SEC Tournament, 7-6. Cade Fisher earned the win in relief, while Alton Davis II was tagged for the loss.
WALK. OFF. HOMER. GATORS. 🐊@GatorsBB score 4 runs in the 11th inning to get the W over Alabama
No team has ever overcome a 3-run deficit in extra innings in the SEC Tournament 🤯 pic.twitter.com/kzmg7rPdf3
Josh Rivera got the Gators off to a fast start with a two-run shot to left field in the bottom of the first. The blast was Crimson Tide starter Luke Holman’s only blemish of the day, giving up two runs in his 5.2 innings of work.
Gator starter Hurston Waldrep fired 5.2 innings of three run ball, while striking out seven, and only walking two. Reliever Ryan Slater stranded a pair of Alabama runners in the 6th. In the seventh, Slater sat the Tide down in order to conclude his night of work.
The Gators came back to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth after Dale Thomas drew a leadoff walk and scored from first on a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt attempt from Michael Robertson.
Philip Abner threw a scoreless eighth inning for the Gators, while striking out one. Head coach Kevin O’Sullivan went to closer Brandon Neely in the ninth with the game tied at 3. Neely threw 2.2 spotless innings before giving up a bases-clearing double to Tommy Siedl in the top of the eleventh. Neely finished his night with five strikeouts and three earned runs. Cade Fisher faced one batter in relief to finish the eleventh and earn the win.
Down three in the eleventh, Wyatt Langford singled to center to lead off the inning before the Tide handed the ball over to Alton Davis II. Back to back singles from Jac Caglianone and Josh Rivera brought the Gators within two, bringing up Riopelle to the plate. Riopelle proceeded to launch one to deep right-center field to steal a win for the Gators in extras.
The Gators will take on the winner of Vanderbilt and Auburn on Thursday, May 25. It will be the last game of the day and take place 30 minutes after the LSU and Arkansas game, which is set to begin at 5:30 p.m. EST.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Seven Gators were selected for All-SEC honors for the 2023 baseball season. The SEC Champion Gators had the most players selected for awards this year.
🏆 𝐀𝐥𝐥-𝐒𝐄𝐂 🏆
A league-high seven #Gators collect 2023 All-SEC honors!
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 22, 2023
First Team All-SEC: First baseman Jac Caglianone, second baseman Cade Kurland, shortstop Josh Rivera, outfielder Wyatt Langford and closer Brandon Neely were all First Team All-SEC recipients.
Caglianone, a Golden Spikes Award semifinalist, had a stellar year offensively and on the mound for the Gators. He led the country with 28 home runs and was top 10 in the country with 76 RBIs. He also hit .350 with a 1.224 OPS. On the mound, Caglianone had a 6-2 record as the Gator’s Sunday starter. He carried a 3.96 ERA in 61.1 innings pitched. He struck out 71 batters and held opponents to a .174 batting average against.
Kurland was named to the All-SEC Freshman team, along with a First Team All-SEC selection. He hit .315 with 15 home runs and 44 RBIs. He also had a 1.030 OPS and a .950 fielding percentage.
Rivera, one of the senior leaders on the team, hit .361 with a 1.089 OPS. He drove in 58 runs along with 14 homers. Rivera also swiped 13 bags and drew 35 walks.
Langford, another Golden Spikes semifinalist, finished his year with a .399 average and a whopping 1.354 OPS. He hit 16 homers and led the team with 20 doubles. Langford also led the team with 44 walks and a 1.000 fielding percentage.
Neely sported a 3.65 ERA and led the SEC with ten saves. He struck out 52 and only allowed 31 hits in his 37 innings of work.
Second Team All-SEC: Right-hander Brandon Sproat was the lone Gators selection to the All-SEC Second Team. As the Friday night starter, Sproat carried a 4.85 ERA while striking out 100 batters. He also threw the team’s only two complete games, including a one-hit shutout to open SEC play against Alabama. Batters only hit .200 off him on the year.
Freshman All-SEC: Kurland and Luke Heyman were the Gator’s two representatives for the Freshman All-SEC Team. Heyman hit .336 with a .990 OPS. Heyman also hit 9 home runs and flashed a .995 fielding percentage.
Florida will open post-season play in the SEC Tournament as the No. 1 seed Wednesday. They will face either Kentucky or Alabama in the third game of the day.
The Gators saw their 2023 season come to an end Sunday in Palo Alto, California, after they lost 11-2 to No. 9 Stanford in the NCAA Regional finals.
Friday Box Score
Loyola Marymount: 2 / 5 / 0
Florida: 3 / 8 / 1
Florida opened the weekend with a one-run victory Friday over Loyola Marymount (CA) thanks to a seventh-inning comeback. Down 2-1 entering the bottom of the seventh, Florida catcher Sarah Longley led off with a solo shot — her seventh this year — to tie the game before right fielder Pal Egan hit a walk-off single up the middle.
Senior southpaw Rylee Trlicek recorded the last eight outs for Florida en route to earning her 14th win this season.
Saturday Game 1 Box Score
Florida: 0 / 2 / 2
Stanford: 8 / 7 / 0
After advancing to the winner’s bracket, the Gators came back to earth with a run-rule loss against the regional host. Half of Florida’s 18 outs were strikeouts as shortstop Skylar Wallace and center fielder Kendra Falby produced the only hits against Stanford freshman NiJaree Canady — who dealt a complete-game shutout. Florida right-hander Elizabeth Hightower picked up the loss after she gave up five earned runs in only three innings.
Saturday Game 2 Box Score
Florida: 10 / 11 / 0
Loyola Marymount: 6 / 7 / 1
In a must-win matchup, the Gators prevailed against Loyola Marymount Saturday to advance to regional final. Florida hopped out to a 5-0 lead after two innings before cleanup hitter Reagan Walsh’s two-run bomb in the top of the fourth extended the lead to seven runs. In the next two innings, left fielder Katie Kistler and third baseman Charla Echols each went yard to provide insurance runs for the Gators.
Trlicek started in the circle and hurled a complete game to finish the season tied with Hightower for the most wins on the team (15). After yielding only one run through the first five frames, Trlicek gave up five runs on three homers in the last two innings to cut Florida’s lead.
Sunday Game 2 Box Score
Stanford: 11 / 11 / 0
Florida: 2 / 7 / 1
Florida opened a 2-1 lead in the first inning, but the Cardinal responded with a pair of runs in the third before they plated four more runs in the fifth and seventh innings.
Echols and Walsh drove in Wallace and Falby, but the Gators stranded two baserunners in each of the next three innings en route to laying six goose eggs to end the season. Trlicek picked up the loss to finish the season 15-6, but Hightower and sophomore right-hander Lexie Delbrey both allowed four runs to cap off a rough day for Florida in the circle.
In a video posted to the team’s social media pages, the Gators baseball team was huddled around a small screen outside Kentucky Proud Park watching the final innings of the Vanderbilt – Arkansas contest.
Florida had just defeated the Kentucky Wildcats and would be crowned SEC Regular Season champions with a Commodores victory.
Vanderbilt finished victorious and the celebration ensued, including an animated head coach, Kevin O’Sullivan.
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 20, 2023
An hour earlier, the Gators were on the turf at the stadium wrapping up their sixth straight series win with a 5-2 regular season finale victory.
Florida LHP Jac Caglianone saved his best start for last as he pitched seven innings of shutout baseball. The sophomore struck out eight while walking three.
His effort was necessary, though, as the Wildcats’ A. Strickland tossed six scoreless innings before the Gators finally broke through in the seventh.
Freshman Luke Heyman was the only Gator to record multiple hits and RBIs as he drove in runs in the seventh and ninth inning. His ninth inning homer was his ninth of the 2023 campaign.
Florida will enter the SEC Tournament as the No. 1 seed and will take on the winner of Tuesday’s Kentucky – Alabama game. That game is scheduled for 4:30 PM on Wednesday.
With one series remaining before post-season play begins, the Gators baseball team traveled to Lexington, KY looking to keep the momentum built off last weekend’s sweep of Vanderbilt.
Thanks to the top half of the Florida batting order, the Gators set the tone and blasted the Wildcats 10-3 to open the three game set.
Florida was led by their one through five guys in the order, who combined for eleven hits and nine RBI.
Additionally, starting pitcher Hurston Waldrep picked up a quality start with six innings and there runs allowed (two earned) to improve his 2023 record to 7-3. Ryan Slater closed out the victory with his third save of the year.
How It Happened:
The Gators got the scoring started early as Cade Kurland led off the game with a walk and moved to second on a passed ball. Wyatt Langford followed with a double to the gap in right-center to score the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week. Sophomore Jac Caglianone singled up the middle to score Langford and the Gators jumped out to a 2-0 advantage.
The Wildcats struck for a run in the third, but it very easily could have turned into more. Leadoff hitter C. Stanke reached on a Hurston Waldrep error and moved to third after a pair of hit batters that loaded the bases. A single by E. Pitre plated the first Kentucky run.
An inning later, Kentucky evened the score on a leadoff double and a sacrifice fly.
The ensuing response by the Gators was brought on by the continued production of the top of the lineup. In the sixth inning, Florida added five runs to the scoreboard highlighted by RBI doubles by Langford and BT Riopelle.
Despite getting a solo homer in the home half of the frame, the Wildcats bid at a comeback wasn’t in the works. Florida once again responded in the top of the seventh with three runs. Riopelle’s two run single to center put the finishing touches on the final score of 10-3 to give the Gators an important series opening win.
Quick Stats:
Gators: 4-9 to leadoff innings
Gators: 4-11 with two outs
Langford: 3-5, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R
Kurland: 3-4, 2 2B, BB, 2 R
Rivera: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, 2 R
Riopelle: 2-4, 2B, 4 RBI, BB, R
Waldrep: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 6 K, 2 BB
SEC Regular Season Title Race:
LSU 8, UGA 5
ARK 8, Vandy 2
On Deck:
Florida and Kentucky will continue their final series of the season Friday at 6:30 PM from Kentucky Proud Park. RHP Brandon Sproat (7-4, 4.44 ERA) will take the mound for the Gators while Kentucky will counter with RHP Zack Lee (4-2, 3.42 ERA).
The Florida Gators baseball team is in the envious position of sitting in first place in the SEC’s East Division heading into the final weekend of play in the regular season.
Last weekend, Florida dominated a series against (then) No. 5 Vanderbilt to leapfrog the Commodores in the standings.
But, what would have to happen for the Gators to win their sixteenth SEC regular season title?
Florida travels to Kentucky (35-15) to take on the nation’s top ranked team, according to the RPI, anyway. The Wildcats are an impressive 24-4 at home this year, proving to be one of the biggest home field advantages in college baseball. The Gators are currently one game back of Arkansas in the conference championship race and half a game ahead of LSU and one game over Vanderbilt.
Matchups that matter:
Florida at Kentucky
Arkansas at Vanderbilt
LSU at Georgia
If the Gators sweep Kentucky…
This is, obviously, the best path for Florida to earn either an outright or shared regular season crown. If the Gators sweep the Wildcats, they would just need Vanderbilt to win one game against Arkansas to share the title. If the Commodores win the series, Florida would be the outright conference champions and the No. 1 seed at next week’s SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama.
If the Gators win two of three at Kentucky…
The path to a title gets significantly more difficult with a single loss in Lexington, but it’s not an impossibility. Florida could share the championship with either Arkansas or Vanderbilt, depending on the outcome of that series. Arkansas would outright win the league with a series win, but would share with Florida by securing just one win. If the Commodores sweep the Razorbacks, Florida and Vandy would share the title.
*LSU could also figure into the SEC race as they sit a half game back of Florida and 1.5 games behind Arkansas. A Tigers sweep and a Florida loss in addition to a Vandy series win (two of three) would give the Tigers the outright regular season title. LSU had one conference game cancelled this year and, as a result, there is no scenario they could share the title due to win percentage.
…
Florida and Kentucky open the final regular season series Thursday night at 6:30 PM from Kentucky Proud Park in Lexington.
After dropping nine of its last 13 games and finishing under .500 in conference play — eighth in the SEC — Florida will not host an NCAA Regional for first time since 2004.
Instead, the Gators will travel across the country to Palo Alto, California, to compete in the Stanford Regional. The Cardinal earned the No. 9 overall seed and will host Florida in addition to a pair of California teams: Loyola Marymount and Long Beach State. The double-elimination tournament will kick off Friday with the Gators set to face Loyola Marymount at 6 p.m. ET. Long Beach State will take on Stanford at 9 p.m. ET and the two winners will face off Saturday at 5 p.m. ET.
The loser’s bracket will take place Saturday night before the regional final unfolds Sunday at 4 p.m. ET.
Stanford
The Cardinal finished 40-13 overall, 14-10 in conference play — fourth in the Pac-12 — and 19-3 at home.
In the Pac-12 Tournament, Stanford knocked off Oregon before losing a 1-0 nail-biter to No. 2 UCLA in the semifinals. Although Florida and Stanford haven’t met in over a decade, the Gators faced both UCLA and Oregon in February and lost by a combined margin of 18-0.
The Cardinal boast the 10th lowest team ERA in the nation (1.63) and are led by freshman right-hander NiJaree Canady. The Kansas native leads the country with a 0.49 ERA after she dealt five shutout innings and struck out eight UCLA batters in the conference semis.
Loyola Marymount
Despite losing three of their last five games, the Lions punched their ticket into the NCAA Tournament by winning the West Coast Conference with a 12-3 record. Loyola Marymount finished 27-20 overall and lost to Stanford 6-1 in their season opener.
Florida is 4-0 against LMU dating back to their first meeting in 2005. In 2018, the Gators run-ruled the Lions 13-0 on a neutral field.
Long Beach State
The Sharks clinched an NCAA Tournament berth after they closed the regular season on an 8-game winning streak capture the Big West Conference title. Long Beach State finished 31-21 overall and 21-6 in conference play.
Since 2005, the Gators are 4-1 against the Sharks in contests all set on California soil. In 2017, Florida run-ruled Long Beach State 17-0 on a neutral site.
Key Gators
After she led the conference in slugging percentage (1.036) and total bases (142) and finished top-3 in home runs (19), runs scored (69), stolen bases (30), and walks (49), Florida shortstop Skylar Wallace won the 2023 SEC Player of the Year award.
Gator Nation we present to you @Wallace2Skylar, the 2023 @SEC Player of the Year‼️
The Gators will lean heavily on Wallace’s contributions at the plate as well as the hitting and fielding of third baseman Charla Echols. Echols led the SEC in RBIs (63) en route to earning All-SEC First Team honors in addition to All-SEC Defensive Team honors.
There’s no one better on the hot corner in the @SEC! Congratulations, @charlaechols on being selected All-SEC First Team and the SEC All-Defensive Team‼️
Despite leading the SEC in team batting average (.319), Florida struggled in the circle with the second-worst team ERA (3.54) in the conference. Nevertheless, the Gators will rely on an experienced pitching staff that includes southpaw Rylee Trlicek and right-handers Elizabeth Hightower and Lexie Delbrey. Trlicek is 13-5 with three saves, while Hightower is 15-12 and Delbrey is 7-2. All three pitchers have an ERA just north of 3.00, but none of Florida’s pitchers managed to maintain a sub-4.00 ERA in SEC play.
Super Regionals
The winner of the regional tournament will advance to the best-of-three super regionals against the winner of the Duke Regional, which includes Charlotte, Campbell and George Mason. The series is scheduled to begin on May 25.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida lacrosse team suffered a heartbreaking 16-15 loss against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to conclude their 2023 season. The Gators were down 15-11 late in the fourth quarter before storming back to tie the game. Notre Dame scored the game-winner with only 10 seconds left in the quarter to negate the Gators title hopes.
Maggi Hall and Emma LoPinto led the offensive attack with four goals each. Danielle Pavinelli and Emily Heller each netted two goals, while Madison Waters, Ashley Gonzalez and Tayler Warehime scored once.
Heller and Hall led the team with two assists a piece, while Pavinelli, LoPinto, Gonzalez, Paisley Eagan and Emily Diaz each added one.
Eagan led the team in the circle with four draw controls. Kaitlyn Davies, Liz Harrison and Diaz added three of their own.
Goalkeeper Sarah Reznick had another busy day in the net, recording 13 saves for a .448 save percentage.
The team has shown grit all year and showed it big time against the Irish. Unfortunately their effort came up just short.
Season Wrap-Up
The Gators finished as the no. 6 seed in the country with a 17-4 record and won their 10th AAC Championship.
Emma LoPinto led the team with 90 points.
Goalkeeper Sarah Reznick took home the AAC Goalkeeper of the Year award and was also selected 10th overall in the AU Pro Sports Draft.
Emily Heller took home the AAC Midfielder of the Year award.
Danielle Pavinelli, Maggi Hall and LoPinto all earned First-Team All AAC selections, along with Reznick and Heller.
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