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  • BSB: Gators Advance to SEC Tournament Championship Game with 9-0 Defeat of TAMU

    BSB: Gators Advance to SEC Tournament Championship Game with 9-0 Defeat of TAMU

    Despite losing by run-rule to Texas A&M just two days earlier, the Florida Gators rebounded by winning when it mattered most to earn a spot in the SEC Tournament Championship Game. Florida trounced the Aggies 9-0 behind a stellar effort from little used LHP Timmy Manning and an offensive explosion.

    Manning, making his first appearance since April 5, struck out five and walked just one over five innings of work. Fisher Jameson completed the win to earn the save for the Gators.

    The Florida offense was impressive as the Gators scored in all but the first and eighth inning to give Manning all the support he needed, and some.

    Florida got on the scoreboard first as Jud Fabian took Ryan Prager deep for his SEC-leading 22nd homer of the year.

    The Gators added a run in the third as Wyatt Langford led off the inning with a double before scoring on a sacrifice fly from BT Riopelle two hitters later.

    A Mac Guscette single to left plated Fabian and Jac Caglianone to increase the advantage to 4-0.

    In the fifth, Sterlin Thompson scored on an RBI ground into double play by Ty Evans to stretch the lead to 5-0.

    The next inning, Langford beat the shift with a two-run single that scored Rivera and Guscette to make it a 7-0 ballgame.

    Then, Riopelle beat the shift with a bunt down the third base line to lead off the seventh. He came around to score three batters later on Caglianone’s sacrifice fly to left.

    The Gators’ final run crossed home plate in the top of the ninth as Riopelle scored on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Caglianone.

    Key Performances:

    • Riopelle: 3-4, 2B, RBI, 2 R
    • Langford: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R
    • Evans: 2-5
    • Manning: 5 IP, 5 H, 0 R, BB, 6 K
    • Jameson: 4 IP, H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K

    Pitching Decision:

    • W: Timmy Manning
    • L: Ryan Prager
    • S: Fisher Jameson

    On Deck:

    Florida advances to the SEC Tournament Championship Game which will be held Sunday at 3:00 PM (ET). The Gators will face the winner of the Tennessee-Kentucky game that followed their game.

  • SB: Gators Force Super-Regional Finale

    SB: Gators Force Super-Regional Finale

    Photo by Hannah White via UAA

    The Florida Gators are still alive in the Blacksburg Super-Regional. After falling to #3 Virginia Tech in the opener Saturday morning (delayed due to rain), the Gators utilized their team speed to force a decisive Game 3 with a 7-2 win Saturday.

    Both teams elected to start freshmen in the circle as the Gators went with Lexie Delbrey. While Delbrey wasn’t her best version, she did walk seven in 4.1 innings, she did enough to escape jams and give her team a chance to win.

    Both teams had opportunities early. Each team had multiple runners on base in the first and combined for three runners in the second before the Gators came through in the third.

    Florida grabbed an early 1-0 lead thanks to the speed of Kenra Falby. The speedster reached first on an bunt single before getting to third on Hannah Adams’ double to center. She then scored on an error at second base that allowed Charla Echols to reach.

    Delbrey struggled with command all afternoon and walked four of the first five hitters she faced in the fourth, allowing the Hokies to tie the ballgame.

    In the fifth, Virginia Tech led off with a double and that was followed with another double to put the Hokies on top.

    The Gators, though, put up four runs in response as they faced elimination. Adams led off the inning by getting hit by a pitch and Wallace and Echols followed with back to back doubles to give Florida the lead again.

    A fielder’s choice and a perfect squeeze play executed by Sam Roe increased the lead for the Gators.

    Florida tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the sixth before Natalie Lugo retired the Hokies in the seventh to continue the Gators’ season.

    Key Performances:

    • Wallace: 2-3, 2 2B, RBI, 2 R, BB
    • Adams: 2-3, 2B, R
    • Walsh: 2-3, RBI
    • Falby: 2-4, 2 R
    • Lugo: 2.2 IP, H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K

    Pitching Decision:

    • W: Lexie Delbrey (16-3)
    • L: Emma Lemley (16-6)

    On Deck:

    Florida and Virginia Tech will complete the series with Sunday’s third game. As of publishing, the NCAA hasn’t announced a time.

  • BSB: Gators Advance in Hoover with Walk-Off Winner

    BSB: Gators Advance in Hoover with Walk-Off Winner

    Photo by Samuel Lewis | Getty Images

    Florida RHP Brandon Sproat put together the best outing of his career when the Gators needed it most Tuesday night.

    Facing elimination in the SEC Tournament opener against South Carolina, Sproat threw into the ninth inning and flirted with a no-hitter into the seventh inning despite the game starting roughly six hours late due to heavy rains in Hoover. The Gators defeated USC for the third time in six days, this time by a 2-1 final score.

    The Gators finally broke onto the scoreboard in the fourth inning as Josh Rivera doubled to right with two outs and was followed by an infield single from Jac Caglianone. An errant throw allowed Caglianone to advance to second and gave Rivera the chance to score. Rivera, hustling all the way, scored easily to put the Gators ahead 1-0.

    Sproat pitched all the way into the ninth and even recorded the first out without incident, though a pair of singles put the tying run at third base with one out and spelled the end of Sproat’s night. Ryan Slater allowed one of the inherited runners to score, but limited the damage and gave Florida an opportunity to walk it off.

    In the bottom of the tenth, Ty Evans hit a one-out double on an 0-2 pitch before Kendrick Calilao singled up the middle. Calilao advanced to second on a poor throw to the plate but Evans was held at third leaving a pair in scoring position with one down.

    Colby Halter hit a liner to shallow center and Evans touched up, trying to score. The throw easily beat Evans and should have resulted in an out, but the USC catcher dropped the ball as Evans slid in for the winning run.

    Sproat threw a career high 9.1 innings, allowing just four hits and one run while striking out seven. He also threw a new career best 110 pitches.

    Ryan Slater shut the door on the Gamecocks over the final 1.2 innings to pick up the win.

    Key Performances:

    • Sproat: 9.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, BB, 7 K, 110 TP
    • Langford: 2-4
    • Calilao: 1-1

    Pitching Decision:

    • W: Ryan Slater (5-3)
    • L: Cade Austin (5-2)

    On Deck:

    Florida advances out of the single-elimination part of the tournament into the double-elimination portion. Florida will face Texas A&M in a game that is presently scheduled for 5:30 PM Wednesday.

  • MBB: Gators Gain Commitment From 4-Star SG Riley Kugel

    MBB: Gators Gain Commitment From 4-Star SG Riley Kugel

    Photo by Eric Bossi | 247Sports

    The nation’s fourth ranked two-guard (247Sports) has become the first high school commitment of the Todd Golden era for the Florida men’s basketball program. Riley Kugel announced his commitment to the Gators via Instagram Live Monday.

    Kugel is rated a four-star prospect by 247Sports and played high school ball at Dr. Phillips, just down the road in Orlando.

    As a senior, Kugel averaged 16.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists over 31 games. He led the Panthers to a 26-6 record in 2021-22.

    The 6’4, 175 lb was originally committed and signed to Mississippi State, but after the coaching carousel saw Ben Howland fired, Kugel decommitted and opted for a different place to play.

    Sunday afternoon, he released a final three that included LSU and Georgia in addition to the Gators.

  • SB: Gators Run-Rule Badgers to Advance to Super-Regionals

    SB: Gators Run-Rule Badgers to Advance to Super-Regionals

    After watching the Wisconsin Badgers make a triumphant comeback against Georgia Tech in the first game of the day, the Florida Gators poured it on early and cruised to a run-rule, 11-0 victory Sunday afternoon.

    Florida, batting first as the de-facto road team, scored ten runs in the first largely thanks to speed and manufacturing.

    Kendra Falby opened things by legging out a groundball to shortstop. After Hannah Adams’ single, Skylar Wallace came through with a single that plated Falby from third. Another highlight of the inning was the two-run, one out double by Katie Kistler to put the Gators up 6-0. That was followed up by Sam Roe’s perfectly executed squeeze play to score Kistler just three pitches later. The first inning scoring was completed by Charla Echols’ two run single to extend the advantage to 10-0.

    The ten run lead was more than enough for Florida freshman RHP Lexie Delbrey. Delbrey scattered three hits in four inning of work, but kept Wisconsin off the scoreboard.

    The Badgers got two runners on in the second but Delbrey induced a flyout to Echols to end the threat without consequence.

    The Gators tacked on a run in the top of the fifth when the top of the order came through, yet again.

    Falby beat out a groundball hit back to the pitcher before Adams doubled to left-center putting a pair of runners in scoring position. Wallace’s groundout to short scored Falby and put Florida up 11-0.

    Natalie Lugo came on to finish the ballgame. After hitting the first batter she faced with an 0-2 pitch, Lugo retired the side in order for the run-rule victory.

    In total, the Gators pounded out 15 hits on the game.

    Key Performances

    • Falby: 3-4, 3 R
    • Adams: 4-4, 2B, R
    • Wallace: 2-4, 3 RBI, 2 R
    • Echols: 2-4, 2 RBI, R
    • Delbrey: 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, BB, K

    Pitching Decision:

    • W: Delbrey (15-3)
    • L: Salo (0-1)

    On Deck:

    Florida advances to the Super Regionals for the ninth straight year. The Gators will meet Virginia Tech in Blacksburg next weekend.

    Virginia Tech advanced following a 3-1 performance in regionals. The Hokies defeated Kentucky 5-4 in the regional final Sunday evening.

  • Gators Land Commitment From WR Ricky Pearsall

    Gators Land Commitment From WR Ricky Pearsall

    Photo by Jordan Kelly | Getty Images

    After several misses in the transfer portal, the Gators finally added to the roster with the commitment of WR Ricky Pearsall. Pearsall will offer an immediate impact and boost the overall talent in the Florida wide receiver room significantly.

    Pearsall is a 6’2, 210 lb wide out originally from Tempe, Arizona. He was a three-star prospect in the 2019 recruiting cycle according to 247Sports. Pearsall was the No. 151 WR in the class.

    As a junior, Pearsall led Arizona State in virtually all receiving stats. He hauled in 48 receptions for 580 yards and four scores in 2021.

    Pearsall has built quite the relationship with Florida WR coach Keary Colbert since entering the portal on April 21.

    The Gators were battling with Oregon for Pearsall’s commitment.

  • BSB: Neely Deals Gem as Gators Claim Series vs South Carolina

    BSB: Neely Deals Gem as Gators Claim Series vs South Carolina

    Photo by Samuel Lewis | Getty Images

    Backed by an excellent performance by freshman pitcher Brandon Neely and another powerful showing by the offense, the Florida Gators defeated South Carolina 8-0 to clinch its final series of the 2022 regular season Friday.

    Neely turned in his best performance of the year by finishing off seven innings of three hit ball. He struck out a career high ten and didn’t give up any free passes. Neely retired the final 13 batters he faced before turning it over to the bullpen for the final six outs.

    Both teams had opportunities early on but failed to get on the scoreboard. The Gators stranded three runners over the first two innings while USC recorded a base hit in each of the first three innings.

    Florida finally broke through in the bottom of the third as Wyatt Langford set the table with a leadoff single and advanced to second on an error. A wild pitch put Langford at third before a single by Sterlin Thompson scored him for the first run of the game.

    Josh Rivera reached on an error that scored Jud Fabian to make it a 2-0 ballgame. An RBI groundout by Jac Caglianone followed to advance the lead to 3-0.

    Rivera homered in the fifth after a BT Riopelle double and the Gators had all they needed with a 5-0 lead.

    Jud Fabian crushed a solo homer to lead off the seventh before Deric Fabian hit an RBI double plating Riopelle to extend the advantage to 7-0.

    The Gators lead increased to 8-0 in the eighth when Jud Fabian hit an RBI double to the gap in left-center to score Thompson from first.

    Fabian’s homer was the twentieth of the season and allowed him to become just the second player in program history to reach twenty dingers in back to back years (Brad Wilkerson, 1997-98).

    Key Performances:

    • J. Fabian: 3-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB
    • Thompson: 2-4, RBI, R, BB
    • Neely: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 10 K

    Pitching Decision:

    • W: Brandon Neely (3-1)
    • L: Noah Hall (3-5)

    On Deck:

    Florida and South Carolina will wrap up the regular season Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 2:00 PM. Nick Pogue will get the start for the Gators.

  • SB: Gators Open Regionals with Run-Rule Win

    SB: Gators Open Regionals with Run-Rule Win

    Photo by Hannah White via UAA

    The Florida Gators opened NCAA Regionals with a convincing 10-1 win over Canisius Friday.

    Freshman Lexie Delbrey got the start in the circle for Florida and tossed three innings before turning it over to Rylee Trlicek and Natalie Lugo for an inning each.

    The scoring started early for the Gators as Skylar Wallace homered to center on a 2-2 pitch that had no chance.

    Florida added three more in the second on freshman Sam Roe’s homer to left in her first NCAA Tournament at-bat.

    The Gators followed by putting up foue runs in the third to blow the game wide open. Cheyenne Lindsey hit a triple to right-center that plated two of those runs.

    The Golden Griffins got on the scoreboard in the fourth after a leadoff walk came around to score.

    Following a fifty-seven minute lightning delay before the bottom of the fourth, the Gators struck for two more runs to put the game in run-rule territory.

    Lugo tossed the fifth inning allowing just one base runner on a hit by pitch to close it out for Florida.

    Key Performances:

    • Wallace: 3-3, HR, RBI, 3 R
    • Walsh: 2-3, RBI
    • Falby: 2-3, R
    • Echols: 1-2, 2 RBI, R
    • UF Pitchers: 5 IP, H, ER, 4 BB, 10 K

    Pitching Decision:

    • W: Lexie Delbrey (14-3)
    • L: Megan Giese (14-9)

    On Deck:

    Florida advances in the winner’s bracket of the Gainesville Regional and will take on Georgia Tech at 3:00 PM Saturday. The Yellow Jackets topped Wisconsin 2-1 Friday.

  • BSB: Gators Power Past Gamecocks in Series Opener

    BSB: Gators Power Past Gamecocks in Series Opener

    Photo by Samuel Lewis | Getty Images

    The Florida Gators climbed back to .500 in SEC play with a dominant 14-5 win over South Carolina Thursday to open the final regular season series. The Gators were equally dominant on the mound where Brandon Sproat once again excelled to earn his eighth win of the season.

    For the second straight game Wyatt Langford set the tone by sending the first pitch he saw to the batter’s eye to put the Gators on top. The Gators did fail to add to the lead in the first despite having runners on second and third with just one out.

    South Carolina recovered and took a 2-1 lead in the third on Andrew Eyster’s double to left.

    The Gators evened it up in the bottom half of the inning as Jud Fabian hit an RBI double to score Sterlin Thompson.

    Florida then followed with a pair of runs in the fourth including a leadoff homer by Ty Evans.

    The Gamecocks struck for a pair of unearned runs in the fifth to once again tie the ballgame after an error by Josh Rivera.

    Yet again, the Gators rebounded and put up a crooked number following the South Carolina score. Florida scored three runs in the inning, two from sacrifice flies by Evans and Kris Armstrong.

    Florida added two more in the seventh as Caglianone homered to center with BT Riopelle on base to make it a 9-4 advantage.

    After the Gators put up another crooked number (5) in the eighth, the Gamecocks added a solo homer to complete the scoring at 14-5.

    The win was much needed for the Gators as they continue to make a late push to the postseason.

    On Deck:

    Florida and South Carolina will resume the final series of the regular season Friday as RHP Brandon Neely will get the start on the mound.

  • LAX: Gators extend Final Four drought in loss to Maryland

    LAX: Gators extend Final Four drought in loss to Maryland

    Photo by Matt Pendleton via UAA

    Since appearing in its first NCAA Final Four in 2012, Florida lacrosse has yet to make a return to the tournament. Thursday, the Gators played in their fourth Elite Eight in the ten-season span, another opportunity at the elusive penultimate leg.

    In Florida’s path was second-seeded Maryland. Since beginning conference play, the Gators had won 15 straight games, tied for the program record set during that same Final Four season in 2012.

    The Terrapins would provide for UF’s most formidable opponent since perhaps the last time it faced off against UMD, a 18-8 loss on Feb 26. The Terps are ranked second in the IWLCA coaches poll and compete in one of the most competitive conferences in lacrosse, the Big Ten.

    The Gators had a serious challenge to overcome in order to advance.

    Florida (17-5, 5-0 AAC) fell once again to Maryland (19-1, 6-0 Big Ten) 18-5, extending its Final Four absence to ten seasons. The Terps’ fired on all cylinders in an utterly dominant perfomance.

    UF was held to a season low to a season low five points. Maryland goalkeeper Emily sterling snagged eight saves and boasted a .615 save percentage. Five Gators found the back of the net, but zero were able to secure more than one goal.

    Defensively, Florida was simply outmatched. Despite managing a 3-6 deficit in the first half, Maryland blew the game wide open in the second stint. Terrapins attacker Libby May lit up the Gators defense with five goals. Redshirt sophomore keeper recorded nine saves, but that only accounted for one-third of shots taken. Ultimately, UF was sent home empty-handed.

    Despite the sour ending, the Gators aren’t in complete turmoil. Many key pieces of the Gators core are still early on in their collegiate career with no signs of moving on from the program. What’s left for Florida is to retool for the next campaign next spring.