TOP OF THE NINTH; FINAL 17-11 Florida
FINAL
Florida 17
Nebraska 11
The Gators homered four times en route to victory. Eight Gator hitters recorded a hit.
Florida will face Oklahoma State tonight in the regional final. It has to win to play again tomorrow. A loss would eliminate it.
— Bradford struck out swinging
— Carey struck out swinging
— SCORE: Rhett Stokes hit an RBI double to left. 17-11 Florida with one out and a runner on second T9. Grayson Smith is warming up in the Florida pen.
— SCORE: Ben Columbus grounded out to first and Florida traded the out for the run. 17-10 Florida with one out and a runner on third T9
— Hunter Jones issued a leadoff walk, allowed a double to put runners on second and third and threw a ball to the following hitter, prompting another Gator pitching change. Landon Russell is in to make his fourth appearance as a pitcher at the D1 level.
— Swansen doubled to left. Caron to third.
— Caron walked
BOTTOM OF THE EIGHTH; 17-9 Florida
— Caglianone flew out to left
— Kurland struck out looking
— Robertson struck out swinging
TOP OF THE EIGHTH; 17-9 Florida
— Sanderson flew out to left
— SCORE: Joshua Overbeek hit a two-RBI single to center. 17-9 Florida with two outs T8
— Pinch hitter Tyler Stone popped out to second
— SCORE: Pinch hitter Clay Bradford hit an RBI double to left-center. Florida is going to freshman righty Hunter Jones, who has never recorded an out in his collegiate career. 17-7 Florida with one out and runners on second and third T8
— Carey flew out to right. Columbus tagged and advanced to third with one out.
— Stokes walked
— Columbus doubled to left
— Blake Purnell is taking over on the mound for Florida in the eighth with a 17-6 lead. Providing he's healthy after taking a comebacker off the hip, Cade Fisher should be available again tonight.
BOTTOM OF THE SEVENTH; 17-6 Florida
— Donay popped out to second
— SCORE: Dale Thomas hit a solo shot to right. Third homer of the inning for the Gators. 17-6 Florida with two outs B7
— Shelnut struck out looking
— SCORE: Luke Heyman hit a solo home run to right-center, going back-to-back with Shelton. Gators are teeing off. 16-6 Florida with one out in the seventh
— SCORE: Colby Shelton hit a three-run homer, his 19th bomb of the season. 15-6 Gators with one out in the seventh
— SCORE: Ashton Wilson singled to left, scoring Robertson from third. 12-6 Florida with one out and runners on first and second B7. Nebraska brought in lefty Kyle Perry with one out and runners on first and second in the seventh. Petty has a 5.59 ERA in 19.1 innings.
— Caglianone was intentionally walked, giving the Gators runners on the corners with one out
— Kurland grounded out to short, advancing Robertson to third
— Robertson doubled to left-center
TOP OF THE SEVENTH; 11-6 Florida
—Cade Fisher retired the side in order with two strikeouts in the seventh but was drilled by a comebacker before recording the last out. Came off the mound with a limp but seems alright.
— Caron struck out looking
— Sanderson struck out swinging
— Ryan Slater was injured while warming up for the seventh inning. He was grabbing at his side and has been removed from the game.Cade Fisher is taking over on the mound for the Gators. Complicates things for Florida, which was likely to start Fisher against Oklahoma State tonight.
BOTTOM OF THE SIXTH; 11-6 Florida
— Donay struck out swinging
— Thomas stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error from the catcher with two outs
— SCORE: Dale Thomas singled to center, scoring Tyler Shelnut from second. 11-6 Gators with two outs and a runner on first B6.Nebraska is going to the pen as a result. Righty Evan Borst is taking over.
— SCORE: Tyler Shelnut doubled to left-center. The ball snuck past Riley Silva allowing two runs to score. 10-6 Florida with two outs and a runner on second B6
— Heyman flew out to right
— Shelton was hit by a pitch
— Wilson popped out to second
— SCORE: Jac Caglianone doubled to left, cashing in on Cade Kurland's leadoff double. 8-6 Florida with no outs and runner on second B6
— Kurland walked
TOP OF THE SIXTH; 7-6 Florida
— Overbeek grounded out to third
— Silva struck out on a foul tip
— Carey advanced to third on a passed ball
— Evans struck out swinging for the first out of the sixth
— SCORE: Dylan Carey hit a two-RBI double down the left field line off Ryan Slater. Both runs are charged to Fisher Jameson. 7-6 Florida with no outs and a runner on second T6
— Stokes reached on an infield single. Columbus to second with no outs. Florida is bringing in Ryan Slater from its bullpen.
— Columbus walked
BOTTOM OF THE FIFTH; 7-4 Florida
— Robertson flew out to left
— Donay singled back up the middle. Heyman to second.
— Thomas popped out to first
— Shelnut struck out swinging
— Heyman was hit by a pitch
TOP OF THE FIFTH; 7-4 Florida
— Fisher Jameson returned to the mound after a two-hour rain delay and induced a grounder to short to end the fifth inning
— Caron grounded out to short
— Case Sanderson hit a one-out double to left-center, ending Pierce Coppola's outing in the fifth. Florida hasn't had pitchers go at least five innings in three consecutive starts all year. Fisher Jameson is taking over.
— Overbeek grounded out to second
BOTTOM OF THE FOURTH; 7-4 Florida
— Shelton popped out behind the plate
— Wilson struck out swinging
— Caglianone grounded out to second
TOP OF THE FOURTH; 7-4 Florida
— Silva grounded out to short.Coppola has retired seven of his last eight, including a perfect fourth inning. He's positioned himself to give the Gators five innings, which is critical with a potential doubleheader on tap today.
— Evans struck out swinging.Pierce Coppola is now up to a career-high eight strikeouts in just 3.2 innings.
— Carey lined out to left
— Pierce Coppola is back on the mound for a fourth inning at 64 pitches. Fisher Jameson is throwing in the Gator pen.
BOTTOM OF THE THIRD; 7-4 Florida
— Kurland flew out to center
— Robertson flew out to left
— Donay struck out swinging
TOP OF THE THIRD; 7-4 Florida
— Stokes struck out looking. Coppola posted his first zero of the game and has thrown 64 pitches so Florida should be able to get more out of him.
— Columbus drew a two-out walk
— Swansen struck out looking at 93 on the inner half
— Caron struck out swinging
— Pierce Coppola returned to the mound to start the third inning. He's at 47 pitches.
BOTTOM OF THE SECOND; 7-4 Florida
— Thomas struck out swinging to end the inning.Florida put up a five-spot in the bottom of the second and batted around.
— Shelnut flew out to center
— SCORE: Luke Heyman singled home Ashton Wilson on a liner that popped out of Gabe Swansen's glove in left. 7-4 Florida with one out and runners on first and second B2
— Nebraska brought in righty Kyle Froehlich with one out and runners on the corners in the second. He has a 4.87 ERA in 20.1 innings this year.
— Shelton singled up the middle. Wilson to third with one out.
— Wilson was hit by a pitch
— SCORE: Jac Caglianone hit a three-run homer to right, sneaking it inside the pole. 6-4 Florida with one out B2
— Kurland popped out to first
— SCORE: Michael Robertson singled to left-center. Dale Thomas scored and Brody Donay advanced to second. 4-3 Nebraska with no outs and runners on first and second B2
— Brody Donay singled to right. Thomas was held up with third, giving the Gators runners on the corners with no outs.
— Dale Thomas led off the second with a double to left center
TOP OF THE SECOND; 4-2Nebraska
— Case Sanderson struck out swinging
— SCORE: Joshua Overbeek hit a two-run homer to left after Pierce Coppola issued a two-out walk to Nebraska nine-hole hitter Riley Silva. 4-2 Nebraska with two outs T2
— Silva stole second even though Coppola through over to first before he went.
— Riley Silva drew a two-out walk on four pitches to turn the lineup over.
— Cole Evans lined one straight to Dale Thomas at third for the second out of the inning
— Dylan Carey struck out swinging
BOTTOM OF THE FIRST; 2-2
— Tyler Shelnut lined out to center
— Luke Heyman hit a screaming liner to left but it was caught on a leap by Gabe Swansen for the second out of the ining
— SCORE: Colby Shelton singled to right, scoring Caglianone from third. 2-2 with one out and a runner on first B1
— SCORE: Cade Kurland scored from third on a wild pitch. Jac Caglianone advanced to third. 2-1 Nebraska with one out B1
— AshtonWilson grounded out to second but advanced but runners into scoring position with one out for Colby Shelton.
— Jac Caglianone drew a four-pitch walked. Kurland to second with no outs.
— Cade Kurland reached on a throwing error from second baseman Rhett Stokes
TOP OF THE FIRST; 2-0 Nebraska
— Rhett Stokes struck out swinging after nearly homering down the left-field line but hitting it foul.
— Ben Columbus singled to left
— SCORE: Nebraska left fielder Gabe Swansen, who has been on fire so far in the regional, hit a two-run homer to left. 2-0 Cornhuskers with two outs T1
— Josh Caron flew out to the wall in right
— Case Sanderson drew a walk
— Joshua Overbeek struck out swinging
FLORIDA LINEUP
2B Cade Kurland
1B Jac Caglianone
RF Ashton Wilson
SS Colby Shelton
C Luke Heyman
LF Tyler Shelnut
3B Dale Thomas
DH Brody Donay
CF Michael Robertson
SP Pierce Coppola
NEBRASKA LINEUP
3B Joshua Overbeek
DH Case Sanderson
C Josh Caron
LF Gabe Swansen
1B Ben Columbus
2B Rhett Stokes
SS Dylan Carey
RF Cole Evans
CF Riley Silva
SP Jackson Brockett
PREGAME
— Florida (29-28) is set to take on Nebraska (40-21) at 2 p.m. ET in an elimination game. The game will be televised on SEC Network and streamed on ESPN+. The winner of the contest will play Oklahoma State at 7 p.m. in the first game of the regional final. Neither Florida nor Nebraska can lose another game if they hope to avoid elimination while Oklahoma State would have to be defeated twice with a decisive game seven scheduled for Monday afternoon.
— The Gators are the home team for Sunday's game against the Cornhuskers.
— Florida is starting lefty Pierce Coppola against the Cornhuskers. Coppola, who this year returned from a two-season injury-related absence, will be on an 85-90 pitch limit.
—Nebraska is starting southpaw Jackson Brockett today. He's a tough task with a deceptive delivery in which he hides the ball effectively, allowing his stuff to play up. Brockett threw a no-hitter against Kansas State, which has a strong lineup including a first-round shortstop, Kaelen Culpepper, and tossed eight innings of one-run ball in his last outing, the Big Ten Championship game
GET TO KNOW THE HUSKERS
Overall record: 40-21
Conference record: 16-8 BigTen
D1Baseball RPI: No. 28
Regional seed: No. 2
Key stat: A small-ball, station-to-station offense that relies upon sacrifice hits and speed on the bases, Nebraska entered regional play ranked eighth among NCAA Tournament teams in stolen bases (91) and No. 41 nationally among all Division I teams in the category.
ON THE MOUND
Junior southpaw Jackson Brockett has recently earned looks in the third-starter spot and done quite well. The 6-foot-1, third-year Cornhusker relies heavily on groundball contact to get outs and owns a 3.57 ERA in just under35.1 innings this season.
As a whole, Nebraska has ranked among the best pitching teams in the nation andsat at No. 22 nationally in ERA entering the NCAA postseason.
Sophom*ore leftyJalen Worthley, junior righties Casey Daiss andDrew Christo are Cornhusker relievers to keep an eye on. Christopitched against Florida on Friday and surrendered two runs on four hits in four innings.
AT THE PLATE
Much of Nebraska's success this year has occurred due to its efficacy on the mound as the group is reasonably underwhelming at the plate, where it isn't a big run producer nor does it hit for an impressive average.
The Cornhuskers entered the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 96 nationally in team batting average, No. 110 in runs scored and No. 127 in home runs.
Nebraska does a solid job when it comes to situation hitting, though, as evidenced by its 41 sacrifice hits, something its opponents will have to be wary of when making defensive decisions. The Cornhuskers will also pressure teams with their base running as they've swiped more bags on the year (91) than all but seven NCAA Tournament teams. It should be noted, however, that more than a third of those stolen bases belong to outfielder Riley Silva, a junior who is in his first year at the Division I level after transferring from the junior college ranks. Silva has swiped 31 bags on 34 attempts.
Nebraska's most productive hitter this season has been catcher Josh Caron, a top-200 MLB Draft prospect with considerable pop for his position. Caron entered regional play batting .322 and leads his team in home runs (16) and RBI (62). Opposing teams could have success against him if they can locate offspeed pitches below the zone.
Infielder Rhett Stokes and designated hitter Case Sanderson, who rank first and second on the team in batting average, respectively, have served as valuable table setters this season but neither player has game-changing power and both are somewhat reliant on the bats behind them in order to do damage.
