I’m More concerned with getting into the sec tourney right?? Not getting in this year equals staying home. Get in as #11 or 12 and throw Sproat to win the first game. Then go Johnny whole staff game two. Not getting into the SEC tournament to me would signal BAD. One win in the tournament would probably seal the deal. you can say that wins and losses don’t matter but when you consider the entire body of work and sweeping the series against Kentucky that one extra win might’ve been huge. Do we truly have a DOG on this team that will stand up and holler and lead us at Mississippi State and Missouri? We need to sweep one series and win the other.
Gator baseball put a beatdown on a very young USF team Tuesday night 18-3. Florida hit 6 home runs, 3 by Jud Fabian (8 RBI including a grand slam in the 2nd inning) and solo shots from Mac Guscette, B.T. Riopelle and Ty Evans. Sterlin Thompson was 2-3 with 4 RBI and Wyatt Langford went 3-4 with 2 RBI. Riopelle started at 1st base and Kris Armstrong at 3rd, with Armstrong going 2-4. Deric Fabian & Kendrick Calilao got the night off. Nick Pogue was very good on the mound in his 4 innings, giving up 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits, 4 K's and NO walks. Tyler Nesbitt went 2 innings and only gave up a hit and no walks. Karl Hartman threw an inning and gave up no runs, no hits and a walk with 2 K's; and Anthony Ursitti pitched the final 2 innings, giving up a run on 2 hits, 2 walks with 2 K's. It was encouraging to see a quality start from Pogue and see the Gator bats go wild, getting 16 hits and 9 walks, scoring 2 runs in the 1st inning, 6 in the 2nd, 2 in the 3rd and 6 more in the 4th. This weekend's series at Mississippi State is crucial to Florida's post season hopes and it will be interesting to see the starting lineup that takes the field behind Brandon Sproat for Game 1 Friday night at 8 pm on the SEC Network.
FSU got beat by Stetson 6-0 tonight, Vandy lost to Louisville 1-0 and Missouri State beat Arkansas 6-4.
Stats comparison between Florida and Mississippi State, just to start getting us all geared up for this huge series. UF / Miss. St. Record 26-18 / 25-20 SEC 8-13 / 9-12 RPI 20 / 86 SOS 3 / 66 Batting Avg. .275 / .280 Home Runs 83 / 83 Walks 185 / 213 Runs per game 6.7 / 7.4 Strikeouts 353 / 378 ERA 4.48 / 5.32 Walks 156 / 201 Strikeouts 397 / 494 Fielding % .979 / .984
What I see here is we can’t afford to take a single inning off. Got to play our tails off three days in a row…..
I have shared that I was a scholarship athlete, but a LOUSY baseball player. Didn't mean I don't enjoy the game at all. But, the one thing that has always stood out about baseball is that even great players only get so many chances a game to make a play or get on base. Not being entirely focused and on edge is just stupid. Having talent carries a responsibility to not waste it. You are on a team, man!
After looking at all these numbers, I'll go with what Yogi said-"You give 100 per cent in the first half of the game, and if that isn't enough in the second half you give what's left".
Here are some numbers just for SEC-common opponents (Georgia, Arkansas, Alabama, LSU): Teams UF / MSU Record 5-7 / 4-8 Runs Scored 71 / 67 Batting Avg. .263 / .252 OPS. .811 / .772 3B 1 / 1 K 94 / 122 BB 42 / 46 Runs Allowed 91 / 90 BAA .287 / .255 OPSA .880 / .838 ERA 7.29 / 7.06 WHIP* 1.78 / 1.74 3BA 3 / 3 K 97 / 110 BB 38 / 73 HBP 26 / 11 *includes HBP We're about to find out whether or not we're more than what the numbers say we are. And Barco was 2.52 ERA, 1.20 WHIP* in the four games against common opponents. Go GATORS! ,WESGATORS
Starkvegas is a lot of fun. Wish I was heading over but the wife apparently thinks we should spend Mother’s Day with our kids. I tried… UF needs 2 of 3. I don’t think 1 of 3 is enough. UF needs a minimum of 5 wins in the next 9 and maybe 6 (plus beating the SWAC). Huge implications for both teams.
The triples allowed is a major concern. Surely Sully has circled the stat and mentioned a no triples defense. The series, and quite literally the season, hang in the balance. Have to win that stat.
Those are not baseball pants the MSU player has on….Soooo glad none of our players are wearing those dang nickers….
UF baseball hung on to beat Mississippi State 8-6 in the opening game of their weekend series to improve to 9-13 in the SEC, 27-18 overall. The Gators got a solid start from Brandon Sproat and built a 7-0 lead going to the bottom of the 5th, but shaky bullpen pitching and shaky defense put the outcome in doubt until Ryan Slater closed the game out for his 3rd save. B.T. Riopelle went 4-4 with a HR and 6 RBI to pace the Gator attack, but batters 5-9 went a combined 1-23 to keep Florida from blowing the game open early. Wyatt Langford went 3-4 and Sterlin Thompson drew 4 walks, as the Gators scored 2 runs in the 1st inning and 4 in the 2nd, but had to hang on late, as Florida's bullpen continued to struggle. But an SEC road win is big and Florida needs to find a way to win tomorrow and Sunday if they hope to make it to the post season.
Obviously no idea who is going to be used out of the pen today but who gets the ball tomorrow since Slater closed last night? Ursiti? One of those crazy years where UF is going to end the season with 3 different starters than with what they used Week 1.