I hear meat is already grooming his son, their lead off hitter to replace him when the time is right. Got to keep it in the family.
O'Sullivan going with the same basic lineup and batting order he's used the last few weekends. Armstrong is at first.
UF baseball improved to 34-19, 14-14 by winning the opening game of the series with South Carolina 14-5 behind an offensive barrage that saw every Gator get at least 1 hit, 16 for the team to go with 7 walks. Wyatt Langford hit 2 more home runs, including one to lead off the bottom of the first, to give him 21 on the season. Colby Halter went 3-5 with an RBI, Ty Evans went 2-4 with a HR and 4 RBI, Jac Caglionone went 2-5 with a HR and 3 RBI, Kris Armstrong with 1-2 with 2 RBI, B.T. Riopelle went 2-4 with 3 runs scored, Sterling Thompson went 2-4 with an RBI and Jud Fabian went 1-3 with an RBI. On the mound, Brandon Sproat got the win, going 6.1 innings, giving up 4 runs (2 earned), on 4 hits, 3 walks, 3 HBP and 3 K's. Phillips Abner got the 1 out he was brought in to get, Blake Purnell went 1.1 innings, only giving up a walk, and Anthony Ursitti pitched the 9th and gave up a solo HR with 2 K's. With Vanderbilt and Georgia both losing tonight, the Gators move into a 3 way tie for 2nd place in the SEC East and a 3-way tie for 6th place in the overall SEC standings. Plus, with FSU losing to North Carolina 7-5 on a 3-run walk off HR in the bottom of the 9th, Florida is positioning themselves for consideration as a Regional host. The problem could be weather, as the Friday and Saturday games are in jeopardy due to thunderstorm predictions.
Waiting on our game to start, watching SWAC vs UNC. Meat makes another “bra less” trip to the mound—they should really voice the need for support when he makes that trip—
Messick with less than ace stuff tonight for SWAC—and he wears that uniform like a younger David “Boomer” Wells……
Gator baseball improved to 35-19, 15-14 in the SEC with a dominating 8-0 win over South Carolina. Brandon Neely threw his best baseball of the year, going 7 innings, throwing 96 pitches, only giving up 3 hits, no walks and 10 strikeouts. Blake Purnell and Anthony Ursitti pitched an inning each in closing out the game. 2 SC errors in the 3rd helped the Gators jump out to a 3-0 lead in the 3rd inning and they added 2 more in the 5th, 2 in the 7th and 1 in the 8th to put the game away. Florida had 10 hits and 6 walks on the night, led by Jud Fabian's 3-4, with a HR, double 2 RBI, a stolen base and 2 runs scored. Sterlin Thompson went 2-4 with an RBI, Josh Rivera hit a 2-run HR and Jac Caglionone and Deric Fabian each had a hit and RBI. Ty Evans was hit on the hand/wrist by a pitch in the 3rd inning and was replaced by Deric Fabian in the 4th, who went to 2nd base and Thompson to RF, with Halter staying at 3rd. Hopefully, nothing serious, as Evans has been good since being inserted in to the lineup. The Gators go for the sweep Saturday afternoon, weather permitting, with Nick Pogue on the mound.
Last D1 Baseball projection had us going to UM and SWAC hosting. SWAC a had a bad week. Lost to us and 2 so far to UNC. They now have an RPI of 26 vs our 15. They had a better Conf record, but now we both are 15-14. We beat them 2 out of 3. They have a better SOS (2 vs 11), but their record is 33-21 vs ours at 35-19. If we both win or we both lose today, I do not see how they would get a host site and we miss out. I think it would be more likely we get one of the last ones and they come to us.
I think FSU has played themselves out of hosting. We have a shot, but we're going to finish either 6th, 7th or 8th in the SEC depending on the final records of us, Vandy & Georgia. If weather allows our game to day to be played and we win, then win a couple of games at Hoover, I think we host. But a lot of factors are involved with teams and conferences from all over the country.
Win today and two in the SEC tournament and I really like our chances. If FSU loses a couple more that might take a host spot away from the ACC which should help our cause. I've been reading the Nole message boards lately and most of their fans believe that it's time to retire the Martin name in Tallahassee. Many Noles were not big on Meat's promotion to begin with. If or when they do let him go, I hope Link Jarret isn't available to them.
Gamecock starting pitcher today, Will Sanders is a 6'6" 215 lb. righty with a 7-3 record and 3.76 ERA. In 81.1 innings he's given up 80 hits and 26 walks with 78 K's and 14 HR's. Hope our guys can make him work like they did their starter last night, but Sanders has been their best pitcher this year. The Gator starting lineup is the same as yesterday, so it appears Ty Evans is OK. Nick Pogue on the mound.
I think Meat is doing a great job. I think they need to give him a 4 or 5 year extension to lock him up.
The Gator baseball team ended the regular season 35-20, 15-15 in the SEC (tied for 6th with Georgia, meaning we get the #7 seed in the SEC tournament) after a lackluster 5-1 loss to South Carolina. Nick Pogue was OK in his start today, going 5.1 innings and being charged with all 4 runs on 7 hits with 6 K's. 2 of those runs came on 2 solo HR's by their DH, both with 2 outs. There was a 2 1/2 rain delay with 1 out and 1 on for SC in the top of the 7th and when play resumed Blake Purnell was on the mound. He proceeded to give up a hit & run single on the first pitch and then a squeeze bunt RBI that 1st baseman BT Riopelle couldn't handle. Sterlin Thompson made a great catch on a looper over 2nd base and then threw back to the bag for a double play to end the inning. As he's done so many times this year, Purnell manages to give up hits that allow other pitcher's runner to score without hurting his own ERA. But that extra run wouldn't have mattered because Gator bats were dead today. SC used their #1 pitcher for only the first inning, choosing to rest him for the SEC tournament. But against a bullpen that has an ERA of over 9.00, Florida only managed 3 hits to go with 8 walks, unable to get clutch hits all day while leaving 10 stranded. It seems that Florida will play South Carolina in a single elimination opening game on Tuesday and if we win that game will play #2 seed Texas A&M on Wednesday in the first game of the double elimination portion of the tournament. If we had won today, our opponent would have been Alabama and then if we had beaten them would have faced LSU in the double elimination portion. It is what it is and while the Gators still have an outside chance at hosting a Regional, their chances were hurt today and probably means they need to win at least 2 games in Hoover. Just my opinion.
Gators Drop Regular-Season Finale to South Carolina, Draw Gamecocks in SEC Tournament - Florida Gators Participated in Senior Day, which I think means they're gone after the season is over. Garrett Milchin, Hunter McMullen, Jud Fabian, Kendrick Calilao, Kris Armstrong, B.T. Riopelle and Nick Pogue. Huh?
He's the son of the previous coach -- Mike Martin Sr., probably the most esteemed coach to never win a national championship. Players (and coaches) who are notably young are often called "meat" -- see the movie Bull Durham.
