Friday, May 5
College Station, TX
7 PM
Florida Gators
37-10, 15-7
6
at
5
Texas A&M
26-20, 9-13
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Florida
0
2
1
1
0
1
1
0
0
6
8
1
Texas A&M
0
0
0
1
3
1
0
0
0
5
8
0
BT Riopelle crosses home after blasting a two-run homer in the second inning.
No. 4 Florida Outlasts Texas A&M in Game One
Friday, May 5, 2023 | Baseball
COLLEGE STATION, Tex. – No. 4 Florida scored in five different innings and smacked three homers to hold off Texas A&M with a 6-5 victory in the series premiere at Blue Bell Park on Friday night.
BT Riopelle (2-for-3) went yard twice, finishing with three RBI and three runs scored. Cade Kurland (2-for-5) accounted for the other Gators homer, setting UF's single-season home run record for a second baseman with his 14th jack.
Following a scoreless first inning, the Gators (37-10, 15-7 SEC) put two runs on the Aggies (26-20, 9-13 SEC) in the second. Josh Rivera led off with a double to right-center to extend his on-base streak to a team-high 20 games, then scored on a two-run homer to right by Riopelle.
Florida extended its lead to 3-0 in the third, beginning with back-to-back, one-out singles by Kurland and Wyatt Langford. With runners at the corners, Jac Caglianone produced an RBI groundout to shortstop to plate Kurland.
Gators starter Brandon Sproat churned out shutout frames in the first through the third while striking out three Aggies. That allowed UF to extend the lead to 4-0 in the top of the fourth, with the Orange & Blue manufacturing a run on a Tyler Shelnut sacrifice fly to left field.
Texas A&M broke into the scoring column in the bottom half to cut the advantage to 4-1. On the first pitch of the inning, Jace LaViolette homered to left-center field. The Aggies then knotted the game up in the fifth thanks to a three-run shot off the bat of Trevor Werner.
The score remained even for only a handful of minutes, as Riopelle connected for his second long ball of the game on a 1-1 count in the top of the sixth. The blast signified Riopelle's first multi-homer game of the season, increasing his total to nine.
The Aggies drew even a second time in the sixth, taking advantage of a fielding error at shortstop batted by pinch-hitter Travis Chesnut that allowed Ryan Targac to cross home safely.
Florida had another answer for Texas A&M in the seventh as the Gators took a 6-5 edge. On a 2-1 count, Kurland popped a solo home run into the visitor's bullpen in right field for his 14th big fly of the year – setting a new single-season record for a Gators second baseman.
Ryan Slater and Philip Abner combined to blank the Aggies in the bottom of the seventh to keep the one-run lead intact. Abner returned to the hill in the eighth and fired a clean frame to hold the score into the ninth.
Closer Brandon Neely was called on to finish off the Aggies in the final inning. The right-hander disposed of leadoff man Max Kaufer via a strikeout, then induced a flyout to center and line-out to shortstop to nail down the series-opening victory and his 10th save of the season.
Slater improved to a perfect 7-0 on the season, having twirled two-thirds scoreless relief innings with one walk and one strikeout.
Texas A&M reliever Brandyn Garcia (1-2) took the loss, allowing two earned runs in two innings. He allowed three hits and struck out a pair.
Sproat (6-2) received a no-decision, lasting 5 1/3 frames and giving up five runs (four earned) on seven hits and one walk. The right-hander fanned four.
Aggies starter Nathan Dettmer (1-3) also did not factor into the decision after surrendering four earned runs on five hits and two walks in five innings. He struck out three.
NOTABLES
On game one…
"I thought we came out and swung the bats well offensively. Scored two in the second, one in the third and one in fourth. That's kind of been our MO all year long. We keep kind of tacking on runs here and there. Credit A&M. The big three-run homer off of Brandon. I thought he pitched good. Honestly, I think the biggest difference in the ballgame was our bullpen. Everyone kind of came in and did their job. We didn't leave anybody out there for very long. Brandon (Neely) walked a couple guys there and I think he was a little disappointed with himself. At the end of the day, he made some really big pitches when he needed to. He got his changeup going against a really good, young hitter. The bottom line is when you're playing on the road, sometimes you're not going to get the benefit of the doubt. He made the big pitches when he needed to."
On the bullpen…
"(Philip) Abner was really good. Cade (Fisher) got two ground balls and came in in a tough spot. Ryan (Slater) came in and got a strikeout to end the inning. Then Philip pitched great again. He threw the ball across the plate. Neely, even though he put himself in a difficult situation, he made some really good pitches there in the end."
On Riopelle's performance…
"That was probably one of the better at bats he's had in a while, left-on-left. I thought Cade (Kurland) had a really good swing on a ball he hit out to right. BT had two home runs and their guys did a good job too. Most of the runs were manufactured with home runs — on both sides. At the end of the day, you've got to limit the walks on the road. Other than the ninth, we only walked two guys through the first eight."
On the importance of taking the opener…
"You get to this part of the season, it's hard to win any Friday night, especially on the road. They've got an older lineup. Like I said, every game matters. It just gets a little more magnified when you get to this part of the season. Going into the weekend, we were two back with nine to go. It's not easy. It's a lot easier to lose than it is to win. It's harder to win. Our bullpen did a real nice job. We scored enough."
UP NEXT
Florida and Texas A&M meet in game two on Saturday with coverage on SEC Network at 6 p.m. ET. Right-hander Hurston Waldrep (6-2, 4.74 ERA) takes the ball for the Orange & Blue while southpaw Troy Wansing (2-2, 6.69 ERA) gets the start for the Aggies.
BT Riopelle (2-for-3) went yard twice, finishing with three RBI and three runs scored. Cade Kurland (2-for-5) accounted for the other Gators homer, setting UF's single-season home run record for a second baseman with his 14th jack.
Following a scoreless first inning, the Gators (37-10, 15-7 SEC) put two runs on the Aggies (26-20, 9-13 SEC) in the second. Josh Rivera led off with a double to right-center to extend his on-base streak to a team-high 20 games, then scored on a two-run homer to right by Riopelle.
Florida extended its lead to 3-0 in the third, beginning with back-to-back, one-out singles by Kurland and Wyatt Langford. With runners at the corners, Jac Caglianone produced an RBI groundout to shortstop to plate Kurland.
Gators starter Brandon Sproat churned out shutout frames in the first through the third while striking out three Aggies. That allowed UF to extend the lead to 4-0 in the top of the fourth, with the Orange & Blue manufacturing a run on a Tyler Shelnut sacrifice fly to left field.
Texas A&M broke into the scoring column in the bottom half to cut the advantage to 4-1. On the first pitch of the inning, Jace LaViolette homered to left-center field. The Aggies then knotted the game up in the fifth thanks to a three-run shot off the bat of Trevor Werner.
The score remained even for only a handful of minutes, as Riopelle connected for his second long ball of the game on a 1-1 count in the top of the sixth. The blast signified Riopelle's first multi-homer game of the season, increasing his total to nine.
The Aggies drew even a second time in the sixth, taking advantage of a fielding error at shortstop batted by pinch-hitter Travis Chesnut that allowed Ryan Targac to cross home safely.
Florida had another answer for Texas A&M in the seventh as the Gators took a 6-5 edge. On a 2-1 count, Kurland popped a solo home run into the visitor's bullpen in right field for his 14th big fly of the year – setting a new single-season record for a Gators second baseman.
Ryan Slater and Philip Abner combined to blank the Aggies in the bottom of the seventh to keep the one-run lead intact. Abner returned to the hill in the eighth and fired a clean frame to hold the score into the ninth.
Closer Brandon Neely was called on to finish off the Aggies in the final inning. The right-hander disposed of leadoff man Max Kaufer via a strikeout, then induced a flyout to center and line-out to shortstop to nail down the series-opening victory and his 10th save of the season.
Slater improved to a perfect 7-0 on the season, having twirled two-thirds scoreless relief innings with one walk and one strikeout.
Texas A&M reliever Brandyn Garcia (1-2) took the loss, allowing two earned runs in two innings. He allowed three hits and struck out a pair.
Sproat (6-2) received a no-decision, lasting 5 1/3 frames and giving up five runs (four earned) on seven hits and one walk. The right-hander fanned four.
Aggies starter Nathan Dettmer (1-3) also did not factor into the decision after surrendering four earned runs on five hits and two walks in five innings. He struck out three.
NOTABLES
- Florida won its sixth-straight game including its fourth-straight in SEC play.
- With his solo home run in the seventh inning, Kurland set the single-season home run record (14) for a Florida second baseman.
- Ted Rich previously owned the record with 13 home runs in 1992.
- Florida improved to 4-0 when tied after six innings.
- Riopelle connected for his eighth home run of the season in the second inning and his ninth in the sixth.
- The performance marked his first multi-homer game of the season.
- Neely improved to 10-for-10 in save chances.
- Rivera extended his team-leading on-base streak to 20 games.
- Florida has struck out 496 batters in 403 innings – translating to 11.1 per nine innings.
- The Gators have 484 hits through 47 games (10.3 hits/game).
- The Gators have scored in 47.7% of batted innings (180 of 377).
- Florida improved to 12-13 all-time against Texas A&M.
- The Gators are 11-7 in the series under Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan and 4-3 in College Station.
On game one…
"I thought we came out and swung the bats well offensively. Scored two in the second, one in the third and one in fourth. That's kind of been our MO all year long. We keep kind of tacking on runs here and there. Credit A&M. The big three-run homer off of Brandon. I thought he pitched good. Honestly, I think the biggest difference in the ballgame was our bullpen. Everyone kind of came in and did their job. We didn't leave anybody out there for very long. Brandon (Neely) walked a couple guys there and I think he was a little disappointed with himself. At the end of the day, he made some really big pitches when he needed to. He got his changeup going against a really good, young hitter. The bottom line is when you're playing on the road, sometimes you're not going to get the benefit of the doubt. He made the big pitches when he needed to."
On the bullpen…
"(Philip) Abner was really good. Cade (Fisher) got two ground balls and came in in a tough spot. Ryan (Slater) came in and got a strikeout to end the inning. Then Philip pitched great again. He threw the ball across the plate. Neely, even though he put himself in a difficult situation, he made some really good pitches there in the end."
On Riopelle's performance…
"That was probably one of the better at bats he's had in a while, left-on-left. I thought Cade (Kurland) had a really good swing on a ball he hit out to right. BT had two home runs and their guys did a good job too. Most of the runs were manufactured with home runs — on both sides. At the end of the day, you've got to limit the walks on the road. Other than the ninth, we only walked two guys through the first eight."
On the importance of taking the opener…
"You get to this part of the season, it's hard to win any Friday night, especially on the road. They've got an older lineup. Like I said, every game matters. It just gets a little more magnified when you get to this part of the season. Going into the weekend, we were two back with nine to go. It's not easy. It's a lot easier to lose than it is to win. It's harder to win. Our bullpen did a real nice job. We scored enough."
UP NEXT
Florida and Texas A&M meet in game two on Saturday with coverage on SEC Network at 6 p.m. ET. Right-hander Hurston Waldrep (6-2, 4.74 ERA) takes the ball for the Orange & Blue while southpaw Troy Wansing (2-2, 6.69 ERA) gets the start for the Aggies.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Slater, Ryan (7-0)
L: Brandyn Garcia (1-2)
S: Neely, Brandon (9)
Batting:
2B: Langford, Wyatt 1 ; Rivera, Josh 1
HR: Kurland, Cade 1 ; Riopelle, BT 2
RBI: Kurland, Cade 1 ; Caglianone, Jac 1 ; Riopelle, BT 3 ; Shelnut, Tyler 1
SH: Halter, Colby 1
SF: Shelnut, Tyler 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kurland, Cade 2 ; Rivera, Josh 1 ; Riopelle, BT 3
SB: Langford, Wyatt 1
Batting:
2B: Trevor Werner 1
HR: Trevor Werner 1 ; Jace LaViolette 1
RBI: Trevor Werner 3 ; Jace LaViolette 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hunter Haas 1 ; Trevor Werner 1 ; Jace LaViolette 1 ; Ryan Targac 1 ; Max Kaufer 1
HBP: Kasen Wells 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
3
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
LHP
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RHP
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INF
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RHP
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RHP
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RHP
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