Wednesday, October 28
Gainesville, Fla.
5:30 PM
Florida Gators
7
vs
4
Ontario Blue Jays
Ethan Wheeler delivers a pitch during Wednesday night's win over the Blue Jays. / UAA Communications photo by Ethan Caruso
Wednesday, October 28, 2026 | Baseball
Nic Partridge and Jacob Kendall launched homers while Ethan Wheeler retired all seven batters he faced including five strikeouts.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida Gators erased an early deficit to defeat the Ontario Blue Jays by a final score of 7-4 in a fall exhibition contest at Condron Family Ballpark on Wednesday night.
Improving to 3-0 in exhibition games this fall, the Gators trailed the Blue Jays by two runs through the first two-plus innings but plated a trio of runs in the third and sixth frames to take control of the contest. The majority of the heavy lifting was done by Nic Partridge (3-for-4), who smacked a three-run home run to highlight a three-hit day and team-leading four RBI. Jacob Kendall (1-for-3) also connected for a big fly and John Martinez (2-for-2) collected multiple knocks on top of one walk, one RBI and one run.
Florida's relief pitching was perhaps the biggest storyline of the night, as five UF hurlers combined for seven shutout, two-hit innings from the second inning through the eighth. Rookie right-handed pitcher Ethan Wheeler led the way with 2 1/3 perfect frames and five strikeouts while Carter Cox, Sam Lovitz, Colin White and Cameron Hanes provided scoreless outings as well.
The Blue Jays got right on the scoreboard in the top of the first, as Clark Heimbecker smacked a two-out, two-run double down the right-field line to plate Julien Vickers (single) and Evan Payne (walk). The Gators put a man on in the home half via a one-out single by Martinez, but a pair of deep flyouts to the left-field warning track left him stranded.
Cox entered on the mound in the second, working a clean inning punctuated by back-to-back strikeouts to end the frame. Florida produced another one-out hit in bottom-two thanks to a laser to left from Eddie Marshall but was not able to move him beyond second base.
Remaining on the mound for the third, Cox fanned two more Blue Jays to navigate around a one-out walk. The UF offense broke through to steal the lead in the bottom half, with Braylen Montgomery and Luke Labbe setting the table with consecutive singles before Kyle McDaniel was plunked to juice the bags. On the 10th pitch of his at bat, Martinez smacked a deep sacrifice fly to left-center field to drive in Montgomery. Partridge followed with an RBI single up the middle and McDaniel raced home on a subsequent wild pitch to put Florida in front, 3-2.
In the top of the fourth, the right-handed tandem of Lovitz and Wheeler combined for a zero as the latter stranded a pair by inducing an inning-ending flyout to left. Wheeler stayed on the hill for the fifth, retiring the side while striking out two before striking out the side in order in the top of the sixth.
Extending their lead to 6-2 in the home half of the sixth, the Gators put their first two runners on via consecutive walks to McDaniel and Martinez. On a 2-0 offering, Partridge blasted a three-run homer down the right-field line for his second long ball of the fall.
Working with a four-run edge, White took over pitching duties in top-seven and fanned the Ontario side in order for a zero. Leading off the bottom of the seventh, Kendall worked a full count and hammered a solo home run to straightaway right field for a 7-2 ballgame.
Taking over in the eighth, Hanes fired a clean inning with one strikeout. Ontario struck for two late runs upon his exit in the ninth, as Mikey Batiste singled home Vickers and Heimbecker drove home Payne on a groundout to first base to bring the score to its final tally of 7-4.
Cox was credited with the victory, tossing two shutout, no-hit innings of relief. The freshman southpaw struck out four and walked one.
Ontario starting pitcher Brody Battah received the loss, surrendering three earned runs on four hits and one walk in 2 2/3 innings. He did not record a strikeout.
Making the start for the Orange & Blue, Brady Snow did not factor into the decision. The rookie right-hander allowed two earned runs on two hits and one walk while fanning two batters in his lone frame.
NOTABLES
ON DECK
The Gators remain home for their remaining two fall exhibition games, beginning with a matchup against Mercer on Sunday, Nov. 1 at 2 p.m. Florida concludes its fall slate vs. Air Force on Sunday, Nov. 8 at 11 a.m. All fall games at Condron Family Ballpark are free to attend for all fans.
Improving to 3-0 in exhibition games this fall, the Gators trailed the Blue Jays by two runs through the first two-plus innings but plated a trio of runs in the third and sixth frames to take control of the contest. The majority of the heavy lifting was done by Nic Partridge (3-for-4), who smacked a three-run home run to highlight a three-hit day and team-leading four RBI. Jacob Kendall (1-for-3) also connected for a big fly and John Martinez (2-for-2) collected multiple knocks on top of one walk, one RBI and one run.
Florida's relief pitching was perhaps the biggest storyline of the night, as five UF hurlers combined for seven shutout, two-hit innings from the second inning through the eighth. Rookie right-handed pitcher Ethan Wheeler led the way with 2 1/3 perfect frames and five strikeouts while Carter Cox, Sam Lovitz, Colin White and Cameron Hanes provided scoreless outings as well.
The Blue Jays got right on the scoreboard in the top of the first, as Clark Heimbecker smacked a two-out, two-run double down the right-field line to plate Julien Vickers (single) and Evan Payne (walk). The Gators put a man on in the home half via a one-out single by Martinez, but a pair of deep flyouts to the left-field warning track left him stranded.
Cox entered on the mound in the second, working a clean inning punctuated by back-to-back strikeouts to end the frame. Florida produced another one-out hit in bottom-two thanks to a laser to left from Eddie Marshall but was not able to move him beyond second base.
Remaining on the mound for the third, Cox fanned two more Blue Jays to navigate around a one-out walk. The UF offense broke through to steal the lead in the bottom half, with Braylen Montgomery and Luke Labbe setting the table with consecutive singles before Kyle McDaniel was plunked to juice the bags. On the 10th pitch of his at bat, Martinez smacked a deep sacrifice fly to left-center field to drive in Montgomery. Partridge followed with an RBI single up the middle and McDaniel raced home on a subsequent wild pitch to put Florida in front, 3-2.
In the top of the fourth, the right-handed tandem of Lovitz and Wheeler combined for a zero as the latter stranded a pair by inducing an inning-ending flyout to left. Wheeler stayed on the hill for the fifth, retiring the side while striking out two before striking out the side in order in the top of the sixth.
Extending their lead to 6-2 in the home half of the sixth, the Gators put their first two runners on via consecutive walks to McDaniel and Martinez. On a 2-0 offering, Partridge blasted a three-run homer down the right-field line for his second long ball of the fall.
Working with a four-run edge, White took over pitching duties in top-seven and fanned the Ontario side in order for a zero. Leading off the bottom of the seventh, Kendall worked a full count and hammered a solo home run to straightaway right field for a 7-2 ballgame.
Taking over in the eighth, Hanes fired a clean inning with one strikeout. Ontario struck for two late runs upon his exit in the ninth, as Mikey Batiste singled home Vickers and Heimbecker drove home Payne on a groundout to first base to bring the score to its final tally of 7-4.
Cox was credited with the victory, tossing two shutout, no-hit innings of relief. The freshman southpaw struck out four and walked one.
Ontario starting pitcher Brody Battah received the loss, surrendering three earned runs on four hits and one walk in 2 2/3 innings. He did not record a strikeout.
Making the start for the Orange & Blue, Brady Snow did not factor into the decision. The rookie right-hander allowed two earned runs on two hits and one walk while fanning two batters in his lone frame.
NOTABLES
- Florida has homered 10 times and scored 32 runs in three fall exhibition games.
- The Gators have recorded double-digit hits in all three fall contests.
- Florida played 28 defensive innings this fall before committing its first error in the ninth inning against Ontario.
- Cox pitched two scoreless, no-hit innings of relief with four strikeouts to one walk.
- Wheeler retired all seven batters he faced over 2 1/3 innings while striking out five.
- Partridge connected for a three-run homer in the sixth, marking his second-straight fall exhibition game with a home run.
- White struck out all three batters he faced in the seventh.
- Kendall hit his first home run of the fall in the bottom of the seventh.
- Five Gators (Cox, Lovitz, Wheeler, White, Hanes) logged scoreless outings.
- Every Gator that pitched recorded at least one strikeout.
- The Gators have won 11-straight fall ball exhibitions since 2022.
- This was the first-ever meeting between Florida and the Ontario Blue Jays – a Canadian amateur team.
ON DECK
The Gators remain home for their remaining two fall exhibition games, beginning with a matchup against Mercer on Sunday, Nov. 1 at 2 p.m. Florida concludes its fall slate vs. Air Force on Sunday, Nov. 8 at 11 a.m. All fall games at Condron Family Ballpark are free to attend for all fans.
Players Mentioned
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