Kris Armstrong tracks a pitch during a Cape League game against the Cotuit Kettleers on July 11.
Gators Summer Baseball Recap
Wednesday, August 11, 2021 | Baseball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – As the start of the fall semester inches closer with the arrival of mid-August, members of the Florida baseball program have wrapped up their summer participation in various developmental leagues and are beginning to turn the page to the 2021-22 athletic calendar.
This past offseason, Gators competed for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, Cape Cod League, Coastal Plains League, Florida Collegiate Summer League and Valley League. Three different Gators ultimately garnered all-league or all-star honors as a result of their standout performances in Wyatt Langford (VBL All-Star, All-Valley League), Josh Rivera (Cape League All-Star, Willard Nicholas Most Outstanding Player Award) and Sterlin Thompson (FCSL All-Star).
1B/DH Kris Armstrong | Cape Cod League | Falmouth Commodores
Finishing his summer season on a tear, Armstrong closed out his time on the Cape with hits in nine of 11 games including four multi-hit performances across that span. Over 25 total games with Falmouth, Armstrong batted a robust .308/.373/.582 with seven home runs, four doubles, 21 RBI, 19 runs scored and nine walks. Despite latching on late with the team in early July, Armstrong still managed to pace Falmouth in home runs.
LHP Hunter Barco | USA Collegiate National Team
Barco only appeared in one game for the USA Collegiate National Team after accumulating 83 innings pitched during the college season, but he took advantage of the opportunity and then some. After striking out the first six batters he faced in his lone July 6 relief outing, Barco proceeded to cap off his day with eight total strikeouts across three shutout innings. He allowed just one hit and only two of the 10 batters he faced managed to put the ball in play.
C/1B Wyatt Langford | Valley League | Charlottesville Tom Sox
Langford turned in a huge summer season for the Tom Sox, earning All-Valley League honors while leading the team in every triple-slash category with a .345/.459/.527 batting line. Langford's on-base percentage and slugging percentage both ranked second in Tom Sox history, while his .345 batting average was good for seventh in the league and sixth in team history. Thanks to Langford's standout campaign, Charlottesville posted a league-best 30-10 record and qualified for the VBL playoffs.
LHP Timmy Manning | Cape Cod League | Harwich Mariners
Across two starts for Harwich, Manning totaled seven innings and allowed four earned runs on four hits. Manning's four strikeouts and zero walks paved the way to a pristine 1.14 WHIP.
RHP Blake Purnell | Coastal Plains League | Peninsula Pilots
Purnell made two appearances this summer including one start for a total of 4.1 innings of work. The right-hander allowed five runs and struck out two batters.
INF Josh Rivera | Cape Cod League | Chatham Anglers
Closing out the summer with hits in seven of his final eight games, Rivera finished with a .248/.318/.325 slash line. The Gators infielder totaled one home run, six doubles, 15 runs, seven RBI, 11 walks and four stolen bases during his time on the Cape. Rivera was also Chatham's lone representative on the Cape League All-Star Team and received the Anglers' Willard Nicholas Most Outstanding Player Award at season's end.
RHP Brandon Sproat | USA Collegiate National Team
Starting against the U.S. Olympic Team on July 19, Barco shined against professional-grade competition with three scoreless, no-hit innings. The southpaw struck out one batter while successfully retiring former Major League third baseman Todd Frazier as well as one-time Gators catcher Mark Kolozsvary. As a result of the standout performance, Sproat lowered his summer ERA to 2.00 across nine innings of work with two scoreless outings to close out the campaign. The right-hander went 1-0 over three starts, allowing just five hits and five walks against nine strikeouts during his time with the CNT.
OF Tucker Talbott | Florida Collegiate Summer League | Seminole County Snappers
Appearing in 14 games for the Snappers, Talbott registered five hits, one double, two runs and four walks this past summer. In his first seven games with the team, Talbott delivered the game-winning run for Seminole County on two separate occasions.
OF Sterlin Thompson | Florida Collegiate Summer League | Winter Park Diamond Dawgs
En route to being named a 2021 FCSL All-Star, Thompson batted .391/.481/.609 with three home runs, one double, 15 RBI, 13 runs, eight walks and five stolen bases during the regular season. That performance powered the Diamond Dawgs to a league championship appearance, with Thompson slashing .280/.400/.560 with two home runs during the postseason.
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This past offseason, Gators competed for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, Cape Cod League, Coastal Plains League, Florida Collegiate Summer League and Valley League. Three different Gators ultimately garnered all-league or all-star honors as a result of their standout performances in Wyatt Langford (VBL All-Star, All-Valley League), Josh Rivera (Cape League All-Star, Willard Nicholas Most Outstanding Player Award) and Sterlin Thompson (FCSL All-Star).
1B/DH Kris Armstrong | Cape Cod League | Falmouth Commodores
Finishing his summer season on a tear, Armstrong closed out his time on the Cape with hits in nine of 11 games including four multi-hit performances across that span. Over 25 total games with Falmouth, Armstrong batted a robust .308/.373/.582 with seven home runs, four doubles, 21 RBI, 19 runs scored and nine walks. Despite latching on late with the team in early July, Armstrong still managed to pace Falmouth in home runs.
CCBL homer no. 6️⃣ for Kris Armstrong is a walk-off 💣!
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) July 26, 2021
Armstrong is batting .316/.385/.702 across 17 games with the @FalCommodores.#GoGators // 🐊⚾️ pic.twitter.com/66WZeYTa5I
LHP Hunter Barco | USA Collegiate National Team
Barco only appeared in one game for the USA Collegiate National Team after accumulating 83 innings pitched during the college season, but he took advantage of the opportunity and then some. After striking out the first six batters he faced in his lone July 6 relief outing, Barco proceeded to cap off his day with eight total strikeouts across three shutout innings. He allowed just one hit and only two of the 10 batters he faced managed to put the ball in play.
Pretty good day on the mound for @hunter_barco.
— USA Baseball CNT (@USABaseballCNT) July 7, 2021
3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K@GatorsBB | #ForGlory 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/820Xt4e3Te
C/1B Wyatt Langford | Valley League | Charlottesville Tom Sox
Langford turned in a huge summer season for the Tom Sox, earning All-Valley League honors while leading the team in every triple-slash category with a .345/.459/.527 batting line. Langford's on-base percentage and slugging percentage both ranked second in Tom Sox history, while his .345 batting average was good for seventh in the league and sixth in team history. Thanks to Langford's standout campaign, Charlottesville posted a league-best 30-10 record and qualified for the VBL playoffs.
𝐈𝐂𝐘𝐌𝐈: @langford_wyatt was among the best in @VBLBaseball this summer!
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) July 26, 2021
🗞️: https://t.co/YraYd6X9Tg#GoGators // 🐊⚾️ pic.twitter.com/YSTOLbDzeS
LHP Timmy Manning | Cape Cod League | Harwich Mariners
Across two starts for Harwich, Manning totaled seven innings and allowed four earned runs on four hits. Manning's four strikeouts and zero walks paved the way to a pristine 1.14 WHIP.
RHP Blake Purnell | Coastal Plains League | Peninsula Pilots
Purnell made two appearances this summer including one start for a total of 4.1 innings of work. The right-hander allowed five runs and struck out two batters.
INF Josh Rivera | Cape Cod League | Chatham Anglers
Closing out the summer with hits in seven of his final eight games, Rivera finished with a .248/.318/.325 slash line. The Gators infielder totaled one home run, six doubles, 15 runs, seven RBI, 11 walks and four stolen bases during his time on the Cape. Rivera was also Chatham's lone representative on the Cape League All-Star Team and received the Anglers' Willard Nicholas Most Outstanding Player Award at season's end.
Josh Rivera (@GatorsBB), Chatham's All-Star this season, was named this year's Willard Nicholas Most Outstanding Player. Rivera's played in 35 of the Anglers' 38 games this year, batting .248 while playing outstanding defense at shortstop. pic.twitter.com/a9lDWJFffn
— Chatham Anglers (@ChathamAnglers) August 4, 2021
RHP Brandon Sproat | USA Collegiate National Team
Starting against the U.S. Olympic Team on July 19, Barco shined against professional-grade competition with three scoreless, no-hit innings. The southpaw struck out one batter while successfully retiring former Major League third baseman Todd Frazier as well as one-time Gators catcher Mark Kolozsvary. As a result of the standout performance, Sproat lowered his summer ERA to 2.00 across nine innings of work with two scoreless outings to close out the campaign. The right-hander went 1-0 over three starts, allowing just five hits and five walks against nine strikeouts during his time with the CNT.
With three scoreless, no-hit innings vs. the U.S. Olympic Team on Monday, @BrandonSproat lowered his summer ERA to 𝟐.𝟎𝟎.
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) July 20, 2021
🗞️: https://t.co/bDvmx9bzqz#GoGators // 📸: @USABaseball pic.twitter.com/wnaqtx3mtO
OF Tucker Talbott | Florida Collegiate Summer League | Seminole County Snappers
Appearing in 14 games for the Snappers, Talbott registered five hits, one double, two runs and four walks this past summer. In his first seven games with the team, Talbott delivered the game-winning run for Seminole County on two separate occasions.
OF Sterlin Thompson | Florida Collegiate Summer League | Winter Park Diamond Dawgs
En route to being named a 2021 FCSL All-Star, Thompson batted .391/.481/.609 with three home runs, one double, 15 RBI, 13 runs, eight walks and five stolen bases during the regular season. That performance powered the Diamond Dawgs to a league championship appearance, with Thompson slashing .280/.400/.560 with two home runs during the postseason.
STERLIN THOMPSON ☄️ with a solo home run! Let's Go Dawgs! Score is now 9-1 Lightning. #DawgPound🐶 pic.twitter.com/hlDN1kTE8D
— Winter Park Diamond Dawgs (@WP_DiamondDawgs) August 1, 2021
Sterlin Thompson (@GatorsBB) knocks one over the wall to put the Dawgs on the board!!💣 It's 9-1 in the 7th. pic.twitter.com/iVqN4OQgNp
— Florida League (@floridaleague) August 1, 2021
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