Head coach Kevin O'Sullivan has the Gators in the NCAA Tournament for the 15th time in his tenure. (Photo: Te'a Startz/UAA Communications)
Gators Notebook: Homefield Advantage, Pitching Options, Cags Watch, More Tidbits
Wednesday, May 31, 2023 | Baseball, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The inaugural Gainesville Regional held at Condron Ballpark is one the Gators would prefer to erase from memory.
Two games. Two losses.
The host Gators opted to play the opening game of the 2021 regional to avoid weather concerns later in the day but lost to USF. The defeat dropped Florida into the losers' bracket, where UF got trounced by South Alabama 19-1 the next afternoon to end the season.
Florida returned to its standard routine of playing the night game a year ago and defeated Central Michigan. While Mother Nature is always a threat to disrupt June outdoor baseball in Florida, Gators head coach Kevin O'Sullivan shared this week why playing the late game on Friday against Florida A&M is the right call regardless of the forecast.
"We just decided it's better for our fans to play a night game,'' O'Sullivan said. "They have been so supportive of us the entire year. Playing the night game on Friday makes the most sense."
Regional tickets are officially 𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙖𝙡𝙚 for the general public!
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 31, 2023
The Gators are 30-6 at home and open this year's Gainesville Regional at 5:30 Friday night against the Rattlers, who lost 17-7 on April 18 when they came to town.
The Gators' average announced attendance is 6,004 per game through 36 home dates. That is up from 5,263 per game in 2022, the first season at Condron Ballpark following COVID-19 attendance restrictions.
Florida's average attendance is on pace to break the school record and is larger than all but eight games played at McKethan Stadium in the 33-year history of the venue. The listed capacity of Florida Ballpark is 7,000, which is 1,500 more than McKethan Stadium.
COMEBACK JAC
Starting pitcher Jac Caglianone failed to get out of the second inning in Saturday's 11-6 loss to Vanderbilt in the Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinals.
Coming off a pair of excellent starts to help the Gators clinch a share of the SEC regular-season title, Caglianone gave up four hits and six runs (two earned) in 1 2/3 innings against the Commodores. He didn't help himself with a costly throwing error in Vanderbilt's four-run first inning.
Gators lefty Jac Caglianone during his start Saturday against Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament. (Photo: Emma Bissell/UAA Communications)
O'Sullivan is confident Caglianone will respond the way he did during the season when the Gators needed him most.
"We've asked a lot of Jac,'' O'Sullivan said of one of the country's top two-way players. "You can look at this thing one or two ways. You can focus on his last start vs. Vanderbilt, or you can focus on his last two starts before that. I choose to look at the two starts before that."
Caglianone (6-3, 4.14 ERA in 15 starts) was dominant in wins over Vanderbilt and Kentucky to end the regular season. He pitched 13 2/3 innings and allowed just five hits and one run. He walked four and struck out 17.
"He's had to learn to reset the entire year,'' O'Sullivan said. "He's been a little bit inconsistent, but he has rebounded and had some really, really good starts. I think he's learned from that. I think the whole thing for Jac is getting off to a good start. He gets off to a good start, and he can kind of roll from there. The opposite can happen as well."
FRIDAY NIGHT STARTER?
O'Sullivan planned to mull over his starter options for Friday night's game against Florida A&M, uncommitted to whether he would start Brandon Sproat or perhaps tweak his routine by going with one of his mid-week starters.
In Florida's 17-7 win over the Rattlers in April, freshman Yoel Tejeda Jr. started and got the win. Tejeda went four innings, allowing three hits and two runs. The offense gave him a comfortable 11-2 lead with an eight-run second innings.
Florida A&M enters the Gainesville Regional fresh off winning the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament.
"It's a difficult field,'' O'Sullivan said. "And a lot of it goes into matchups. You kind of look at the big picture, and another thing, you kind of look at the weather. Unfortunately, that's part of the job here at Florida, especially this time of year. You've got to keep a close eye on that and put yourself in a position where you will not spend the starter for the entire weekend.
"There's a lot that goes into it. Normally, we don't like to get out of our routine because that's what they have done the whole year."
QUOTE OF NOTE
"I think it's very crucial for us to get off to a good start on Friday. And be on the aggressive side of things and try to get off to a good start. I think that kind of sets the tone for the entire weekend." — O'Sullivan on approach
NOTABLES
Gators center fielder Michael Robertson took a seat in the middle game of Florida's trip to the SEC Tournament after struggling at the plate in the opening game. Robertson went 0-for-6 in Hoover, but O'Sullivan still sees him as a part of the plan. "That was more just a breather for him," O'Sullivan said. "It's really hard to take him out of center field and weaken your outfield defensively. We've just got to get Mikey to the point where he can provide some sort of offense at the bottom of the order, which he is certainly capable of doing." … Florida A&M lost nine of its final 12 regular-season games before winning four in a row at the SWAC Tournament … Rattlers first baseman Greico Sebastian, a transfer from Eastern Kentucky who played at Gaither High in Tampa, leads FAMU with 17 home runs and 68 RBI.
