Friday, May 5
College Station, TX
7 PM
Florida Gators
at
Texas A&M
Lone Star-Bound Gators Visit Texas A&M
Thursday, May 4, 2023 | Baseball
COLLEGE STATION, Tex. – The fourth-ranked Florida Gators visit Blue Bell Park for a three-game series at Texas A&M in the third-to-last weekend of SEC play this Friday through Sunday.
Games one and three will stream on SEC Network+, with the opener scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on Friday and the finale for 2 p.m. ET on. Sunday. Saturday's matchup airs on SEC Network at 6 p.m. ET.
Florida (36-10, 14-7 SEC) travels to College Station for the first time in over five years, when UF took two of three for a series win from May 4-6, 2018. The Orange & Blue has won three-straight series against Texas A&M (26-19, 9-12 SEC) after sweeping in Gainesville in 2021 (W 13-4, W 3-1, W 8-4). The Gators also split two games against the Aggies at the SEC Tournament last season, falling 10-0 in seven innings before rebounding to eliminate Texas A&M, 9-0, in the semifinals.
Despite being 11-13 in the all-time series, Florida has won nine of the last 13 meetings including four of the previous five. The Gators are 10-7 vs. the Aggies under Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan and 3-3 on the road.
Pitching Matchups
Florida remained at No. 4 in the D1Baseball Top-25 this week. The Gators are ranked as highly as No. 3 according to the USA Today Coaches Poll and the NCBWA.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
After reaching the College World Series one year ago, Texas A&M has played to a 26-19 (9-12 SEC) record this season. The Aggies are hitting .272/.398/.446 with 56 homers while pitching to a 5.62 ERA with 461 strikeouts in 393 2/3 innings. Texas A&M is solid defensively, as evidenced by a .978 fielding percentage.
SULLY V SCHLOSS
This weekend's series features two of the top-four active coaches in the nation in terms of highest career winning percentage. O'Sullivan enters with a 663-312 all-time record (.680), which is good for third among active Division I head baseball coaches. Texas A&M's Jim Schlossnagle ranks fourth in that category at 835-412 (.670).
LAST TIME OUT
The Orange & Blue are fresh off a come-from-behind, 7-5 win over Florida State to sweep the Sunshine Showdown. The Gators won all three games in comeback fashion, doing so with at least three unanswered runs to close out every contest. UF went 4-0 last week, taking down UNF in a 6-2 Tuesday win before sweeping Missouri at home. Florida won the opener in seven innings by an 11-1 tally, then took the next two games, 11-7 and 8-7. Wyatt Langford paced the squad in the series, going 8-for-13 (.615) with one homer and five RBI. Tyler Shelnut (5-for-10) was also outstanding, driving in a team-high eight runs while bopping a homer and a double.
SERIESLY WINNING
Florida has won 14 of its last 15 series dating back to last season including 10 of 11 in SEC play. The Gators are 25-8 in weekend series this year and 34-11 over their last 15 series.
GIVE US A SEC
Florida has won six of seven SEC series this season. Including the 2022 SEC Tournament, the Gators are 27-12 (.692) across their last 39 games vs. SEC opponents. Since O'Sullivan took the reins in 2008, Florida's .616 winning percentage is the best in the conference (271-169).
AHEAD OF THE CURVE
Florida is 36-10 (14-7 SEC) through 46 games (.783). Last season, UF was 28-18 through 46 games (.609) and 8-13 in SEC play after 21 conference contests.
CAGS CLOSES IN ON HOME RUN RECORD
First baseman/left-handed pitcher Jac Caglianone tied Florida's single-season home run record (26) on Tuesday vs. FSU, which he shares with Matt LaPorta (2005) and Langford (2022). Thanks to a nation-leading 26 home runs, Caglianone has three more homers than any other player in the country and is on pace to finish with 31 homers in the regular season alone. Caglianone also ranks fourth nationally with an .866 slugging percentage (first in SEC) and tied-for-sixth with 67 RBI (T-second in SEC).
OFFENSIVE RANKS
Backed by double-digit runs in 20 games and 10-plus knocks in 29 contests, Florida ranks top-10 nationally in home runs (fourth - 95), slugging (fifth - .572), runs scored (sixth - 414) and triples (10th - 18) while sitting in 24th with a .308 batting average (second in SEC). The Gators lead the SEC in hits (476), triples, at bats (1,547) and total bases (884) - boasting 49 more bases than the next-closest SEC team (LSU - 835). Meanwhile, the Gators are scoring in 47.6% of their batted innings (175 of 368).
RELENTLESS REPTILES
Just under half (47.2%) of Florida's wins this season have been in comeback fashion (17), surpassing last year's 66-game total of 13 (19.7%). After going 0-20 last season when trailing after six innings, Florida has three wins in that scenario in 2023 and is 3-0 when tied after six. Even more impressively, the Gators are 14-5 when the opponent scores first this season, compared to 11-15 last year.
SPROATY THE GOATY
Right-hander Brandon Sproat was named the SEC Co-Pitcher of the Week on Monday after his complete-game gem vs. Missouri, sharing honors with Tennessee's Drew Beam. The award marked Sproat's second of the season and Florida's sixth overall, as he also earned the accolade after his complete-game shutout vs. Alabama. Sproat fired seven innings with one run allowed on two hits and one walk while striking out seven to improve to 6-2 on the season and 11-2 across his last 17 starts.
NEELS THE DEAL
Returning to the mound last weekend, closer Brandon Neely nailed down consecutive multi-inning saves in games two and three to cement UF's fifth series sweep of the year. The righty finished with 4 1/3 scoreless frames with just one hit and one walk allowed while striking out six. He leads the SEC with nine saves and has not blown a chance all season.
POSITIONAL POWER PLUNGES
Freshman Cade Kurland is tied with Ted Rich (1992) for the most home runs by a UF second baseman in a season with 13. Josh Rivera's 14 homers are one shy from tying Brady McConnell (15 - 2019) for the most by a UF shortstop while his 55 RBI are tied with Mark Kiger (2002) for second in a season at the position. Cole Figueroa holds the shortstop record with 57 RBI in 2008.
AWARDS CENTER
Two Gators were named to prestigious watch lists last week: Rivera to the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List for the nation's top shortstop and Caglianone to the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Watch List. Both players are front-runners for the respective awards.
SHELLY CELLY
Entering the weekend with just 16 SEC at bats through 18 conference games, Shelnut started all three matchups vs. Missouri and went 5-for-10 with one home run, one double and a team-leading eight RBI. As a result, Shelnut is now hitting .308/.387/.500 in SEC play and .318/.413/.580 overall with five homers and 21 RBI in 88 at bats.
DO THE ACHY BLAKEY
Right-hander Blake Purnell set career highs with five shutout relief innings and eight strikeouts on Tuesday vs. FSU to record his first win of 2023. The outing was perhaps the best of Purnell's career, lowering the reigning Freshman All-American's season ERA more than two and a half points from 8.76 to a season-low 6.23.
OF MY JOSH
Rivera wields an active 19-game on-base streak, during which he has slashed .364/.463/.530 (24-for-66) with 14 walks against six strikeouts. He has set career highs in hits, runs, homers, RBI, walks, sac flies and steals.
QUIET WYATT?
Despite missing seven games to injury, Langford ranks fourth in the NCAA with a .543 on-base percentage, backed by 40 walks (21.3 BB%) against 24 strikeouts (12.8 K%). He has 11 homers through 39 games, compared to 13 after 39 contests in 2022, when he popped 26 jacks.
WALLY WHIFFS
Saturday starter Hurston Waldrep ranks second nationally with 97 strikeouts in 62 2/3 innings, translating to 13.9 per nine (fifth in NCAA). He has fanned seven or more in nine starts and 10-plus four times.
ON DECK
Florida returns to Condron Family Ballpark to host No. 5 Vanderbilt from Friday, May 12 to Sunday, May 14.
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Games one and three will stream on SEC Network+, with the opener scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on Friday and the finale for 2 p.m. ET on. Sunday. Saturday's matchup airs on SEC Network at 6 p.m. ET.
Florida (36-10, 14-7 SEC) travels to College Station for the first time in over five years, when UF took two of three for a series win from May 4-6, 2018. The Orange & Blue has won three-straight series against Texas A&M (26-19, 9-12 SEC) after sweeping in Gainesville in 2021 (W 13-4, W 3-1, W 8-4). The Gators also split two games against the Aggies at the SEC Tournament last season, falling 10-0 in seven innings before rebounding to eliminate Texas A&M, 9-0, in the semifinals.
Despite being 11-13 in the all-time series, Florida has won nine of the last 13 meetings including four of the previous five. The Gators are 10-7 vs. the Aggies under Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan and 3-3 on the road.
Pitching Matchups
| Friday | 7 p.m. ET (SECN+) | Saturday | 6 p.m. ET (SECN) | Sunday | 2 p.m. ET (SECN+) | |
| Florida | RHP Brandon Sproat (6-2, 4.67 ERA) | RHP Hurston Waldrep (6-2, 4.74 ERA) | LHP Jac Caglianone (4-2, 5.11 ERA) |
| Texas A&M | RHP Nathan Dettmer (1-3, 6.08 ERA) | LHP Troy Wansing (2-2, 6.69 ERA) | TBA |
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Florida remained at No. 4 in the D1Baseball Top-25 this week. The Gators are ranked as highly as No. 3 according to the USA Today Coaches Poll and the NCBWA.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
After reaching the College World Series one year ago, Texas A&M has played to a 26-19 (9-12 SEC) record this season. The Aggies are hitting .272/.398/.446 with 56 homers while pitching to a 5.62 ERA with 461 strikeouts in 393 2/3 innings. Texas A&M is solid defensively, as evidenced by a .978 fielding percentage.
SULLY V SCHLOSS
This weekend's series features two of the top-four active coaches in the nation in terms of highest career winning percentage. O'Sullivan enters with a 663-312 all-time record (.680), which is good for third among active Division I head baseball coaches. Texas A&M's Jim Schlossnagle ranks fourth in that category at 835-412 (.670).
LAST TIME OUT
The Orange & Blue are fresh off a come-from-behind, 7-5 win over Florida State to sweep the Sunshine Showdown. The Gators won all three games in comeback fashion, doing so with at least three unanswered runs to close out every contest. UF went 4-0 last week, taking down UNF in a 6-2 Tuesday win before sweeping Missouri at home. Florida won the opener in seven innings by an 11-1 tally, then took the next two games, 11-7 and 8-7. Wyatt Langford paced the squad in the series, going 8-for-13 (.615) with one homer and five RBI. Tyler Shelnut (5-for-10) was also outstanding, driving in a team-high eight runs while bopping a homer and a double.
SERIESLY WINNING
Florida has won 14 of its last 15 series dating back to last season including 10 of 11 in SEC play. The Gators are 25-8 in weekend series this year and 34-11 over their last 15 series.
GIVE US A SEC
Florida has won six of seven SEC series this season. Including the 2022 SEC Tournament, the Gators are 27-12 (.692) across their last 39 games vs. SEC opponents. Since O'Sullivan took the reins in 2008, Florida's .616 winning percentage is the best in the conference (271-169).
AHEAD OF THE CURVE
Florida is 36-10 (14-7 SEC) through 46 games (.783). Last season, UF was 28-18 through 46 games (.609) and 8-13 in SEC play after 21 conference contests.
CAGS CLOSES IN ON HOME RUN RECORD
First baseman/left-handed pitcher Jac Caglianone tied Florida's single-season home run record (26) on Tuesday vs. FSU, which he shares with Matt LaPorta (2005) and Langford (2022). Thanks to a nation-leading 26 home runs, Caglianone has three more homers than any other player in the country and is on pace to finish with 31 homers in the regular season alone. Caglianone also ranks fourth nationally with an .866 slugging percentage (first in SEC) and tied-for-sixth with 67 RBI (T-second in SEC).
OFFENSIVE RANKS
Backed by double-digit runs in 20 games and 10-plus knocks in 29 contests, Florida ranks top-10 nationally in home runs (fourth - 95), slugging (fifth - .572), runs scored (sixth - 414) and triples (10th - 18) while sitting in 24th with a .308 batting average (second in SEC). The Gators lead the SEC in hits (476), triples, at bats (1,547) and total bases (884) - boasting 49 more bases than the next-closest SEC team (LSU - 835). Meanwhile, the Gators are scoring in 47.6% of their batted innings (175 of 368).
RELENTLESS REPTILES
Just under half (47.2%) of Florida's wins this season have been in comeback fashion (17), surpassing last year's 66-game total of 13 (19.7%). After going 0-20 last season when trailing after six innings, Florida has three wins in that scenario in 2023 and is 3-0 when tied after six. Even more impressively, the Gators are 14-5 when the opponent scores first this season, compared to 11-15 last year.
SPROATY THE GOATY
Right-hander Brandon Sproat was named the SEC Co-Pitcher of the Week on Monday after his complete-game gem vs. Missouri, sharing honors with Tennessee's Drew Beam. The award marked Sproat's second of the season and Florida's sixth overall, as he also earned the accolade after his complete-game shutout vs. Alabama. Sproat fired seven innings with one run allowed on two hits and one walk while striking out seven to improve to 6-2 on the season and 11-2 across his last 17 starts.
NEELS THE DEAL
Returning to the mound last weekend, closer Brandon Neely nailed down consecutive multi-inning saves in games two and three to cement UF's fifth series sweep of the year. The righty finished with 4 1/3 scoreless frames with just one hit and one walk allowed while striking out six. He leads the SEC with nine saves and has not blown a chance all season.
POSITIONAL POWER PLUNGES
Freshman Cade Kurland is tied with Ted Rich (1992) for the most home runs by a UF second baseman in a season with 13. Josh Rivera's 14 homers are one shy from tying Brady McConnell (15 - 2019) for the most by a UF shortstop while his 55 RBI are tied with Mark Kiger (2002) for second in a season at the position. Cole Figueroa holds the shortstop record with 57 RBI in 2008.
AWARDS CENTER
Two Gators were named to prestigious watch lists last week: Rivera to the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List for the nation's top shortstop and Caglianone to the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Watch List. Both players are front-runners for the respective awards.
SHELLY CELLY
Entering the weekend with just 16 SEC at bats through 18 conference games, Shelnut started all three matchups vs. Missouri and went 5-for-10 with one home run, one double and a team-leading eight RBI. As a result, Shelnut is now hitting .308/.387/.500 in SEC play and .318/.413/.580 overall with five homers and 21 RBI in 88 at bats.
DO THE ACHY BLAKEY
Right-hander Blake Purnell set career highs with five shutout relief innings and eight strikeouts on Tuesday vs. FSU to record his first win of 2023. The outing was perhaps the best of Purnell's career, lowering the reigning Freshman All-American's season ERA more than two and a half points from 8.76 to a season-low 6.23.
OF MY JOSH
Rivera wields an active 19-game on-base streak, during which he has slashed .364/.463/.530 (24-for-66) with 14 walks against six strikeouts. He has set career highs in hits, runs, homers, RBI, walks, sac flies and steals.
QUIET WYATT?
Despite missing seven games to injury, Langford ranks fourth in the NCAA with a .543 on-base percentage, backed by 40 walks (21.3 BB%) against 24 strikeouts (12.8 K%). He has 11 homers through 39 games, compared to 13 after 39 contests in 2022, when he popped 26 jacks.
WALLY WHIFFS
Saturday starter Hurston Waldrep ranks second nationally with 97 strikeouts in 62 2/3 innings, translating to 13.9 per nine (fifth in NCAA). He has fanned seven or more in nine starts and 10-plus four times.
ON DECK
Florida returns to Condron Family Ballpark to host No. 5 Vanderbilt from Friday, May 12 to Sunday, May 14.
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#GoGators
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