Florida (20-13) baseball moved to 1-10 in conference play after dropping the first two games of the Vanderbilt series.
It’s the first time since 2019 that the Commodores have won a series against the Gators, and it’s easy to see why. Florida’s offense simply isn’t producing, and a banged-up pitching staff is struggling as well.
Florida stranded 20 runners on base over the first two games and is 2-for-19 with runners in scoring position this series.
Game 1 – Friday (Vanderbilt 6, Florida 0)
A goose egg in the runs column is the worst way to start the most important series of the year, so far, for Florida. The Gators haven’t been shut out at home since April 23, 2022, but there’s no Wyatt Langford or Jac Caglianone on this roster.
Pitching
Liam Peterson returned to the Friday night slot in the weekend rotation this week and delivered 5 1/3 innings of three-run ball off five hits and five walks. Two of the three runs scored off Peterson came after the runner reached on a walk, and bases on balls continue to be the bane of this pitching staff.
A trio of Marjory Stoneman Douglas alumni led the bullpen. Lefty Jacob Gomberg only saw one batter and gave way to Jake Clemente after a four-pitch walk. Clemente struck out a pair to leave the bases loaded in the sixth and was solid in the seventh despite a single and a walk.
Christian Rodriguez came out next, following a leadoff walk from Clemente in the eighth. He got out No. 1 on a three-pitch strikeout, but another walk led to trouble. Mike Mancini singled in a run, and out came Jackson Barberi.
While Barberi managed to strike out two of three batters he faced, Riley Nelson drove in a pair with another single.
Hitting
The bottom of the order is hitting worse than ever in Gainesville. The 7-8-9 hitters in Florida’s lineup combined to go 1-for-10 and Hayden Yost left three runners on base despite notching the only hit for the trio.
Right field is a big question mark with Ty Evans not seeing the ball well and Ashton Wilson not doing much either. Brody Donay has slipped all the way to the 7-hole and hasn’t hit a home run against SEC pitching so far this season.
Luke Heyman and Colby Shelton remain Florida’s best hitters. Both had two hits in the series opener, and Bobby Boser is figuring things out. Boser and Brendan Lawson also had hits in the loss.
Game 2 – Saturday (Vanderbilt 3, Florida 2)
Florida played a much better game on Saturday but still couldn’t find the winning formula. Kevin O’Sullivan got tossed after the first three outs of the game, leaving Chuck Jeroloman and David Kopp to run the show.
Pitching
Aidan King returned to form after a couple of rough starts against SEC play. He still walked two batters — Kevin O’Sullivan ID’d the free bases as his main issue ahead of this weekend — but King added five strikeouts and delivered a quality start to make up for it.
Jonathan Vastine hit a solo home run off King in the third, and Mike Mancini doubled in a runner that reached on a walk in the fifth. Things were pretty smooth otherwise. Shelton bailed out Lawson in the first, sending a booted ground ball to home to get an aggressive runner at the plate for out three. King went 1-2-3 in the second and fourth, and he stranded two runners in the third after the homer.
Luke McNeillie was first out of the bullpen Saturday. He started things off with a hit by pitch but erased that error by catching a comebacker and doubling up the man at first after notching a strikeout. McNeillie only allowed one more baserunner over the next two frames, walking Vastine in the seventh and going 1-2-3 in the eighth.
Billy Barlow came out to hold the game at 2-2 in the ninth, but he surrendered a go-ahead home run to Colin Barczi with two outs that ended up being the difference on the scoreboard.
Hitting
Florida out-hit Vanderbilt, 9-5, on Saturday, but the Gators also left 11 men on base throughout the day. Vanderbilt starter Cody Bowker only allowed two of those hits, a Lawson double in the second and Heyman single in the fourth. Nether man advanced double, but Florida finally broke through in the fifth.
Landon Stripling walked with one out and moved to second on a Hayden Yost single. Justin Nadeau drove in Stripling with another single, and Boser loaded up the bases with a walk. That’s when Vanderbilt turned to the bullpen, and lefty Miller Green only needed one pitch to get Shelton to pop up and strand the bases loaded.
Florida got the bags full again in the sixth following two walks and a Blake Cyr single. The Commodores went to the bullpen again, bringing out Alex Krandzler, who got Ty Evans to strike out, his second of the day, and Yost couldn’t get the job done with a fielder’s choice to second.
Heyman hit the last of three seventh-inning singles to bring in Nadeau and tie the game up, but Boser got caught trying to go first to third. That mistake proved costly as what could have been a sacrifice fly from Cyr ended the inning two batters later.
Shelton tried to spark a two-out rally in the ninth with a double after Barlow gave up the lead, but Heyman couldn’t drive him in and whiffed to end the game.
It’s hard to blame Heyman here, though. He’s 13-for-22 over the past six games and has five multi-hit games. Heyman (.410) is the only Gators hitter besides Shelton (.326) batting above .250 in conference play.
Coming up
Florida looks to salvage a win in the series against Vanderbilt on Sunday at noon.
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