Junior right-handed pitcher Brandon Neely has been sensational out of the Florida bullpen throughout the Gators Cinderella run to the Men’s College World Series. He was handed the ball in the bottom of the seventh inning with the season hanging in the balance.
Neely was lights out in his outing as UF was clinging to a one run lead. Its bats went quiet down the stretch, setting the stage for a potential walk-off hit by North Carolina State in the bottom of the ninth.
With the top of the Wolfpack’s order due up, Florida’s closer rose to the occasion. Neely struck out the first two batters he faced and retired the side 1-2-3 after a lineout to left kept the Gators season alive.
Florida (35-29, 13-17 SEC) narrowly escaped with a victory in an elimination game over North Carolina State (38-23, ACC) 5-4 in a tightly contested matchup at the MCWS in Omaha, Nebraska, Monday.
“It takes a different person to close out games,” Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “They’re hard to find at this level. But for whatever reason he really takes into that role… I think it says a lot about his mentality”
Despite Neely’s strong performance out of the bullpen, junior left-handed pitcher Jac Caglianone has been the most quality starter for Florida this season with a team-best 4.14 ERA. However, the southpaw got into a bit of a jam in the top of the first inning.
Caglianone had the opportunity to avenge his six-run outing in Game 3 of the national championship series last year but it was far from the start he was hoping for. He threw 33 pitches in the first frame loading the bases for NC State junior shortstop Brandon Butterworth.
On a 1-2 count, he stroked a single to the left field giving his squad a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. The Gators could have found themselves in a massive hole in the early-going but Caglinaone settled in on the mound, retiring the next two Wolfpack batters he faced after allowing the RBI-single.
“I definitely didn’t have my best stuff today,” Caglianone said. “I just knew that I had opportunities at the plate and I wanted to take full advantage of them.”
Senior third baseman Dale Thomas and sophomore catcher Brody Donay worked back-to-back walks and the Gators played a bit of small ball to plate their first run of the contest. A sacrifice fly to left field off the bat of sophomore second baseman Cade Kurland went just deep enough in the outfield to let Thomas tag up at third tying the game at one apiece.
One of the perks of being a two-way star is having the ability to impact a game both offensively and on defense and that’s the exact opportunity presented to Caglinone in the top of the second.
With two runners on, the junior belted a three-run homer to right-center field for his 34th of the year, breaking his own single-season program record and tying the all-time program record of 74 set by former Gator Matt Laporta.
“It’s a pretty cool feeling,” Caglianone said. “Mr. Laporta has reached out countless times throughout the year. He’s actually here now with his kids and family so it was a special moment for sure. But at the end of the day, I was too caught up in just trying to win.”
NC State had its backs against a wall facing an early 4-1 deficit and needed to battle back to keep its season alive. Sophomore pitcher Cade Fisher entered out of the bullpen for UF after just one inning of work from Caglianone.
After a clean second inning from Fisher, he got himself into some trouble in the bottom of the third. The sophomore hit senior first baseman Garrett Pennington, setting the stage for a two-run bomb to left field off the bat of fellow senior Alec Makarewicz cutting Florida’s lead to 4-3.
It was a back-and-forth affair in the win-or-go-home matchup and the middle innings carried much of the same theme. Florida’s senior left-fielder Tyler Shelnut is making his second-straight trip to the MCWS and in his eighth game in Omaha, he sent a solo-homer to left field bringing Florida fans to a roar at The Schwab, giving the Gators a 5-3 edge.
“It’s a lot of fun to hit a home run here in Omaha,” Shelnut said. “But the biggest thing is that it helped us win that game. That’s a really good team and they play hard… When the season is on the line, you gotta have your best at bats.”
Butterworth had himself a day at the dish, driving in his second run of the game in the bottom of the fifth with a double off the left field wall that went over the head of Shelnut.
Fisher only faced just one more hitter before being pulled in the bottom of the sixth as the Wolfpack cut Florida’s lead to just one in the wire-to-wire contest.
Florida was held scoreless in the sixth, seventh and eighth frames largely due to the dominant performance on the mound from NC State senior pitcher Logan Whitaker.
He entered the game in the top of the third inning and made it difficult for UF to add to their lead, dealing five innings and allowing just one run on two hits with eighth strikeouts to keep the Gators offense in check.
However, when Neely took the mound in the top of the seventh, he was lights out. The closer dealt three scoreless innings giving up just one hit while recording six strikeouts. His clutch performance allowed UF to survive and advance past NC State.
“It really comes back to team effort,” Neely said. “Everyone’s stepping up this postseason and me knowing I have one of the best defenses behind me and being able to attack hitters and let my defense work and they’re gonna pick me up if I don’t do the best.”
Next, Florida will take on the loser of Kentucky and Texas A&M in yet another elimination game Tuesday. The first pitch is slated for 6 p.m. CST at Charles Schwab field in Omaha, Nebraska.
Contact Max Tucker at mtucker@alligator.org. Follow him on X @Max_Tuckr1.
Max Tucker is a junior transfer student at UF. After obtaining his A.A. in Journalism from Santa Fe College in 2023, he chose further his education at Florida's College of Journalism and Communications. Max is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Science in Journalism with a specialization in sports and media. He enjoys golfing and going to the beach with his friends in his free time.
