The Florida Gators baseball team had its backs against the wall heading into its second game against Nebraska in the last three days. UF’s season was in jeopardy of coming to an end if it couldn’t muster a victory over the Huskers.
Florida was forced into an elimination game after suffering Saturday’s regional loss to Oklahoma State. It was far from the best performance for the Gators who scored just one run on two hits against the Cowboys.
However, UF needed to bounce back if they wished to survive and advance to the regional final and they did so in dominant fashion. Florida broke the game open with a six-run seventh inning to capture a double-digit lead and never looked back.
Florida (30-28, 13-17 SEC) was red hot at the plate and dismantled Nebraska (40-22, 16-8 Big Ten) 17-11 in an elimination game in the Stillwater Regional.
Despite the solid offensive production the Gators displayed, it was the Huskers who drove in the game's first two runs when junior left fielder Gabe Swansen sent a two-run homer to left field in the top of the first.
The Gators showed early signs of fight in the bottom half of the frame after knotting the score at two apiece. Sophomore second baseman scored on a wild pitch and sophomore shortstop Colby Shelton sent a single through the right side to score two-way junior Jac Caglianone from third base.
Left-handed redshirt sophomore pitcher Pierce Coppola had a shaky start for Florida allowing back-to-back two-run innings as Nebraska saw its lead grow to 4-2 in the second inning. Though, he settled into a groove in the third and fourth frame without allowing a run while setting a new career-high in strikeouts with eight.
Florida’s first big inning offensively came in the top half of the second when UF plated five runs on the Huskers. Senior third baseman Dale Thomas leadoff with a single and later scored on an RBI single from sophomore center fielder Michael Robertson.
Two runners were on base with Caglinaone stepping to the dish and he promptly blasted a three-run home run down the right-field line that just barely snuck fair inside the foul pole.
Sophomore catcher Luke Heyman followed through to cap off the five-run second inning for the Gators with his RBI-single for his first of two hits in the game.
Both teams were forced to wait out a weather delay in the top of the fifth inning but when play resumed, so did the hot bats for Florida.
The Gators scored four more runs in the sixth inning and six runs in the seventh frame to break the game open while extending its lead to 17-7.
Caglianone and Shelton had impressive 2-4 and 3-4 performances at the plate and combined to drive in eight of UF’s 17 runs.
It was a total team effort from Florida’s bullpen as it looked to put away Nebraska in the eighth and ninth frames. The Gators used six relievers after Coppola left the mound but it was Landon Russell who slammed the door shut after taking over in the ninth and recorded three-straight outs.
Nebraska was able to build some momentum in the later innings with a two run eighth inning and produced three runs in the ninth before Russell solidified the victory for the Gators.
Next, Florida will take on Oklahoma State in the Stillwater Regional final. First pitch is scheduled for 8:36 p.m.
Contact Max Tucker @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.
