After beating No. 2 Nebraska 17-11 and No. 11-seeded Oklahoma State 5-2 on Sunday, the Florida baseball team needed one more win against the Cowboys to keep its season alive.
Similar to its first matchup against Oklahoma State, the Gators’ bullpen drove the victory. Florida (32-28, 13-17 SEC) beat Oklahoma State (42-19, 19-9 Big 12) 4-2 in the final game of the Stillwater Regional to advance to the Clemson Super Regional.
Florida’s bats took a couple of innings to get warmed up. Through the first two innings, sophomore Cade Kurland was the only player to reach base on a hit.
The Gators established themselves at the plate and on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third when First-Team All-SEC junior Jac Caglianone doubled off a hit to reach the top of the wall in deep center field.
Sophomore Ashton Wilson followed up with a 2-RBI double to bring home redshirt sophomore Michael Robertson and Caglianone, who reached home on a HBP. The Gators held the lead 2-0 at the end of the third.
Freshman right-handed pitcher Jake Clemente effectively led the Gators on the mound through the first three innings. He gave up only one hit and struck out two batters.
In the fourth inning, Clemente lost his momentum and gave up two hits and a run as Oklahoma State junior Aidan Meola earned an RBI double. With two runners on base, Clemente was replaced on the mound by freshman Frank Menendez, who stranded both remaining runners and left Oklahoma State in a 2-1 deficit.
Senior Dale Thomas recorded a base hit for the Gators to open the bottom of the fourth. After sophomore Brady Donay struck out looking, Robertson grounded a ball down the left-field line which resulted in an RBI single as Thomas scored to extend Florida’s lead to 3-1.
Menendez allowed two singles and a walk in the top of the fifth to load the Cowboys’ bases with one out. Although he struggled to stay ahead in the count, he pitched well in pivotal moments.
Senior Tyler Wulfert scored after a sac-fly to reduce Florida’s lead 3-2. Menendez answered with a strikeout at end of the inning to reclaim Florida’s lead.
In a battle of the bullpens, senior Tyler Shelnut came up big as the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the sixth. He crushed a fastball into the parking lot for a solo home run and kept the Gators ahead by two runs.
Florida needed one of its best closing performances of the season against Oklahoma State’s strong offense to secure a trip to the super regional. Junior Fisher Jameson took the mound after Menendez and quieted the Cowboys’ attack for the rest of the game.
Jameson retired batters in 1-2-3 order through the final three innings of play. He recorded four strikeouts while on the mound and three-straight between the seventh and eighth innings.
The Gators secured their spot in the super regional stage for the second-straight year with a conclusive strikeout at the top of the ninth.
In its final two games against Oklahoma State, Florida held its opponent to a mere 11 hits and forced 21 strikeouts.
Next, UF will travel to play No. 6-seed Clemson in the Clemson Super Regional. The series is set to begin June 7, and the time is to be decided.
Contact Aiden Wacksman at awacksman@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter at @aidenwacksman
