Florida senior third baseman Bobby Boser has been on a tear. Before game two of Saturday’s doubleheader, Boser had a hit in 11 straight games, batting .386 over that stretch with three home runs. He matched that long ball total on Tuesday, blasting three of the Gators’ five homers on the night in a blowout victory.
With his three-homer night, Boser became the first Florida player to accomplish the feat since first-round pick Jac Caglianone did it in 2023.
“I’d say that’s pretty elite company,” Boser said. “He’s a baller. You see what he’s done, you see him in the pros. That’s a good name to be a part of.”
Florida (25-14) took down Stetson (24-14) at Condron Ballpark 14-4 in a mercy-rule-shortened seven innings, as UF won its fifth consecutive game.
“Hopefully we’re at a point now where we can start to make a run,” Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “This is certainly doable, but it’s not gonna be easy. I certainly believe. I will continue to believe to the end that we have a chance to turn this thing around.”
Freshman right-hander Jackson Barberi made his fifth start of the season for Florida. He found himself in danger throughout the evening, as he lasted just 2 2/3 innings. He gave up three runs total (one of them earned) on five hits, with a pair of walks and four strikeouts.
Stetson jumped on the Gators early with some help from a Florida defensive mistake. After two quick outs in the first, Barberi issued a walk before inducing a grounder that junior second baseman Justin Nadeau couldn’t handle. The Hatters took advantage with two straight RBI singles to take a quick 2-0 lead.
Barberi was threatened again in the ensuing inning, but managed to get out of it. He gave up three straight base hits to begin the frame, with the last two being sacrifice bunt attempts turned into singles. This loaded the bases with nobody out, but Barberi got a shallow flyout followed by two strikeouts to escape without a run.
Like in the first inning, Barberi got the first two outs in the third inning before handing out a free pass. O’Sullivan replaced him after his second two-out walk and brought in sophomore righty Alex Philpott. He was greeted rudely out of the bullpen, as Stetson designated hitter Nelphie Lopez crushed a two-run homer to left field that extended the Hatters’ lead at the time.
Philpott responded well after giving up the long ball. He only allowed one more baserunner over the 3 1/3 innings he threw. The sophomore finished with four strikeouts and just one hit, one run and one walk surrendered.
“Other than the two-run homer that Alex gave up to Lopez, he was outstanding,” O’Sullivan said. “Really the game switched gears when he started pitching into his right-handed hitters.”
He was replaced by redshirt freshman sophomore Christian Rodriguez to begin the seventh inning. Rodriguez only needed 11 pitches to get through a one-two-three inning with a strikeout.
The Gators didn’t allow any runs after their offense scored in the previous half-inning, something that Florida has struggled with so far this year.
“It’s good for my health,” O’Sullivan said with a chuckle. “Any sport is a game of momentum. When you lose momentum and you work so hard to score runs, just to put a simple zero on the board, it keeps the morale of the team up, it keeps the dugout excited.”
While it didn’t take long for Stetson to crack the scoreboard, the same rang true for Florida’s offense. Senior third baseman Bobby Boser sent the fourth pitch Hatters starting right-hander Zane Coppersmith threw off the batter’s eye in center field. The missile traveled 423 feet off Boser’s bat.
Two innings later, UF took advantage of Stetson’s own defensive miscues and two-out walks. Freshman second baseman Brendan Lawson drew a base on balls before junior catcher Luke Heyman lined one to left field that popped out of the fielder’s glove, allowing Lawson to score and Heyman to reach second. Junior left fielder Blake Cyr then walked and junior designated hitter Brody Donay hit a double to right field that brought home the final two of the inning, tying the game up at 4-4.
In the fourth, Boser continued his offensive onslaught, connecting on his second home run of the game, a solo shot that gave Florida its first lead of the game.
The Gators added to their advantage in the fifth inning, again with two outs. Donay hit a single and sophomore center fielder Hayden Yost walked, which in turn led up to junior right fielder Ashton Wilson blasting a three-run shot to left field. This was Wilson’s second long ball of the year, but it came in a big spot, as UF now sported a four-run lead.
The sixth inning provided three more runs for Florida’s offense, as Boser led off the inning with another solo shot, his third of the ballgame. Later in the inning, Cyr connected on a two-run home run that soared over the left-field wall. He has now homered in three of the last four games and has seven on the season.
Florida ended the ballgame in the seventh inning, scoring three more runs to clinch the mercy rule. It started with back-to-back doubles from Yost and Wilson. Wilson finished the night 3-for-4 at the plate with four RBIs and was a triple shy of the cycle. Later in the frame, Lawson finished it off with a ground-rule double that plated two and gave UF its fifth straight victory. It was his second consecutive game with a walk-off hit after finishing Saturday’s win with an RBI single.
The Gators totaled 13 hits in the game and had the bats going with two outs. They scored 11 of their 14 runs with two away.
“We’ve been working our *ss off to fight through two outs, fight through two strikes, just fight and compete as much as we can,” Boser said. “That shows our work has been paying off. Definitely fighting with two is a big part of this game.”
Riding its five-game win streak, UF will head to Starkville to take on Mississippi State in a three-game weekend series. Florida goes into the weekend with a 4-11 record in SEC play, while the Bulldogs are 5-10 in the conference. The series opener is set to begin at 8 p.m. ET on Friday at Dudy Noble Field.
Contact Hugh Green at hgreen@alligator.org. Follow him on X @HGreen_15.
Hugh is the Spring 2025 baseball beat reporter for The Alligator. He is a fourth-year journalism sports and media major. In his free time, Hugh enjoys watching all kinds of sports with his friends.
