With the Gators already having all but wrapped up a victory on Tuesday night against Georgia Southern, they loaded the bases with one out in the seventh inning in an 8-1 game. Junior first baseman Luke Heyman stepped up to the plate against a pitcher fresh out of the bullpen.
From there, he took the first pitch he saw and deposited it over the berm in left field for a grand slam that ended the game early and sent the crowd home happy.
“I think all together we swung it pretty well,” Heyman said. “We’re finally getting back to who we are as an offense, and it’s leading to a lot of success. I feel great, everyone’s feeling great, so just keep building off that.”
Florida (28-15) breezed past Georgia Southern (23-18) at Condron Ballpark 12-1 in a mercy-rule-shortened seven innings to improve to 8-0 in home, midweek matchups.
Sophomore right-hander Alex Philpott started on the mound for UF. He lasted just two-plus innings but fared quite well against the 10 batters he faced. Philpott gave up a leadoff double to begin the ballgame but bounced back with a pair of strikeouts.
He surrendered back-to-back, two-out singles in the second inning before striking out the final batter to get through the frame scoreless. The righty walked the first batter he faced in the third and departed after throwing just 39 pitches. He finished the night having given up one run on three hits with a walk and three strikeouts.
The sophomore was replaced by redshirt freshman right-hander Caden McDonald. He allowed the inherited runner to score almost immediately on an RBI single by Georgia Southern senior designated hitter Sean Smith. He loaded the bases later in the inning but worked out of it to hold the Eagles to one run in the frame.
McDonald notched a scoreless fourth inning, giving up just one baserunner on a throwing error by junior second baseman Justin Nadeau. His night ended there, as freshman righty Jackson Barberi took to the mound.
Barberi threw one-plus inning in relief, allowing a base hit and a walk before Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan made another transition to freshman southpaw McCall Biemiller. The lefty tossed 1 2/3 innings, giving up two hits and a pair of walks with one strikeout.
Redshirt freshman Christian Rodriguez came in for Biemiller with two outs in the seventh inning. He struck out the one man he faced in that frame before Florida finished the game.
As a pitching staff, the Gators walked five batters and stranded 12 runners. The free passes included two that led off innings after Florida scored runs in the previous frames.
“We still continue to do the things that create some issues,” O’Sullivan said. “We’re just going to have to keep harping on it, and hopefully we’ll get that cleaned up.”
The Gators jumped out to a lead in the third thanks to a very productive inning at the plate. Florida sent nine batters to the dish, seven of which reached base and three scored. Nadeau and senior third baseman Bobby Boser drove in runs with RBI singles. Junior first baseman Luke Heyman plated another with a bases-loaded hit by pitch.
UF added another score in the fourth, but left an opportunity for a big inning on the field. The Gators loaded the bases with an error and a pair of walks before striking out in back-to-back at-bats. Shelton brought home the only run of the frame with a walk, but that’s all Florida got as freshman designated hitter Brendan Lawson flew out to strand three.
Florida’s offense put up a big inning in the fifth. It totaled five hits, all of which were singles, and scored four runs. Shelton got his second RBI of the night with a base hit, Lawson brought home two with a single and Heyman lined one down the right-field line to drive in another.
The Gators finished off the game in the bottom of the seventh inning to close out the mercy-rule win. Boser grounded into a fielder’s choice, Shelton walked and Lawson was hit by a pitch before Heyman blasted the walk-off grand slam. He finished the night 3-for-4 at the plate with six RBIs.
“I think ever since the Ole Miss series, he’s been on a tear,” O’Sullivan said. “Obviously, he had a great weekend this past weekend at Mississippi State, so obviously he’s swinging the bat really well.”
Heyman was one of four UF batters with multiple hits in the game. Shelton, Lawson and Nadeau all had two base hits, as Shelton and Lawson drove in a pair of runs each.
With its midweek victory, Florida has won eight of its last nine games. The Gators will now welcome No. 5 Arkansas to town for a three-game weekend series. First pitch in the opener on Friday is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET.
“It’s one pitch at a time, it’s one game at a time,” O’Sullivan said. “Arkansas is a complete team. They pitch, they throw strikes, they play defense. Offensively, they’ve hit 88 home runs this year. So, typical Arkansas team. They’re very talented, and obviously, we’ll have to play our best. Simple as that.”
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.
