The Florida baseball team survived and advanced just long enough in an improbable run at the Men’s College World Series to let its two-way phenom etch his name in program history.
Junior first baseman and pitcher Jac Caglianone’s career as a Gator has been nothing short of illustrious and he capped it off with what will be one of the most impressive resumes a UF baseball player has ever constructed.
With the count loaded in the bottom of the sixth inning in Florida’s elimination game against Kentucky, Caglianone took UK’s senior pitcher Ryan Hagenow deep to right-center field, breaking the all-time Florida career home run record with 75.
Florida (36-30, 13-17 SEC) dominated Kentucky (46-16, 22-8 SEC) 15-4 in a win-or-go-home matchup at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha Wednesday.
Redshirt sophomore pitcher Pierce Coppola made his fourth start of the season and provided the Gators with a superb performance. The southpaw’s collegiate career has been riddled with injuries but he stepped up when his team needed him the most against the Wildcats.
Coppola dealt five innings, and though he allowed four runs on four hits, he posted a career-high nine strikeouts and kept Kentucky in check in the early innings allowing Florida’s bats to catch fire and garnish a lead too big for UK to overcome.
It was an offensive explosion for the Gators lineup which was shaken up by head coach Kevin O’Sullivan pregame. Four Gators recorded multi-hit performances with sophomore designated hitter Brody Donay leading with three hits and two home runs including a grand slam in the bottom of the first inning giving UF a 7-1 lead.
Kentucky fought back to cut Florida’s lead to 9-4 on a two-run homer to right field by junior infielder Emilien Pitre. However, the game was seemingly out of reach for Kentucky when the Gators mustered a six run bottom of the fifth inning capped off by a two-RBI bloop single to right field off the bat of sophomore Charleston Southern transfer Ashton Wilson.
UF didn’t have much time to relax, as its second elimination game on the same day was only a few hours away. The next matchup presented the Gators with an opportunity to avenge its loss to Texas A&M in their first game at the MCWS.
There was reason to believe Florida’s bats would stay hot heading into its win-or-go-home game against the Aggies but A&M’s pitching in Omaha had been remarkable.
The Gators, who had just put up 15 runs on the No. 2-ranked team in the nation in Kentucky hours prior, were blanked by a variety of Aggie’ pitchers Wednesday night leading to a scoreless outing offensively.
Seven members of Florida’s lineup went hitless against Texas A&M leading to a lackluster performance at the plate. The Aggies wasted no time capitalizing.
They scored their first two runs in the top of the first inning via four walks in five at-bats dealt by Florida’s freshman starting pitcher Liam Peterson and it only became more of an uphill battle for UF from there.
Texas A&M freshman Gavin Grahovac extended the Aggies’ lead in the top of the fifth inning to 3-0 on an RBI ground-rule double to left-center field.
As Florida continued to struggle at the dish, the opposition continued to pour it on. In the top of the sixth inning, freshman outfielder Caden Sorrell belted a two-run home run over the right-center field wall.
The Aggies capped off their shutout performance in the top of the ninth with an RBI-single sneaking past the glove of Caglianone giving A&M a 6-0 lead that would hold to be the final score while bringing Florida’s season to an end.
Contact Max Tucker at mtucker@alligator.org. Follow him on X @Max_Tuckr1.
Max Tucker is a senior transfer student at UF. After obtaining his A.A. in Journalism from Santa Fe College in 2023, he chose to 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.
