Gators head coach Kevin O’Sullivan entrusted sophomore right-hander Brandon Neely with back-to-back multi-inning save opportunities this weekend against the Missouri Tigers. Neely delivered both times.
A day after tossing a 2.1-inning save on 43 pitches, Neely was tasked with recording a six-out save Sunday. Neely entered the game in the eighth inning with Missouri nipping at the heels of UF’s 8-6 lead.
He allowed a run but shut the door in the ninth to lock down his ninth save of the season and No. 4 Florida’s (35-10, 14-7 SEC) 8-7 victory over Missouri (24-19, 5-16 SEC) at Condron Ballpark.
“He's extremely valuable for us,” O’Sullivan said. “You need a guy at the back end of the bullpen, and he certainly has done everything that we've asked him for.”
Sophomore left-hander Jac Caglianone made his shortest home start of the season. He lasted only three innings after failing to record an out in the fourth. Caglianone allowed one earned run on two hits, walked two and struck out five.
“It seems when things spiral on him, they spiral pretty quickly,” O’Sullivan said. “The first three innings I thought he threw the ball really well. I thought he was focused. I thought that he had a purpose.”
Junior left fielder Wyatt Langford crushed a first inning offering from Missouri freshman starting pitcher Logan Lunceford over left-center field for a solo home run. The blast was Langford’s 10th of the season and gave UF an early 1-0 lead.
Caglianone worked around runners on base in the first two innings. The Tigers struggled to catch up to his 97 mph heater.
Back-to-back doubles from freshman first baseman Luke Heyman and junior third baseman Colby Halter plated Florida’s second run. Halter reached third on a failed pickoff attempt and scored on junior right fielder Tyler Shelnut’s sacrifice fly to left-center.
Working with a 3-0 advantage, Caglianone motored through the third inning before hitting a snag in the fourth. His command eluded him; he hit two batters and allowed a single to load the bases.
O’Sullivan wasted no time removing Caglianone from the mound; he handed the ball to freshman left hander Cade Fisher in an attempt to quell the rally. Fisher induced a first pitch ground ball double play that scored a run for Missouri and cut the lead to two. He worked through the inning without any further trouble.
Fisher continued his solid effort out of the bullpen in the fifth when he fired a 1-2-3 inning. Caglianone extended UF’s lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the inning with his 25th home run of the season — a deep drive to left-center.
Caglianone is one homer away from tying the Gators’ single-season record of 26 set by Matt LaPorta in 2005 and Langford in 2022.
Halter manufactured Florida’s fifth run in the bottom of the sixth. Tigers senior reliever Rorik Maltrud hit him with a pitch. Afterwards, he stole second, reached third on a wild pitch and scored on a passed ball to deliver UF a four-run lead.
Fisher failed to get out of the seventh inning. He allowed two runners to reach base before surrendering a two-runs-batted-in double down the right-field line to Tigers junior left fielder Trevor Austin.
O’Sullivan went back to his bullpen and brought in sophomore lefty Philip Abner, who recorded the final two outs to preserve UF’s 5-3 lead.
Florida padded the score with a three-run seventh inning. Freshman second baseman Cade Kurland lofted his 13th home run of the season into the jetstream out to right-center. UF loaded the bases for Heyman, who lined a sacrifice fly to center field.
Halter stepped up next with runners on second and third and popped up a ball to shallow left field. Tigers senior third baseman Luke Mann lost his battle with the sun, and the ball landed behind him. This allowed junior shortstop Josh Rivera to score Florida’s eighth run.
Mizzou jumped all over Abner and sophomore righty Ryan Slater in the top of the eighth. Two singles and a hit batter loaded the bases for senior shortstop Matt Garcia, who thumped an opposite field two-run single to draw the lead back down to three.
Senior pinch hitter Cam Chick singled to right one batter later to score another run and bring the potential tying run to the plate. O’Sullivan then summoned Neely, who gave up a sacrifice fly to junior right fielder Ross Lovich to bring the lead down to 8-7.
He recorded the final two outs to strand the potential tying run at second base.
Neely sent down the first two hitters in the bottom of the ninth before Mizzou sophomore pinch hitter Juju Stevens reached on a catcher’s interference. With the potential go-ahead run at the plate, Neely struck out senior center fielder Ty Wilmsmeyer swinging to end the game and secure the sweep.
Florida wraps up its season series with Florida State Tuesday night at 121 Financial Ballpark in Jacksonville. Originally slated for March 28, the game was rescheduled due to expected inclement weather. The Gators have won both games against the Seminoles this season: a 9-5 win March 21 in Tallahassee and 5-3 triumph in Gainesville April 11.
First pitch in Jacksonville is scheduled for 6 p.m. The game will not be televised but will be available on the radio through ESPN 98.1FM/850AM WRUF.
Contact Ethan Eibe at eeibe@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @EthanEibe.
Ethan Eibe is a second-year UF sports media major and covers Gators baseball for The Alligator. Outside of his writing, Ethan is a play-by-play broadcaster for UF student radio and has spent two summers announcing professional baseball with the Alpine Cowboys. He is a long-suffering Miami Marlins fan.
