JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Florida used scoreless outings from eight different pitchers to defeat Georgia by a final score of 7-5 at 121 Financial Ballpark on Friday night.
After a clean top of the first inning featuring two strikeouts from starter Jac Caglianone, the Gators went to the bullpen and the Bulldogs quickly plated a pair of runs. Josh Stinson drove in the first on an RBI single to right and Clayton Chadwick later crossed home on a passed ball.
Freshmen hurlers Luke McNeillie and Liam Peterson threw consecutive scoreless frames in the third and fourth, opening the door for the Orange & Blue to battle back. Tyler Shelnut led the charge in the bottom half of the fourth, producing a two-run double to left-center tie the game at two runs apiece.
Southpaw Cade Fisher kept the momentum in the top of the fifth, hurling a perfect inning to hold the score. The Gators again posted a crooked number, scoring three runs beginning with a ground-rule double to right off the bat of Caglianone. Shelnut then drove in his third run of the night with an RBI fielder’s choice to shortstop, followed by a passed ball that brought Caglianone across home.
With a 5-2 lead in hand, Florida turned to freshman southpaw Robert Satin, who promptly set down three in a row to retire the side. Leading off the bottom of the seventh, Dale Thomas bashed a solo shot to left field. Colby Shelton then swatted an automatic double to the right-field corner to plate Michael Robertson and extend the UF advantage to 7-2.
Georgia responded in the eighth, scoring three runs highlighted by an RBI triple from Charlie Condon to make it 7-5. From there, the Gators turned to righty Ryan Slater to calm the tide. Slater worked Florida out of the eighth and churned out a zero in the ninth.
Right-hander Blake Purnell pitched the 10th and final inning for Florida, picking up the save with one hit allowed and one strikeout.
Fisher earned the victory, throwing one perfect inning of relief with one strikeout. Georgia reliever Jarvis Evans was saddled with the loss, surrendering three runs (two earned) on two hits and one walk in one-third of an inning.
Shelton (2-for-3) and Caglianone (3-for-3) collected multiple hits in the victory.
After a clean top of the first inning featuring two strikeouts from starter Jac Caglianone, the Gators went to the bullpen and the Bulldogs quickly plated a pair of runs. Josh Stinson drove in the first on an RBI single to right and Clayton Chadwick later crossed home on a passed ball.
Freshmen hurlers Luke McNeillie and Liam Peterson threw consecutive scoreless frames in the third and fourth, opening the door for the Orange & Blue to battle back. Tyler Shelnut led the charge in the bottom half of the fourth, producing a two-run double to left-center tie the game at two runs apiece.
Southpaw Cade Fisher kept the momentum in the top of the fifth, hurling a perfect inning to hold the score. The Gators again posted a crooked number, scoring three runs beginning with a ground-rule double to right off the bat of Caglianone. Shelnut then drove in his third run of the night with an RBI fielder’s choice to shortstop, followed by a passed ball that brought Caglianone across home.
With a 5-2 lead in hand, Florida turned to freshman southpaw Robert Satin, who promptly set down three in a row to retire the side. Leading off the bottom of the seventh, Dale Thomas bashed a solo shot to left field. Colby Shelton then swatted an automatic double to the right-field corner to plate Michael Robertson and extend the UF advantage to 7-2.
Georgia responded in the eighth, scoring three runs highlighted by an RBI triple from Charlie Condon to make it 7-5. From there, the Gators turned to righty Ryan Slater to calm the tide. Slater worked Florida out of the eighth and churned out a zero in the ninth.
Right-hander Blake Purnell pitched the 10th and final inning for Florida, picking up the save with one hit allowed and one strikeout.
Fisher earned the victory, throwing one perfect inning of relief with one strikeout. Georgia reliever Jarvis Evans was saddled with the loss, surrendering three runs (two earned) on two hits and one walk in one-third of an inning.
Shelton (2-for-3) and Caglianone (3-for-3) collected multiple hits in the victory.
NOTABLES
- With the win, Florida takes a 3-1 series lead over Georgia in the fall exhibition series in Jacksonville (2019, 2022, 2023).
- This year’s meeting marked the third-straight year of fall competition between the Gators and…
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