Florida baseball routs Kentucky at College World Series

A seven-run first inning set the tone for Florida’s 12-4 win over Kentucky at the College World Series on Wednesday.

Both teams faced elimination coming into the day, but this iteration of the Gators appear to thrive with their backs against the wall. Hustle was at an all-time high, and the entire lineup backed up Pierce Coppola in his eighth start of the season.

The Gators get a break before playing the Texas A&M Aggies at 7 p.m., hoping to force a winner-takes-all matchup on Thursday. With little time to relive the big win this morning, here’s how it all went down.

Gators came to play

Putting Jac Caglianone in the leadoff spot forced Kentucky to pitch to him, and the future first-rounder delivered with a single through the shift that turned into a two-bagger thanks to some laziness getting the ball to the infield.

Cade Kurland should have popped out, but Kentucky’s first baseman lost the ball which led to a hit by pitch. With two on and one out, Colby Shelton doubled off the wall in right field to score Caglianone. Shelton thought he had a two-run triple, but Kurland got the stop sign ahead of him. 1-1, UF.

Luke Heyman lined one to left center, and Shelton’s aggressiveness on the basepaths allowed him to score easily. 3-1, UF. Ashton Wilson ate another pitch that ran too far inside, and that was it for Kentucky starter Dominic Niman.

Dale Thomas greeted UK right-hander Cam O’Brien with a single to reload the bases. Then, Brody Donay took the first pitch he saw over the right field wall with some help from the wind. Grand salami. Florida leads, 7-1.

Kentucky actually struck first, scoring on a two-out single to right field, but that seemed like ancient history by the end of the frame.

K-oppola cruises

A quiet second from both clubs was broken in the third when Kurland drove in another pair of runs for the Gators. Wilson started the rally with another hit by pitch, forcing Kentucky to the bullpen once again. Donay single to put two on, and Caglianone loaded things up with an intentional walk. 9-1, UF.

Kentucky managed to plate another run in the fourth, but Coppola was cruising otherwise. He ran into some more trouble in the fifth — a two-out walk turned into a two-run homer — but he still struck out the side, including five of the last seven batters he faced.

Even though four runs crossed, this was Coppola’s best start of the year. He threw a career-high 98 pitches (60 strikes) and worked through five full frames for the first…