2 days before
Florida Athletics
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Gators had a late lead, but on an unexpected late night at Condron Ballpark, they couldn’t hold it.
Florida lost 5-4 to Oklahoma on Monday night in the Gainesville Area championship game as its season ended.
A weather delay of 5 hours and 33 minutes was followed with Florida right-hand man Ryan Slater taking over on the mound. Slater beat Kendall Pettis to close the round, and the Gators added to their lead with Ty Evans’ sacrificial flight late in the seventh round, making it 3-1.
However, the Sooners responded at the top of season eight with four past Slater to take the lead. Wyatt Langford’s 26th home game of the season – marking a school record in a single season – took into account the Gators’ final run.
In an effort to advance to the Blacksburg Super Area to face Virginia Tech, Florida turned in freshman Brandon Neely for the second time in three days to start playing against the Sooners. Neely lasted only 2 1/3 innings in Friday’s loss to Oklahoma, but on a sunny afternoon at the Condron Ballpark, Neely provided a clutch outing for the Gators.
He limited the Sooners to four hits and one run of more than 6 2/3 rounds before weather delay ended his day with two passes leading the seventh inning. Neely threw 88 after throwing just 50 on Friday night’s outing.
Freshman Jac Caglianone won right into the second round against Sooners starter Trevin Michael in the first game. The Gators led 1-0 until the fifth minute when Oklahoma midfielder Kendall Pettis cleared a ball from Neely in a solo from home to left, equalizing 1-1.
Florida reclaimed the lead at the bottom of the fifth table thanks to a pair of defensive mistakes by the Sooners. First, the lead athlete Colby Halter achieved the error of the second athlete, Jackson Nicklaus. After Wyatt Langford and Sterlin Thompson flew out, BT Riopelle was sole center right as Halter raced for third. When the Sooners right winger John Spikerman mishandled the ball for a foul, Halter ran home at speed ahead.
CELEBRITY
- Florida finished the season 42-24, winning more than 40 games for the 27th time in show history.
- Neely started Monday on a two-day break, pitching into the Oklahoma net for the second time in three days after throwing 50 pitches against the Sooners on Saturday.
- The right-handed freshman threw six innings of the runner ball before being cut short due to the weather.
- Play was delayed due to weather at 3:12pm and didn’t resume until 8:45, marking the delay as 5:33pm.
- Caglianone beat the seventh game at home in the first season, opening a 1-0 lead for Florida in the second half.
- Langford connected his 26th home run of the season in the ninth inning, tying him with Matt LaPorta (2005) for the most runs in a single season in chapter history. submit. Florida’s 122 home runs this season rank second all-time in show history. (Record: 132 in 1998)
- Florida is currently losing 1-2 to Oklahoma.
- Florida is 119-82 in NCAA Tournament games.
- The Gators played in their 14th consecutive NCAA Area under O’Sullivan.
- The year 2022 represents Florida’s 37th NCAA appearance and 18th hosted.
- Florida ended the season with a win of 17 of the last 23 and 19 of the last 26.
