Florida catcher BT Riopelle’s three home run game was not enough for the Orange & Blue on Saturday night.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – No. 23 Florida held the lead from the second inning through the top of the sixth, but Vanderbilt responded late to clinch the series with an 8-6 victory at Hawkins Field on Saturday night.
Gators catcher BT Riopelle<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_roster.aspx-3Frp-5Fid-3D15114&d=DwIGaQ&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=n2o6VDZRunkNQ3UF83TrGD0acPNUjG-wSVsfiqu6MZYPvFadXLZWkyN0Gl_hiBFI&s=P_KNAQIbG3Y75KeifAAMLziwXSXjwxBtp1odVz0fa9c&e= > (3-for-4) was brilliant at the plate in the defeat, connecting for three home runs and driving in five. Riopelle’s three-homer game was the first by a Gator since Wil Dalton accomplished the feat on March 2, 2018 vs. Stony Brook.
Riopelle produced the first three runs of the night for Florida (21-14, 5-9 SEC), blasting a 3-1 offering out of the ballpark off Commodores (25-9, 7-7 SEC) starter Carter Holton in the second inning for an early 1-0 lead. The junior backstop struck again in the top of the fourth, swatting Holton’s first pitch for an opposite field, two-shot to extend the advantage to 3-0 and marking his first multi-homer game as a Gator.
Following Riopelle’s second blast, Josh Rivera<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_roster.aspx-3Frp-5Fid-3D15104&d=DwIGaQ&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=n2o6VDZRunkNQ3UF83TrGD0acPNUjG-wSVsfiqu6MZYPvFadXLZWkyN0Gl_hiBFI&s=1tOvC64F_JfCgtnjQsFmRQlTjDxLziwiiWIj91Y_KOc&e= > found a barrel just two batters later and sent the ball over the left-center field wall for his fourth home run of the year. Although Vanderbilt responded with a Dominic Keegan solo shot the following half inning, the Gators held a 4-1 edge through four frames.
That lead was trimmed further in the bottom of the fifth, as the Commodores plated another run on a Javier Vaz RBI single to right field that brought in Davis Diaz. Vanderbilt claimed the lead one inning later, scoring four runs in the sixth highlighted by a three-run triple off the bat of Enrique Bradfield Jr.
Faced with a 6-4 deficit, Riopelle stepped up for Florida in a crucial moment yet again. After working himself into a 3-0 hitter’s count with Wyatt Langford<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_roster.aspx-3Frp-5Fid-3D15097&d=DwIGaQ&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=n2o6VDZRunkNQ3UF83TrGD0acPNUjG-wSVsfiqu6MZYPvFadXLZWkyN0Gl_hiBFI&s=mLDD0CWKu19qdXe0KEiZXjrArfVdAv-N-Y8niyILYLE&e= > on first base, the Marietta, Ga. native received the green light and launched his third home run of the night to knot things up at six runs apiece.
The Commodores responded in the half inning to follow, as Tate Kolwyck singled in Carter Jones on the first pitch of his at bat. Vanderbilt later brought the score to its final tally of 8-6 on a Keegan RBI single to right in the eighth.
Vanderbilt reliever Nick Maldonado (2-1) picked up the win, pitching one inning with two earned runs allowed on two hits. Thomas Schultz earned his fifth save of the year with two scoreless frames on one hit and one walk to close out the game.
Gators right-hander Tyler Nesbitt<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_roster.aspx-3Frp-5Fid-3D15101&d=DwIGaQ&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=n2o6VDZRunkNQ3UF83TrGD0acPNUjG-wSVsfiqu6MZYPvFadXLZWkyN0Gl_hiBFI&s=jEspWIgcrXFTMIjGa8U3R8_uFEZc9DELABGi8KiGb6Q&e= > (0-2) was saddled with the loss after allowing one earned run on one walk across two-thirds of an inning.
Sproat was handed with a no-decision, tossing 5 2/3 frames with six earned runs allowed on eight hits and four walks while striking out three.
Holton (4-2) also received a no-decision, pitching four innings with four earned runs allowed on four hits and four walks. He struck out eight.
Langford (2-for-5) and Riopelle (3-for-4) collected multiple hits in game two.
NOTABLES
* Riopelle registered the first three-homer game by a Gator since Wil Dalton accomplished the feat on March 2, 2018 vs. Stony Brook.
* Saturday marked Riopelle’s first-ever three-homer game.
* Riopelle recorded his first multi-homer game as a Gator and the second of his college career.
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Riopelle’s five RBI marked a career high.
* With Riopelle’s big game, Florida now boasts three players with double-digit home runs this season: Riopelle (12), Langford (12) and Jud Fabian<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_roster.aspx-3Frp-5Fid-3D15127&d=DwIGaQ&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=n2o6VDZRunkNQ3UF83TrGD0acPNUjG-wSVsfiqu6MZYPvFadXLZWkyN0Gl_hiBFI&s=CVfXvlrvx_d0ZtsC0uTVGR-BYYRB1y48kb1GmH6dUyA&e= > (14).
* The Gators are one of six teams in the country with three players with 10-plus homers (Texas, FGCU, Louisville, Old Dominion, Virginia Tech) and one of three teams with three 11-plus homer hitters (Louisville, Old Dominion)
* With a 2-for-5 night, Langford notched his fifth multi-hit effort in Florida’s last-seven games.
* Florida is now 142-78-1 all-time against Vanderbilt.
* The Gators hold a 56-49-1 record against the Commodores in Nashville.
* Head coach Kevin O’Sullivan<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_coaches.aspx-3Frc-3D1445&d=DwIGaQ&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=n2o6VDZRunkNQ3UF83TrGD0acPNUjG-wSVsfiqu6MZYPvFadXLZWkyN0Gl_hiBFI&s=WJjrPPEW883s6-MM8vF-DgTJJs-CxWsC5AI-_uLrbcI&e= > is 29-20 vs. Vanderbilt.
* That includes an 8-12 mark on the road.
* Florida has won 12 of the previous 20 matchups against Vanderbilt.
* Kendrick Calilao<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_roster.aspx-3Frp-5Fid-3D15092&d=DwIGaQ&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=n2o6VDZRunkNQ3UF83TrGD0acPNUjG-wSVsfiqu6MZYPvFadXLZWkyN0Gl_hiBFI&s=Yt0VZ-CmcAx6lYDYZ6s4eqLJIamB4U6f-6szOQOeRUo&e= > extended his reached-base streak to 13 games.
FROM HEAD COACH KEVIN O’SULLIVAN
On losing the lead in the sixth on Bradfield’s three-run triple…
“It’s the game of baseball. It was a decent pitch, he just ran into it and hit it over Sterlin’s head and cleared the bases. I thought overall, [Sproat] pitched good. I mean, it came down to one pitch. That’s just baseball. A few inches lower, whatever, it’s a different outcome, but it is what it is. It certainly didn’t come down to that. I thought he pitched well enough for us to win. Obviously, B.T. had a great night with three home runs. The most disappointing part is we had a two-run home run on a 3-0 count, which very rarely happens, and it happened tonight. As we get a lot of momentum, the very next inning we walk two guys. We give up a single in the sixth hole, so we give up the lead right away. That’s the bottom line.”
On the pitching…
“Our bullpen, if we don’t throw strikes and work ahead, we are going to continue to have the same problems we talked about. There’s no reason to keep talking about it, because we beat a dead horse. It is what it is. Then we go out in the ninth and start the inning with a 3-1 count. Bradfield gets the head out. It’s a tough play for Colby [Halter] to make and next thing you know, we’ve got another situation with the leadoff man on. I don’t know how many times they got the leadoff man on tonight. I think at least four of the first five innings they did. We’re just not doing a very good job of getting the leadoff hitter. We are falling behind in the count when the inning starts. At times we’ve had a difficult time closing out innings. We’re just going to have to get better, simple as that.”
UP NEXT
The Gators and Commodores go head-to-head in the series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. Game three will air on ESPN2.
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