Making his career debut on the mound, Jac Caglianone struck out nine Bucs across 6 2/3 shutout innings.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Backed by an outstanding pitching debut from starter Jac Caglianone<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/jac-caglianone/15489>, No. 7 Florida defeated Charleston Southern by a score of 8-0 to open the campaign with a series sweep at Condron Family Ballpark on Sunday afternoon.
Caglianone was dominant from start to finish, shutting down the Buccaneers (0-3) across 6 2/3 frames while maintaining upper-90s velocity. His nine strikeouts were the most by a Gators pitcher in a career debut since Karsten Whitson struck out nine himself vs. South Florida on Feb. 20, 2011.
Florida’s hot offense stayed on track in game three, opening with a two-run frame in the first. With Josh Rivera<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/josh-rivera/15504> and BT Riopelle<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/bt-riopelle/15503> on the bases, Ty Evans<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/ty-evans/15491> came through with a two-run double down the left field line. The Gators (3-0) made it 3-0 in the second, as Luke Heyman<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/luke-heyman/15522> used a triple to left field to notch his first-career hit and RBI.
Starting strong on the hill, Caglianone worked a clean first inning with his first-two career strikeouts. He did not allow a hit until the third inning, striking out five batters through three.
From there, Caglianone remained in control throughout the duration of the start. The southpaw churned out one-two-three innings in the fourth and sixth, taking eight strikeouts into the seventh. He recorded his ninth punchout in the seventh before being lifted in favor of right-handed reliever Blake Purnell<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/blake-purnell/15502> with two men down.
Purnell quickly induced an inning-ending groundout, bringing up the Gator bats in the bottom half. Heyman and Michael Robertson<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/michael-robertson/15505> picked up hits, followed by a Wyatt Langford<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/wyatt-langford/15497> walk to load the bases. That allowed BT Riopelle<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/bt-riopelle/15503> to bring in a run with a walk while Josh Rivera<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/josh-rivera/15504> extended the lead with a sac fly to right. Evans joined the hits parade as well, doubling in a pair with a rocket down the left-field line. Cade Kurland<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/cade-kurland/15514> provided the game’s final run with an RBI infield single to score Evans, making it 8-0 in favor of Florida.
The relief tandem of Purnell and Brandon Neely<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/brandon-neely/15499> put the finishing touches on the shutout, combining for 2 1/3 innings of work. Purnell worked one frame with one strikeout, while Neely tossed the final 1 1/3 innings.
Caglianone (1-0) picked up the victory, firing 6 2/3 shutout frames with just two hits and one walk allowed. He finished with nine strikeouts.
Bucs starter Evan Truitt was handed the loss, allowing three runs (one earned) on five hits and three walks while striking out five.
Evans (2-for-3), Kurland (2-for-4) and Heyman (2-for-3) recorded multiple hits in the finale. For the second straight game, Evans paced the Gators with four RBI.
NOTABLES
* Florida’s 37 total runs scored marks the team’s most through three games since opening the 2015 season with 38 runs.
* The Gators outscored the Bucs, 37 to 5, across the three-game set.
* The Gators start 3-0 for the first time since the 2020 campaign.
* This past weekend, UF starting pitchers struck out 22 batters over 17 1/3 innings while allowing a total of just six hits.
* Making his collegiate debut on the mound, Caglianone produced 6 2/3 scoreless innings with just two hits allowed.
* Caglianone’s nine strikeouts were the most by a Florida pitcher in his debut since Karsten Whitson struck out nine vs. South Florida on Feb. 20, 2011
* Heyman went 2-for-3 with one triple and one RBI, registering the first hits of his career.
* Evans tied his career high with four RBI – his second-straight game doing so.
* Florida has scored in 14 of 21 innings to open the season (66.7%).
* Under head coach Kevin O’Sullivan<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/coaches/kevin-o-sullivan/1551>, Florida improves to 41-7 in season-opening series during his tenure.
* Florida welcome a crowd of 5,458 fans on Sunday.
FROM HEAD COACH KEVIN O’SULLIVAN
On Caglianone’s pitching debut…
“He was outstanding. If he throws like that consistently, he’s going to put us in a really good place on Sundays. To have a guy that has that good of an arm, locates his fastball both sides, throws breaking ball for strikes, his slider, threw a couple of changeups. His pace was outstanding. I think at one point he threw 14 strikes in a row and 73% strikes overall. He pitched like a number one tonight.”
On Caglianone’s approach on the hill…
“I just want him to get off to a good start. I didn’t want to over-pitch things and make it more difficult for him. The second time through he started a lot of guys off with his secondary pitches and had them for strikes. Going into it, it was just really just go in and simplify this thing. He got through the first inning unscathed and he was dominant the whole day. It’s about as good of an outing as you’re going to see, especially from a guy who’s coming off Tommy John and hadn’t pitched in a live game since high school.”
On Kurland and Heyman making an impact…
“Just impressive, same thing I said yesterday. [Kurland]’s got a slow heart rate. He looks relaxed in there. He doesn’t chase a whole lot. He’s got a feel for the strike zone. He’s been good yesterday and today. I thought Luke Heyman<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/luke-heyman/15522>, I thought he caught great today, his first start behind the plate, and had a couple knocks. I thought he was really good.”
UP NEXT
Florida returns to action on Tuesday with a 6 p.m. road tilt at South Florida before hosting the Bulls on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The first game will air on ESPN+ while game two will stream on SEC Network+.
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