UF BSB: No. 2 Gators Welcome St. John's for 2024 Opener

The 110th season of UF baseball opens with the second-ever meeting with St John’s.

Gainesville, Fla. – The No. 2 Florida Gators are set to open the 110th campaign in team history this Friday with the first installment of a three-game series against St John’s of the Big East Conference.

All three matchups air on SEC Network+ beginning with Friday night’s 6:30 p.m. opener. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. on Saturday and 12 p.m. on Sunday.

Coming off the program’s 16th SEC Championship and a trip to the College World Series Finals, head coach Kevin O’Sullivan<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/coaches/kevin-o-sullivan/1752> enters his 17th season at the helm. He commands a Gators squad that has won 14 of its last 15 games at Condron Family Ballpark and posted a 36-7 overall record at home in 2023. Florida is fresh off its winningest season (54-17) in team history.

As it relates to the matchup, the Gators are 1-0 all-time vs. the Red Storm. The lone meeting came in Coral Gables, Fla. on May 22, 1997, with Florida posting a 4-3 victory.

Since the start of O’Sullivan’s tenure at Florida in 2008, the Gators are 15-1 (.938) in season openers while featuring a 41-7 record (.854) in the first series of the year. The Orange & Blue has claimed victories in 10-straight games to open the campaign dating back through 2014. Across the history of the program, Florida is 69-41-1 all-time in openers, featuring a 49-21-1 mark at home.

Pitching Matchups

Friday | 6:30 ET (SECN+)

Saturday | 4 ET (SECN+)

Sunday | 12 ET (SECN+)

St. John’s

RHP Xavier Kolhosser (3-0, 2.56 ERA)

LHP Joe Mascio (3-3, 4.68 ERA)

RHP Mario Pesca (1-5, 6.65 ERA)

Florida

LHP Cade Fisher<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/cade-fisher/16369> (6-0, 3.10 ERA)

RHP Liam Peterson<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/liam-peterson/16631> (DNP)

LHP Jac Caglianone<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/jac-caglianone/16365> (7-4, 4.34 ERA)

Links

WATCH<https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=74feed90-848b-4d90-82e4-fb8ca29eabcc> | LISTEN<https://floridagators.com/showcase?Live=5313>

WATCH<https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=4d7ab6b8-f495-4517-8f44-74efa6d0a438> | LISTEN<https://floridagators.com/showcase?Live=5314>

WATCH<https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=feee42b3-e1b0-4a78-9417-81caae042120> | LISTEN<https://floridagators.com/showcase?Live=5315>

Florida is a consensus top-four team in the country entering the season. The Gators were ranked as highly as No. 2 by D1Baseball and no lower than No. 4 at Baseball America and Perfect Game. Florida was also the SEC Coaches’ preseason pick to win the SEC East and received two votes to claim the conference outright.

SERIES PROMOS
A wide array of giveaways and promotions will be available for fans throughout the 2024 season<https://floridagators.com/news/2024/2/13/gators-release-2024-baseball-promotions.aspx>. It all begins on Opening Night, with Gator Great BT Riopelle<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/bt-riopelle/15503> set to throw out the ceremonial first pitch on the season. Thereafter, team posters will be given out to fans on Saturday and Sunday.

FOOD TRUCKS
There will be two food trucks located in the Dizney Grove area beyond the outfield wall on each day of the weekend series.

Friday: Chomp Truck by Sodexo, Mexi Cocina Mobile
Saturday: Chomp Truck by Sodexo, The Smoked Biscuit Company
Sunday: Chomp Truck by Sodexo, Tough Guy Cookies

SCOUTING THE RED STORM
St. John’s went 28-15 last season including an 8-12 mark in Big East play. The Red Storm did finish strong, winning six of their final eight games featuring a series sweep of Butler on the road. As a team, St. John’s batted .296/.401/.457 with 53 home runs while pitching to a 5.19 ERA in 463 1/3 innings. They are a strong defensive team, as evidenced by a .971 fielding percentage.

2024 SCHEDULE OUTLOOK
Florida has 56 games on its 2024 slate, 34 of which are at home and 26 against 13 unique non-conference opponents. 19 of those 26 non-con tilts will be played at home including a three-game road series at in-state rival Miami (March 1-3), who ranked 12th in RPI last season. Shifting gears, the Gators have the sixth-toughest overall SEC schedule based on 2023 winning percentages, featuring difficult road trips to LSU, Arkansas and Vanderbilt. Overall, UF plays 21 of its 56 games against top-25 RPI teams from last year (30 in top 50, 37 in top 100).

PRESEASON HYPE
Various publications have tabbed Caglianone (unanimous first team), infielder Colby Shelton<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/colby-shelton/16639> (second team) and Neely (first team, second team) as Preseason All-Americans. The Gators also secured a league-high four First Team Preseason All-SEC selections, twice more than the next-closest school (Caglianone, Kurland, Shelton, Neely). Individually speaking, Caglianone once again finds himself on the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List.

SULLY SUPERLATIVES
Since O’Sullivan’s 2008 arrival, no college program has more CWS trips (eight), Super Regionals hosted (nine), top-eight national seeds (10) and NCAA Tournament bids (15) than the Florida Gators. Overall, Florida’s 15-straight NCAA bids represent the second-longest active streak in the sport. The Gators have also hosted 12 NCAA Regionals out of a possible 15 during O’Sullivan’s tenure (no NCAA Tournament in 2020), which ranks first in the nation. Looking at the SEC specifically, Florida’s .617 winning percentage (277-172) since 2008 is the top mark in the conference.

YEAR TO REMEMBER
The 2023 Gators finished the season as the NCAA Runner-Up while winning a program-record 54 games and capturing the team’s 16th SEC Regular-Season Championship. In making the program’s 13th MCWS appearance including the eighth under O’Sullivan, the Gators claimed their 15th NCAA Regional Title and posted 50 victories for the seventh time ever. In the process, the Gators set single-season program records in home runs (145), pitching strikeouts (725), strikeouts per nine innings (10.6) and offensive hit-by-pitches (90).

2023 STANDOUTS
Seven different Gators collected All-American honors in 2023 including two unanimous first team selections in outfielder Wyatt Langford<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/wyatt-langford/15497> and Caglianone. That is on top of Florida’s league-high seven All-SEC selections. Of those seven All-Americans, four are back in Orange & Blue including Caglianone, Neely (second team), Kurland (freshman team) and Fisher (freshman team). Florida also saw O’Sullivan honored as the ABCA Southeast Region Coach of the Year and Caglianone as the ABCA National Position Player of the Year.

RELENTLESS REPTILES
The 2023 Gators showed resiliency all season long, posting 22 come-from-behind victories that equated to 40.7% of the team’s overall win total. Florida won five games when trailing after seven innings and went 17-8 in games when the opponent scored first.

ROTATIONAL STABILITY
Florida had the only rotation in NCAA Division I to go the entire season without a single starter to miss a start, as the trio of Brandon Sproat<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/brandon-sproat/15508>, Hurston Waldrep<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/hurston-waldrep/15517> and Caglianone all posted 18 or more times. The three hurlers combined for 377 strikeouts, with Waldrep (156) and Sproat (134) becoming the ninth 100-strikeout duo in program history and setting a UF pitching duo record with 290 strikeouts. Waldrep’s 156 rank second all-time in a season at UF, just one behind Alex Faedo’s team record set in 2017.

BABY BOMBERS
Florida received remarkable contributions from the Freshman All-SEC tandem of Kurland and Heyman, who both earned everyday spots in the starting lineup while swatting double-digit homers. Kurland in particular was named First Team All-SEC and a Freshman All-American, slashing .297/.404/.555 with a program-record 17 homers at the second base position – the most by a UF freshman since JJ Schwarz’s 18 in 2015. Meanwhile, Heyman concluded the year hitting .314/.366/.555 backed by 12 homers, 39 RBI and 30 runs over 51 starts.

SECOND TO CAGLIA-NONE
The two-way playing Caglianone set single-season program records with 33 home runs and 90 RBI while slashing .323/.389/.738 last season. As the lone Gator to start all 71 games, Caglianone’s 33 homers led the nation and established a new BBCOR era record in college baseball. On the mound, the 2023 ABCA Player of the Year went 7-4 with a 4.34 ERA, .190 BAA and 87 strikeouts across 18 weekend starts. He enters 2024 as the SEC Preseason Player of the Year and a Golden Spikes Award frontrunner.

BIG WHIFFS MISCONSTRUED
Of Florida’s 12 position players that competed in NCAA Division I baseball last season, Caglianone has the second-lowest strikeout rate on the team behind Jaylen Guy<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/jaylen-guy/16624> (12.6%) at 18.2%. In fact, Caglianone and Guy are the only players on UF’s roster with a strikeout rate below 20% in 2023.

ON-POINT PEN
The Gators return four bullpen arms from last year’s MCWS run in right-handed pitcher Fisher Jameson<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/fisher-jameson/16371>, 2022 Freshman All-American right-hander Blake Purnell<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/blake-purnell/16374>, Slater and Neely. Slater (10-1, 59.2 IP, 4.22 ERA, 48 K) and Neely (2-3, 55.1 IP, 3.58 ERA, 72 K) combined for 115 innings of 3.91 ERA ball in 2023.

NEELS THE DEAL
One year after being named Freshman All-SEC, Neely transitioned into the full-time closer role in 2023 and shined with an SEC-leading 13 saves in 14 chances – five more than the next-closest SEC player and good for sixth nationally. Neely fired 55 1/3 frames of 3.58 ERA ball with a .223 BAA and 72 strikeouts to earn First Team All-SEC and Second Team All-America accolades.

FRIDAY NIGHT FISH
Following a 2023 Freshman All-American campaign, the lefty-throwing Fisher is set to take over Florida’s Friday night starter role. Across 27 appearances including two starts last year, Fisher worked 49 1/3 innings with a 6-0 record, 3.10 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, .262 BAA, 8.8 strikeouts per nine and 2.4 walks per nine. In his two starts, Fisher went 1-0 backed by a 0.82 ERA, .214 BAA and 12-0 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 11 innings. In his last 12 outings of the year, Fisher posted a 1.64 ERA in 22 innings, wielding a team-best 2.04 ERA in 17 2/3 postseason frames.

FRESHIE START
Arriving as the No. 34 recruit nationally, right-handed pitcher Liam Peterson<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/liam-peterson/16631> dazzled in fall and spring practice to grab hold of Florida’s Saturday starter job. From 2022-23 at Calvary Christian, Peterson delivered a 10-2 record, 1.28 ERA and 141 strikeouts in 76 2/3 innings – good for a 16.6 K/9.

TYBO TANKS
Entering play in Omaha with four homers on the season, Evans erupted for a MCWS-record five home runs and finished with nine RBI and seven runs scored. His .400 batting average and 1.250 slugging percentage paced the Gators at the 2023 College World Series.

PORTAL PROWESS
Ranked No. 11 nationally by D1Baseball, Florida’s incoming transfer class features seven players highlighted by Alabama infielder Colby Shelton<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/colby-shelton/16639> and Virginia Tech catcher Brody Donay<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/brody-donay/16621>. Infielder Armando Albert<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/armando-albert/16619>, catcher Tanner Garrison<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/tanner-garrison/16622>, Guy, infielder/outfielder Landon Russell<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/landon-russell/16636> and infielder/outfielder Ashton Wilson<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/ashton-wilson/16638> round out the talented contingent.

BELTIN’ SHELTON
As a Freshman All-American at Alabama in 2023, Shelton slashed .300/.419/.729 with 25 homers. He led the Crimson Tide in homers, slugging and OPS (1.148) while adding 10 doubles, 51 RBI and 49 runs scored. He is projected to serve as Florida’s primary shortstop this spring.

PARKING/SHUTTLES
Fans are encouraged to park at the Fifield and IFAS lots during the weekend. An increased number of shuttles will be available for transportation to the ballpark each day.

Click HERE<https://floridagators.com/documents/2024/2/14/2024_BB_Parking_Map_copy.pdf> for a Parking map.

* General Parking is available in the west Condron Family Ballpark baseball lot and the Fifield parking lot located directly across Hull Road.
* Disabled parking is available on a first-come, first-serve basis in the Condron Family Ballpark west lot with a valid Disabled Placard.
* Fans can follow this link<http://floridagators.com/EventParking> to an interactive parking map.
* RV Parking is available in the Fifield Flat lot. Reserved RV parking is not available for Florida baseball games. All motor home parking is on a first come, first-served basis.
* On-board generators are permitted, however exterior or pull-along generators are prohibited at all times. For safety reasons, all motor homes/RVs are required to utilize exhaust extensions or “smoke stacks” to channel exhaust fumes to the top of the motor home/RV.
* Overnight stays are only allowed on weekend series in the Fifield Flat lot.
* Do Not Park Illegally
* Park in designated parking spots (Do not park on grass or in No Parking Zones).
* Vehicles are subject to towing if they block streets, sidewalks, service drives, or fire lanes, or if illegally parked in a disabled space.
TRAFFIC PATTERNS ON GAME DAY
Those visiting Condron Family Ballpark on game day should be aware of updated traffic patterns surrounding the ballpark. Fans are advised to utilize Ballpark Way, which will serve as a connecting route to the ballpark from Archer Road. For departures, a postgame traffic flow pattern guide can be found here.<https://floridagators.com/common/controls/image_handler.aspx?thumb_id=0&image_path=/images/2022/4/22/BB_Post_Game_Traffic_20220421.png>

MOBILE TICKETING & FLORIDA GATORS APP
As a reminder, mobile ticketing is required. There will be two ways to access your tickets:
1) through the Florida Gators app<http://s1445136311.t.en25.com/e/er?s=1445136311&lid=1301&elqTrackId=F42DAD870CD1B888DE14DCC3F8C8916F&elq=f69e4978773d47758819914b4936bd42&elqaid=3046&elqat=1> from your mobile device or
2) through FloridaGators.com/myaccount<http://s1445136311.t.en25.com/e/er?s=1445136311&lid=1324&elqTrackId=E19038CB8FD63F3F29DC57131044A028&elq=f69e4978773d47758819914b4936bd42&elqaid=3046&elqat=1>. Fans will also be able to transfer or donate their tickets easily within the app or online.

TICKET INFORMATION
Season tickets are currently on sale now. Tickets can be purchased online<https://floridagators.com/sports/2015/12/10/_tickets_baseball_.aspx> or by contacting the Gator Ticket Office at (352) 375-4683. Season ticket prices and availability can be accessed directly here.<https://am.ticketmaster.com/gators/en/virtual-venue/QlMyNA==>

Tickets are currently on sale for the 2024 season, including both season tickets and single-game options. Tickets can be purchased online<https://floridagators.com/sports/2015/12/10/_tickets_baseball_.aspx> or by contacting the Gator Ticket Office at (352) 375-4683. Season ticket prices and availability can be accessed directly here<https://am.ticketmaster.com/gators/en/virtual-venue/QlMyNA==> while single-game tickets<https://www.ticketmaster.com/florida-gators-baseball-tickets/artist/1294070> as well as On-Deck Flex Passes<https://floridagators.com/sports/2021/12/10/baseball-flex-pass.aspx> are currently on sale now.

ON DECK
Florida’s next action comes in the form of a home-and-home midweek series with North Florida. The Gators travel to Jacksonville, Fla. to visit the Ospreys on Tuesday, Feb. 20 at 6 p.m. before hosting UNF in Gainesville on Wednesday, Feb. 21 at 6:30 p.m.