Tanner Garrison turned in a three-hit night and Jac Caglianone launched his 18th homer.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 24 Florida fell in the series opener against South Carolina by a final score of 10-3 at Condron Family Ballpark on Friday night.
The Gamecocks (24-10, 7-6 SEC) struck first in game one, as Parker Noland homered on a 1-2 count with one out in the top of the first. Starting pitcher Brandon Neely<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/brandon-neely/16373> rebounded in the following frame, needing just five pitches to produce a zero.
Neely blanked South Carolina again in the third and the Gators (17-16, 6-7 SEC) evened the tally in the bottom half. Tanner Garrison<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/tanner-garrison/16622> and Michael Robertson<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/michael-robertson/16375> connected for back-to-back one-out doubles to left field and right-center, respectively, to knot the contest at 1-1.
South Carolina regained the lead in the top of the fifth, as Talmadge LeCroy hit a one-out homer onto the left field berm. Two batters later, Will Tippett launched one over the right field wall with two men down to make it 3-1.
After a scoreless sixth inning from Neely, the Gamecocks tacked on two more in the seventh to push their lead to 5-1. Gavin Casas led off with a triple to right-center and later came in on a one-out single to left field by Cole Messina. With the bases loaded later in the frame, Kennedy Jones drew a walk to force home Messina.
Following three scoreless, offensive half-innings, the Gators broke through in the bottom of the seventh. Garrison collected his third hit of the night with a single to right-center, then came all the way home on a two-run home run to right field off the bat of Jac Caglianone<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/jac-caglianone/16365> to cut the deficit to 5-3.
The Gamecocks added some insurance in the top of the ninth, beginning with an RBI single to center by Ethan Petry. Jones then singled up the middle to drive in a pair and LeCroy singled him home with a knock to right-center. Capping off the inning, Tippett drove in LeCroy with an RBI single to third base to bring the score to its final tally of 10-3.
Neely (1-1) received the loss, allowing five earned runs across 6 1/3 innings. The right-hander was charged with seven hits allowed, two walks and seven strikeouts.
South Carolina starter Eli Jones (3-1) earned the victory on six innings of one-run ball. He allowed five hits, walked two and struck out six.
Gamecocks reliever Chris Veach recorded his second save on two shutout innings. He did not allow a hit or walk and fanned one.
NOTABLES
* Friday night’s official attendance was 7,869, marking the eighth-largest crowd in program history.
* Caglianone hit his 18th home run of the season in the seventh inning, passing Preston Tucker for second on Florida’s all-time home run list with his 58th-career big fly.
* Caglianone extended his on-base streak to 19 games and hitting streak to 11 contests.
* Garrison picked up his first three-hit game as a Gator.
* Neely became the first UF pitcher outside of Caglianone to pitch into the seventh inning this season.
* Florida is 32-9 in home series and 48-15 at home overall since the start of the 2023 season.
* The Gators are 44-20 in weekend series since 2023 and 53-23 across the team’s previous 26 series.
* Florida is 43-23 in its last 66 games vs. SEC opponents including a 35-20 regular-season mark.
* Florida is now 53-55 all-time vs. South Carolina including 31-17 at home.
* The Gators are 31-23 against the Gamecocks under head coach Kevin O’Sullivan<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/coaches/kevin-o-sullivan/1752> (18-6 at home).
* Florida has won 14 of the last 18 meetings in Gainesville.
FROM HEAD COACH KEVIN O’SULLIVAN
On the home crowd…
“I thought the fans were outstanding. I was sitting there, and I know we haven’t played nearly as good as we possibly can, but the fans tonight were awesome and I appreciate our fans sticking behind us. We just gotta get better, it’s really that simple.”
On the situational hitting…
“We talked about having a two-strike approach right from the get-go and choking up. We’ve talked about it. We’ve actually emphasized it. You know take too big a swing, take a good pitch to handle early in the count, next thing you know it’s a 1-2 count and then all of the sudden the pressure now shifts from the pitcher to the hitter, because he knows he has to put the ball in play. So, that’s why you go up there, you spread out, choke up and have a two-strike approach right from the beginning. It’s not like we’re not talking about it or practicing it and that type of thing.”
On turning the season around…
“If we are going to turn this thing around, our best players have to play better, it’s really that simple. I don’t know what else to say other than your best pitchers got to pitch better, and your best players have to perform. That’s really as simple as it is. We’ve just got to get this thing going again.”
UP NEXT
Florida and South Carolina face off in game two on Saturday, scheduled for 4 p.m. on SEC Network+.
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