Cade Fisher posted a career-high 10 strikeouts as Florida jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 4 Florida used a 10-run first inning and a 15-hit attack to best Columbia, 15-6, in game one of the series at Condron Family Ballpark on Friday night.
Starting pitcher Cade Fisher<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/cade-fisher/16369> held the Lions (0-1) in check on the pitching end, allowing just two runs over five innings while logging a career-high 10 strikeouts. At the dish, Florida received big flies from Brody Donay<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/brody-donay/16621> (2-for-5, 2 RBI), Tyler Shelnut<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/tyler-shelnut/16376> (2-for-5, 2 RBI) and Luke Heyman<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/luke-heyman/16370> (2-for-5, 4 RBI) in the winning effort.
After Fisher fired a scoreless top half of the first, the Gators (3-1) erupted for a 10-spot in the bottom of the frame. Cade Kurland<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/cade-kurland/16372> got it going with a leadoff single and later scored on an RBI knock to center by Colby Shelton<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/colby-shelton/16639>.
From there, Ty Evans<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/ty-evans/16368> drove in a pair with a triple off the center field wall followed by another two runs on a fielding error at shortstop off the bat of Dale Thomas<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/dale-thomas/16378>. The thunder came from Donay, who hit a towering, two-run home run to center for his first hit as a Gator. Heyman then doubled in two while Shelton produced the 10th and final run with a sacrifice fly to center.
With a 10-0 lead in hand, Fisher went right back to work by firing zeros in the second and third. Columbia broke through in the fourth, as a two-run homer from Anton Lazits cut the lead to 10-2.
Fisher Jameson<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/fisher-jameson/16371> relieved Fisher in the fifth following five innings of two-run ball from the southpaw. The Lions promptly received another two-run shot from Lazits in the sixth, then tacked on two more in the seventh on a two-run double by Griffin Pelfrey to push the score to 10-6.
With the offense stuck in a lull, Tyler Shelnut<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/tyler-shelnut/16376> gave the Orange & Blue a boost in the seventh. On the first pitch of his at bat, Shelnut swatted a long, solo homer over the visiting bullpen to make it an 11-6 game.
Ryan Slater<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/ryan-slater/16377> calmed the Columbia offense, entering in the seventh and quickly quieting the rally. He proceeded to strike out the side in the eighth, finishing with four strikeouts and 1 2/3 perfect frames of relief.
In the bottom of the eighth, Michael Robertson<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/michael-robertson/16375> smacked a leadoff double then scored on an RBI single to center by Armando Albert<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/armando-albert/16619>. Heyman gave the inning a crooked number, banging a two-run tank off the batter’s eye in center field for his first of the season. Shelnut capped off the frame with an RBI single to right to bring the score to its final tally of 15-6.
Freshman Reilly Witmer<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/reilly-witmer/16635> made his collegiate debut in the ninth. The right-hander worked a scoreless inning while fanning the final batter of the contest to secure a series-opening victory for the Gators.
Fisher (1-1) earned his first win of the campaign, scattering five hits across five innings while allowing two earned runs. He fanned a career-high 10 batters and did not issue a walk.
Columbia starting pitcher Joe Sheets (0-1) was stuck with the loss after allowing nine runs (eight earned) in one-third of an inning. He surrendered five hits and one walk.
Albert (2-for-3), Heyman, Evans (2-for-4), Shelnut, Donay and Robertson (2-for-6) picked up multiple hits in the win.
NOTABLES
* Friday night’s official attendance was 6,000.
* Florida’s 10 runs in the first inning marked the team’s most since scoring 10 in the fifth vs. FGCU on March 5, 2019.
* Four Gators drove in multiple runs in the first inning: Heyman, Shelton, Evans and Donay.
* Florida hit for the cycle in the frame.
* The Gators scored 15-plus runs on 15-plus hits for the first time since Game 2 of the 2023 College World Series Finals.
* Fisher struck out a career-high 10 batters in Friday’s start.
* Fisher is the first Gator to strike out at least 10 batters in a game since Hurston Waldrep<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/hurston-waldrep/15517> struck out 12 vs. Oral Roberts in the College World Series on June 18, 2023.
* Donay launched a two-run homer to center field for his first hit in Orange & Blue.
* Albert made his Gators debut, finishing 2-for-3 with one walk and one RBI.
* Dating back to last season, Florida is 25-4 in regular season non-conference games and has won 16 of its last 17 such contests.
* The Gators are 24-5 in home series since 2023.
* Florida is 32-11 in weekend series since 2023 and 41-14 across the team’s previous 19 series.
* Florida improved to 6-0 all-time against Columbia, all of which have been played in Gainesville.
* The Gators rise to 5-0 vs. the Lions under head coach Kevin O’Sullivan<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/coaches/kevin-o-sullivan/1752>.
FROM HEAD COACH KEVIN O’SULLIVAN
On Fisher’s start and the early offense…
“I thought Cade’s start was obviously a lot different than last start, still fell behind a little bit in some of his pitch counts. He ended up with 86 pitches over five. Overall, I thought it was a really good start. Ten strikeouts, no walks. We didn’t walk anybody as a staff. We jumped out to a ten-run lead after the first, which doesn’t happen very often. Cade had to run back down there to the bullpen because it was such a long inning. And then the middle relief has got to get better. We shouldn’t have to use Slater in a game like this, so that is probably the only disappointing part. It kind of had a weird feel to it, too, because they brought in Parkinson and Madrigal, two of their more experienced relievers, so it felt like they kept tacking on runs. It got to be a four-run game at one point. Didn’t obviously foresee that coming the way the game started. We just gotta get better in middle relief, it’s just that simple.”
On what he saw from Slater and Witmer…
“Slater, he threw 24 pitches, so he’ll be able to go tomorrow. But in game like this, when you have an opportunity not to use Slater you got to take advantage of it, to set up the next game or two. And then Witmer, he’s been throwing the ball good in practice. He’s greatly improved since the fall, so it was really good to get him out there for the first time. We got to get McNeillie out there, too. It’ll be a good chance for you guys to see him tomorrow, at some point.”
On Donay’s big night…
“There’s a reason we put him in there. I know he struggled the first couple games, but the power potential is there. He can change the game in one swing. And tonight, was his best night so far.”
UP NEXT
The Gators and Lions face off again on Saturday at 6 p.m. on SEC Network+. Freshman Liam Peterson<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/liam-peterson/16631> (1-0, 0.00 ERA) toes the slab for UF against Columbia’s Andy Leon (6-3, 4.79 ERA in 2023).
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