UF BSB: SEC TOURNAMENT: Vanderbilt 11, Gators 6 — Commodores Strike Early and Often

SEC TOURNAMENT: Vanderbilt 11, Gators 6 — Commodores Strike Early and Often
Florida’s run in the SEC Tournament ended Saturday with a loss to Vanderbilt in the semifinals.

WHAT HAPPENED: Vanderbilt scored early and often, plating four runs in the first inning, two in the second, and three in the third. That left the Gators (44-14) to play catch-up the rest of the way, eventually falling 11-6 in the SEC Tournament semifinals. The Commodores (40-18) advanced to Sunday’s championship game to face Texas A&M, which beat Arkansas in Saturday’s first semifinal. Florida was 4-0 against Vanderbilt before Saturday and owned a 28-7 advantage in runs. However, Gators starter Jac Caglianone<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/jac-caglianone/15489> struggled with his control as Vanderbilt scored four runs on two hits in the first inning, aided by a walk, a wild pitch and a hit batter by Caglianone. Despite falling behind 10-1 after three innings, the Gators kept the pressure on Vanderbilt starter JD Thompson (4 2/3 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER). Cade Kurland<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/cade-kurland/15514>, Luke Heyman<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/luke-heyman/15522> and Wyatt Langford<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/wyatt-langford/15497> each homered for the Gators, highlighted by Langford’s two-run homer in the fifth that left the Hoover Met with a career-best 117-mph exit velocity.

PLAY OF THE GAME: The game started inauspiciously for the Gators when Vanderbilt leadoff hitter Enrique Bradfield Jr. reached on an error by shortstop Josh Rivera<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/josh-rivera/15504> and Caglianone walked Davis Diaz. Vanderbilt’s No. 3 hitter, RJ Schrek, then hit a ball back to the mound that Caglianone fielded quickly with a chance to retire Bradfield at third. However, Caglianone’s throw sailed over the head of third baseman Dale Thomas<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/dale-thomas/15512> for an error, allowing Bradfield to score and Diaz to reach third. Caglianone then hit the next batter, Parker Noland, and his wild pitch allowed Diaz to score. After a pair of strikeouts, RJ Austin delivered a two-out, two-run single for a 4-0 lead.

STRANGE STAT: Vanderbilt’s four-run outburst in the first inning Saturday matched the Commodores’ run total from their visit to Condron Ballpark earlier this month. The Gators swept the three-game series by outscoring Vanderbilt 22-4.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Gators catcher BT Riopelle<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/bt-riopelle/15503> drove in a pair of runs Saturday, setting a new school record for most RBI in the SEC Tournament. Riopelle finished 4-for-13 with three home runs and 10 RBI in the tournament, eclipsing the previous school record of nine RBI by Ben Harrison in 2002.

KEY MOMENT: Florida’s quest for an unlikely comeback took its final breath in the seventh after Langford, Caglianone and Rivera hit back-to-back-to-back singles with one out to load the bases. Riopelle drove home a run on a ground out to third to make it 11-6, but any hope of a breakout inning ended when Luke Heyman<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/luke-heyman/15522> hit a fly ball to right for the final out.

BY THE NUMBERS: 15 — NCAA Tournament berths for the Gators in head coach Kevin O’Sullivan<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/coaches/kevin-o-sullivan/1551>’s 16 seasons. The 2020 postseason was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic with Florida ranked No. 1 at the time; 6 — Pitchers used by the Gators on Saturday: Caglianone, Nick Ficarrotta<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/nick-ficarrotta/15493>, Tyler Nesbitt<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/tyler-nesbitt/15500>, Blake Purnell<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/blake-purnell/15502>, Chris Arroyo<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/chris-arroyo/15524> and Fisher Jameson<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/fisher-jameson/15496>.

FROM THE COACH: “Vanderbilt, obviously, played really well and jumped out to a comfortable lead. And we uncharacteristically made three errors today, made some other mistakes that kind of put us in a tough spot early. But offensively we battled throughout the game. We always felt like we had a chance to get back into it, and I think that’s one of the biggest things we’ll take away from just this week is we have an identity now offensively, which we’ve had the entire year, but I think everybody has seen it, that we feel like we can come back, regardless of the deficit that we’re in. So all in all, it was a really good week for us. Today we’re a little disappointed, but we’ve got bigger and better things ahead of us.” — Gators head coach Kevin O’Sullivan<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/coaches/kevin-o-sullivan/1551> following Saturday’s game

FROM THE PLAYER: “He just wasn’t as collected as he’s been in his prior starts where he’s had a lot of success. But all we can do is just flush it. I know he’s a mentally strong kid. He’ll do that, and he’ll be ready for next weekend.” — Gators catcher BT Riopelle<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/bt-riopelle/15503> on starter Jac Caglianone<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/jac-caglianone/15489>’s outing

NOTABLES

  *   Florida fell to 77-69 all-time in the SEC Tournament.
     *   The Gators finish with a 9-4 record across the last three seasons in Hoover.
     *   Florida is the ONLY program to have reached the SEC Tournament Semifinals in each of the last three seasons.
     *   The Gators have won seven SEC Tournament Titles, with the most recent coming in 2015.
  *   Riopelle singled home Rivera in the fifth and produced an RBI groundout in the seven, marking his ninth and 10th RBI of the 2023 SEC Tournament.
     *   Riopelle’s 10 RBI set a new program record for a single SEC Tournament, breaking Ben Harrison’s record of nine set in 2002.
     *   Riopelle already tied Jonathan Pigott (2009) and Chuck Hazzard (1996) for the most home runs (three) hit by a UF player in a single SEC Tournament.
  *   Langford hit his 22nd double of the season in the first inning, moving him one step closer to tying Mike Zunino’s single-season record of 28.
  *   Kurland swatted his 16th home run of his freshman campaign in the third inning, giving him more homers in a single-season than any middle infidel in program history (Brady McConnell – 15, 2008; Josh Rivera – 15, 2023).
  *   Heyman connect for his 11th home run of the season including his second of the 2023 SEC Tournament in the fourth.
  *   Langford hit his 17th homer of the season with a two-run shot in the fifth inning.
  *   Florida has struck out 595 batters in 497 innings – translating to 10.8 per nine innings, which would mark a new program record.
  *   The Gators have 579 hits through 58 games (10.0 hits/game).
  *   The Gators have scored in 45.2% of batted innings (213 of 471).
  *   Florida is now 147-79-1 all-time vs. Vanderbilt including 6-8 at neutral sites.
     *   The Gators are 34-21 in the series under O’Sullivan featuring a 6-4 mark in neutral-site battles.
     *   Florida’s five-game winning streak against Vanderbilt was snapped as the Gators dropped to 4-1 against the Commodores in 2023.

UP NEXT: The Gators return home to await the start of the NCAA Tournament. Florida is projected as one of the eight national seeds and will host a regional next weekend at Condron Family Ballpark.

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