Florida Gators Baseball Defeats Georgia 8-4 in Fall Exhibition Game

The Florida Gators baseball team beat the Georgia Bulldogs 8-4 in a 10-inning fall scrimmage game on Friday night in Jacksonville. Both teams were short of making the trip to Omaha for the College World Series last season, losing in their respective regional.

Friday night brought an offensive showdown from both teams. But although the Gators came out on top, 23 out of their 30 outs were via the strikeout. 

Florida Takeaways

Hurston Waldrep, a transfer from Southern Miss, was handed the ball in the first inning to make his Florida baseball debut on the mound. 

Florida fans should get used to seeing him on the mound Friday nights. 

Waldrep came out with his fastball working 96-99 mph and showed why he should be hearing his name called day one in the ‘23 MLB draft. 

He pitched two scoreless innings giving up two hits, striking out one and earning the win for the Gators. 

Hurston Waldrep (‘23 elig) working 96-99 early on & overwhelming hitters. Pairing w/ hellacious SL (clip) at 85-87. #PGDraft @GatorsBB pic.twitter.com/uLYpINcEL6

— PG College Baseball (@PGCollegeBall) October 28, 2022

The Gators struck first in the third inning when Jac Caglianone brought in Michael Robertson on an RBI single. Josh Rivera brought in the next run and BT Riopelle capped off the inning with a two-run RBI single to make it 4-0. 

With it being an exhibition game, both teams batted 10 players and handed a new pitcher the ball after one or two innings. 

The Gators sent home a few more off singles and a balk called in the 6th inning made it 7-0. Pierce Cappola, Brandon Neely and Phillip Abner all held the shutout until the seventh inning when the Bulldogs broke through and plated their first run off Ryan Slater. 

https://twitter.com/GatorsBB/status/1586164757530288128?s=20&t=cSxa8jyIf2Mrk2N2ZexbMA

The Gators scored their final run in the eighth when Rivera led off with a double and scored all the way from second on a wild pitch. 

Cade Fisher, Chris Arroyo, and Clete Hartzog also saw time on the mound while Caglianone earned the save. 

Some key standout players for the Gators include: 

• Pierce Coppola: 2IP, 1H, 2BB, 3K, 0ER
• Philip Abner: 1IP, 2H, 0BB, 3K, 0ER
• Michael Robertson: 2-3, 1R, 2BB, 2SB
• Jac Caglianone: 3-5, 1R, 1 RBI and 1 IP, 0H, 1BB, 1K, 0ER
• Josh Rivera: 3-5, 2R, RBI, 1SB
• Cade Kurland: 2-4, 1R, 1 RBI

Georgia Takeaways

The Bulldogs went with starter Jaden Woods to take the mound in the first. 

He was also pumping the gas, sitting 94-96 mph in his start against the Gators. He struck out four batters through his first two innings of work for the Bulldogs. 

Jaden Woods (‘23 elig) K’s side in 1st, sitting 94-96 w/ great life thru zone. Got all 3 K’s on + SL (clip) in 81-85 range. #PGDraft @BaseballUGA pic.twitter.com/sExRHdF0oJ

— PG College Baseball (@PGCollegeBall) October 28, 2022

But for their offense, Georgia wasn’t able to capitalize on situational hitting early on and struggled with runners in scoring position. They scored their first two runs in the 8th inning when Sebastian Murillo had an RBI single and Justin Thomas scored on a wild pitch, cutting Florida’s lead to 8-2. 

Two more crossed the plate in the ninth when Fernando Gonzalez and Will David scored on an RBI Double. But for the Bulldogs, it wasn’t enough. 

Nolan Crisp was handed the loss after he allowed four earned runs across one inning of relief. 

Gators up next

The Gators will play their second exhibition game on Nov. 6 against Stetson. The first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.