No. 7 Gators Baseball Shuts Out No. 5 Vanderbilt Commodores

Seventh-ranked Florida Gator baseball (38-12, 16-9) shut out the fifth-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores (35-14, 17-8) in just seven innings on Friday at Condron Ballpark, winning 10-0.

Starting pitcher Brandon Sproat threw six shutout innings for the Gators on Friday. In these six innings, he struck out five batters and only gave up five hits. Having been given an 8-0 lead at one point, Sproat could have just relaxed and lost focus, but he mentioned after the game that this really was not an option.

Another highlight of the game was Deric Fabian. Fabian stepped in for starting shortstop Josh Rivera who was scratched from the lineup on Friday. Against the Commodores, Fabian went 2-for-3 with a homer and four RBI. Not being an everyday starter, Fabian talked about his approach at the plate and what the difference is between hitting during batting practice and live at-bats.

Additionally, Gators head coach Kevin O’Sullivan sang Fabian’s praise after the game on Friday.

Gators dominate the early portion to win this game

After both team’s starting pitchers threw up zeroes on the board to begin the game, only the Gators would follow with a zero in the second. In the bottom half of the second, Tyler Shelnut led with a double to right-center field. Then, one batter later, Deric Fabian launched a pitch over the left-center field wall that put the Gators up 2-0.

Shortly after, the Gators scored another run with an RBI double from Wyatt Langford. This put the score at 3-0 heading into the third inning.

In the third inning, Fabian came up big for the Gators again. With two outs and runners on second and third base, Fabian laced a single over the Commodores’ shortstop to bring in both runners. By the end of the third inning, Florida led 5-0.

And the offense did not stop there. Three more runs would be scored in the fourth inning by the Gators. The first came from a sac fly and BT Riopelle added the other two with two run homer to the opposite field in left.  With these runs, Florida led 8-0 heading into the fifth inning.

Caglianone completes the run rule against the Commodores

The fifth and sixth inning would be quiet ones from both teams. However, the seventh inning is where the Gators ended the game. With the Vanderbilt pitcher walking three straight batters with one out, Jac Caglianone came to the plate with a chance to end it. And on the first pitch he saw, Caglianone lined a hit to left field past the third baseman to get his first hit of the game and bring in the game-winning runs.

Against the Commodores, the Gator offense had 13 total hits that amounted in 10 runs. It also walked six times compared to seven strikeouts.  Game 2 of the series is set for Saturday in Gainesville.