Knights Charge Over Gators 9-6 as First Inning Struggle Continues

The No. 4 Florida Gators couldn’t dig out of a 5-1 hole in the first two innings Wednesday in the 9-6 loss to the University of Central Florida Knights at Condron Family Ballpark.

Despite three Gator homers and Jac Caglianone continuing to carry the team (8-4), it wasn’t enough as the Knights (9-1) took advantage of a leaky Gators bullpen early in the game to complete the upset.

Final from Condron.#GoGators | Presented by @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/EOGrQzfKcZ

— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) March 7, 2024

With five former Gators on the UCF roster, coach Kevin O’Sullivan was displeased with his team’s effort.

“I’m disappointed about the whole thing,” he said. “I told them that they had an older team and obviously they came in here ready to play.”

Bullpen Carousel

The Gators are now 0-4 on the season when surrendering a run in the first inning of a game.

The Knights did their homework, tagging freshman starting pitcher Luke McNeillie (1-2) for five runs on five hits, with four of them coming in the first inning via a three-run shot into the right field bullpen from UCF’s Andrew Williamson.

No better time for your first-career HR 💣

Shoutout to the rookie @AndrewW38719153 for setting the tone! pic.twitter.com/c7khAD8buC

— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) March 7, 2024

Once again, the Gators outscored their opponent 5-4 the rest of the game, but the starting pitching continues to leak into the loss column. Florida has given up 14 first-inning runs in 12 games, with McNeillie responsible for nine of them by not being able to pitch past the first two innings in consecutive starts.

What you’d like to see is that when people do have a tough outing, that they have the ability to bounce back,” O’Sullivan said. “We just haven’t been able to do that quite yet.”

McNeillie’s night was finished just two batters into the second inning after giving up a single and hitting the next Knight hitter he saw. The pitching carousel continued for the Gators, as righty Alex Philpott (one of five pitchers UF would use), who was perfect through 12 1/3 innings entering the game, took over.

Philpott struck out three batters in his three innings, giving up his first runs on a pair of two-out RBI doubles to give the Knights a 7-3 lead in the fourth inning.

One of the RBI doubles came from former Gator outfielder Matthew Prevesk (1-for-4), who is slashing a .432 batting average with a .568 on base percentage.

In his return to Gainesville, former Gator and @DartersBaseball outfielder @Matt_Prevesk lines an RBI double down the RF line to draw a 6-3 lead over UF in the top of the 4th. pic.twitter.com/iZsGXrrapi

— Jesse Simmons (@ItsJesseSimmons) March 7, 2024

Another freshman Grayson Smith came in to strike out two batters in the fifth.

UCF bounced back in the sixth for two more insurance runs, with one run scoring on consecutive botched throws, for a 9-3 lead.

Reliever Fisher Jameson was spotless, however, totaling 3 1/3 innings of scoreless, no-hit ball while striking out four to give Florida a chance to climb back.

https://twitter.com/GatorsBB/status/1765541762930725351

Living By The Long Ball

After homering a team-high five times in Sunday’s finale against Miami, the Gators followed up with three more homers Wednesday night.

Caglianone (2 for 4, two RBIs), Brody Donay (1 for 4, three RBIs) and Colby Shelton (1 for 4, RBI) all homered. In contrast, the Gators struck out 11 times, their fifth double-digit strikeout performance in the last six games.

https://twitter.com/GatorsBB/status/1765544255517536339

The homers weren’t enough as Florida scratched across six runs on seven hits against the Knights.

UCF reliever Dominic Castellano kept the Gators bats at bay, giving up just one run over 4 2/3 innings on two hits and striking out five.

“We can’t be going to the bullpen so early all the time,” O’Sullivan said. “It just puts too much pressure on everybody else during that game and you still have to manage what you have in front of you when you have a Friday, Saturday and Sunday.”

Up Next

The Gators quickly shift their sights on the St. Mary’s College of California Gaels (8-4) for a three-game series starting Friday at 6 p.m. at Condron Family Ballpark.