Gators Baseball Loses Pitching Duel Against No. 2 Razorbacks

The two starting pitchers entering Friday’s game in Fayetteville, Ark., were in different circumstances. Florida’s Pierce Coppola is still nursing an injury that sidelined him in 2023. Arkansas’ Hagen Smith is a projected top-15 pick in the upcoming MLB draft and has been nothing short of dominant for the Razorbacks.

Smith led No. 2 Arkansas to a 2-1 win against Florida (21-20, 8-11 SEC) to take the first game of the three-game set. Coppola and Fisher Jameson combined for just one earned run through six innings.

Gator hitters combined to hit just 3-for-30 and one extra-base hit. The 6-9 hitters for Florida combined to bat 0-for-13 on Friday. UF blew its biggest opportunity in the eighth inning by leaving the bases juiced.

Twinbill at Baum-Walker ✌

🆚: No. 2 Arkansas (DH)
📍: Fayetteville, Ark.
⏰: 1 p.m. ET (G1)
📺: ESPN2 (G1)
💻: https://t.co/OOSdec83OJ
📻: https://t.co/S0VL4zuY6h
📊: https://t.co/QmYoXPfiju#GoGators pic.twitter.com/mBHDpvhkVN

— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) April 27, 2024

Coppola Shows Dominance

Coppola threw just 58 pitches, but it was excellent in the three innings he threw. Coppola started the game striking out the side in the first inning. Coppola made his only mistake by leaving a ball down the plate that was crushed by Ryder Helfrick to left-center field to put Arkansas (36-6, 15-4) up 1-0 in the second.

https://twitter.com/GatorsBB/status/1784002222122217862

But the 6-foot-7 pitcher rebounded in the third, grabbing a pair of strikeouts. A fourth-inning walk to start the frame ended it for Coppola and Jameson came in.

https://twitter.com/GatorsBB/status/1784009821559390587

Jameson went three innings and allowed just one hit. Coppola and Jameson combined to face 21 Razorback batters. They combined to strike out eight and allowed just one run on one hit. In a game where the Gators were clueless at the plate (14 strikeouts), the performances by Coppola and Jameson allowed them to stay in it.

https://twitter.com/GatorsBB/status/1784017767290814962

Smith Masterclass

The biggest matchup was the battle between Smith and Florida’s Jac Caglianone. One of the best pitchers vs. one of the best hitters in the country. Both will hear their name early come July in the MLB draft. Smith showed why against Florida.

Ty Evans opened the game with a single through the middle on the first pitch of the game. Florida would not reach base on a hit again until the seventh. During that stretch of 19 batters, the Gators struck out 10 times. Smith settled into the game in the second inning and the lefty was on cruise control for most of the evening.

But it was the seventh inning when Smith started to unravel. Colby Shelton walked on five pitches to start the frame. A Luke Heyman double put runners on second and third. Florida tried to run on a ground ball but was thrown out at the plate. But with runners at the corners, UF attempted a double steal and it worked to perfection. The Gators evened it at 1-1 on a throwing error by the first baseman. Smith got out of the inning a batter later, but his night was over.

https://twitter.com/GatorsBB/status/1784025236813615219

Missed Opportunity

The Gators missed a crucial opportunity in the top of the eighth inning when they left the bases loaded. Caglianone singled with two outs to move Brody Donay, who walked, to third base. The hit by Caglianone extended his hitting streak to 20 games while extending his on-base streak to 27. Shelton was intentionally walked to load the bases for Tyler Shelnut, but the senior popped up to end the inning.

Gators gave up the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly. Luke McNeillie (3-6) ended up as the losing pitcher, but allowed only one run through his two innings and struck out three batters. Florida pitchers only allowed three hits to the Razorbacks.

https://twitter.com/GatorsBB/status/1784028686062354532

Up Next

The teams will play a Saturday doubleheader because of expected inclement weather Sunday. The first game is slated for 1 p.m. (on ESPN2, ESPN 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF). The Gators had not named a starter for either game as of Friday night. But, coach Kevin O’Sullivan mentioned that Caglianone will start one of the games but will determine the game based on the weather for Saturday.

“Playing 18 innings tomorrow. We’ve gotta figure out what game Jac’s going to pitch if he’s going to throw the first one or the second one,” O’Sullivan said. “Probably going to come down to what the weather’s going to look like tomorrow. That’ll give us an option of what we need to do. We’ll monitor the weather and see what it looks like tomorrow morning before we get to the ballpark.”

The second game will begin about 45 minutes after the conclusion of the first game and stream on SEC Network+ and air on ESPN 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF.