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Eight days ago there were doubts the Florida Gators would receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament. But on Monday afternoon, Florida shocked the college baseball world.
After an eventful four days at the Stillwater (Okla.) Regional, the Gators were facing elimination, but won three games in about 24 hours to punch their ticket to the Clemson Super Regional.
Florida, the regional three seed, stunned the No. 11 national seed Oklahoma State Cowboys, 4-2, at O’Brate Stadium, the third consecutive season OSU failed to advance out of its own regional.
The Gators (32-28) took the lead in the third inning, courtesy of a two-RBI single from Ashton Wilson, and didn’t give it away.
Tyler Shelnut ended up playing hero for the Gators, blasting a solo home run in the sixth inning to put the Cowboys (42-18) on upset alert. Michael Robertson also chipped in with a fourth-inning RBI single to help keep Florida in front.
On the mound, the Gators rode their bullpen to the finish line in Stillwater. Jake Clemente got the start and pitched a solid 3 1/3 innings while only allowing three hits, three walks and one run. Relievers Frank Menendez (1-0) and Fisher Jameson (third save) combined to pitch four consecutive scoreless frames to send the Cowboys packing.
UF will face the No. 6 national seed Clemson Tigers (44-14) in Game 1 of the Super Regional on Saturday at 2 p.m. EDT. You can catch the game on ESPN or tune in on 98.1FM/850AM WRUF.
Supers sched is set. 😤 #GoGators pic.twitter.com/L9BzZ9YEET
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) June 4, 2024
Florida Builds Lead
Neither squad managed to crack the scoreboard until the third inning. After a scoreless frame from the Cowboys, Robertson led off the bottom of the inning for the Gators by landing on first via a hit-by-pitch. An at-bat later, Jac Caglianone blasted a double into deep right field to give Florida two runners in scoring position.
Regional Game 7 Box Score
With the table now set, Wilson got to work. On just the second pitch he saw, Wilson belted a single to score both Robertson and Caglianone.
Bashin’ Ashton can’t be stopped 🔥#GoGators // 📺 ESPNU pic.twitter.com/PtWDMzQzya
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) June 3, 2024
The Cowboys came right back with a run in the top of the fourth. After Nolan Schubart led off the inning with a single, Aidan Meola brought him in with an RBI double down the left field line.
Florida got its two-run lead right back in the bottom of the frame. Dale Thomas led off with a single and stole second base to bring up Robertson, who nailed a run-scoring single to extend UF’s lead to 3-1.
https://twitter.com/GatorsBB/status/1797729035289792968
Refusing to let the game slip away, the Cowboys responded with their second run in the fifth. After leading off the frame with a single, Tyler Wulfert scored on a sacrifice fly from Zach Ehrhard to cut Florida’s lead back to just one run.
Shelnut Cracks It Open
In the sixth, Shelnut built the count up to 3-2 before hammering a long ball over the left field wall and into the parking lot. The Gators were fired up as Shelnut trotted around the bases with their lead now sitting at 4-2.
STILLWATER CELLY 🙌🎉#GoGators // 📺 ESPNU pic.twitter.com/pDmKgz2FV8
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) June 3, 2024
Jameson sat down all six batters he faced in the seventh and eighth innings, tallying three strikeouts along the way. He then went on to shut the door on Oklahoma State for good in the top of the ninth. After forcing a pair of fly outs, Jameson sat down the final batter on a swinging strikeout to send the Gators to their 10th Super Regional in coach Kevin O’Sullivan’s 17 seasons.
Up Next
The Tigers are coming off a victory in their own home regional following a 12-5 win over Coastal Carolina on Sunday. The first game of the best-of-three Super Regional at Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson, S.C., is Saturday, Game 2 is Sunday at 2:30 p.m. (ESPN, ESPN 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF). The If Necessary Game is scheduled for Monday with a time TBD. Super Regional winners advance to the College World Series.
O’Sullivan spent nine seasons as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Clemson before becoming the UF coach in 2007. Third-year UF pitching coach David Kopp is a former player and coach at Clemson.
Stillwater Regional
- Game 1: Florida 5, Nebraska 2
- Game 2: Oklahoma State 19, Niagra 7
- Game 3: Nebraska 7, Niagara 5
- Game 4: Oklahoma State 7, Florida 1
- Game 5: Florida 17, Nebraska 11
- Game 6: Florida 5, Oklahoma State 2
- Game 7: Florida 4, Oklahoma State 2
Stars of Stillwater 🏆 #GoGators pic.twitter.com/M7ieG11vM8
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) June 4, 2024
