Florida plays Stetson at Condron Family Ballpark on April 23, 2024. [Lee Ann Anderson/WRUF]

Florida Baseball Is Back

Brooke Park January 29, 2025 Baseball, College Baseball, Gainesville, Gators Baseball, Gators Sports 85 Views

The Florida Gators baseball team started its first week of preseason, with practice and three scrimmages.

First Look at the Gators

The Gators started the first scrimmage of the season strong with Orange taking victory over Blue 5-1. 

Liam Peterson pitched for the Blue team first, facing the junior Jacksonville University transfer Justin Nadeau. Down the lineup, Brody Donay hit a two-run bomb to left field, sending him, Ty Evans and Bobby Boser across the plate for a three-run lead. Peterson closed out the top of the first by striking out Hayden Yost.  

The bottom of the first was built when veteran Luke Heyman hit an RBI single to bring the score to 4-1 in just the first inning. 

The bottom of the second started with senior pitcher Pierce Coppola, walking Ashton Wilson. Soon after, Landon Stripling hit a ground ball to first base before getting tagged out. Blake Brookins hit a pop-up to third base, and freshman Brock Clayton struck out to end the inning.  

The top of the third was marked with sophomore, left-handed pitcher Frank Menendez throwing from the mound. The second batter in the line-up, Evans, hit a ground ball to second base with Cade Kurland executing one of his infamous double plays. We’ve seen Kurland throw some heat across the field and can expect to continue to see that as he builds momentum during the preseason. 

Wilson hit a ground ball to Kolt Myers, the freshman shortstop, who secured a 6-4-3 double play. Stripling then had a base hit to first, ending the game 5-1. 

Sunday’s Scrimmage 

The Gators had another big scrimmage on Sunday with the Orange team taking the 7-5 victory. 

Sophomore Luke McNeillie started off pitching for Blue, with an averaged 80 mph pitching speed. The top of the first inning ended quickly with two fly outs and a ground out. 

The bottom of the first inning had action as the Blue team scored the first few runs of the game. Lead-off hitter sophomore Kyle Jones caused the first fly out, but Kurland quickly got a base-hit. Following him, junior Colby Shelton hit a double, putting the team in scoring position. Heyman then hit an RBI single, with Lawson also securing an RBI. Wilson hit a single before Stripling ended the inning with a fly out. 

The Orange team starting pitcher, senior Billy Barlow, recorded no strikeouts and pitched at 90 mph. 

Blue went three up three down as Brookins and Jones flew out, and Barlow struck out Kurland. 

Change of Momentum

The final three innings of Sunday’s scrimmage resulted in an abundance of runs. 

Redshirt freshman Caden McDonald stepped in to pitch for Blue and averaged in the middle-to-high 80 mph, with his fastball up to 93 mph. 

After Kurland tagged Nadeau out in an attempt to steal second, Cyr struck out. Up next, Evans walked as he was hit-by-a-pitch from McDonald’s fastball. On his first attempt at bat, Boser hit a 104 mph two-run home run on a 78 mph pitch. Donay capitalized on this momentum as he hit a single and stole second. The Orange team scored two more runs in the top half of the third with another two-run home run as Yost crushed an 85 mph pitch over the left field. 

Freshman Blaine Rowland pitched for Orange in the bottom of the third. Starting out strong, Rowland struck Shelton out. Blue recovered as Heyman hit a home run on his first attempt at bat. The inning ended shortly after with back-to-back fly outs. 

Switching pitchers again, Felix Ong was on the mound for Blue in the fourth. He walked both Clayton and Nadeau before Cyr capitalized on a 77 mph pitch with a three-run home run. 

The top of the fourth ended with a ground out by Evans and two fly outs.

Blue used its last chance to bat well as they scored two runs by an RBI from Kurland and Shelton. 

Freshman Carson Montsdeoca closed for the blue team. Myers and Clayton flew out, following a single to center by Nadeau. Montsdeoca walked Cyr, but ended the scrimmage striking out Evans. 

Up Next

The Gators second week of preseason starts Tuesday with their first scrimmage at 4:15. They also have scrimmages on Wednesday and Thursday.

 

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