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Some ninth-inning magic from No. 23 Vanderbilt was the difference Saturday when the Commodores beat Florida 3-2 at Condron Family Ballpark.
The pitching finally showed up for Florida (20-12, 1-10 SEC), but the Gators were unable to deliver with runners in scoring position, leaving 11 runners on base. Vanderbilt (23-8, 6-5) was able to execute better than Florida did, which was the biggest reason for the win.
Wild First Inning
Aidan King took the mound for Florida on Saturday looking to give the Gators length on the mound. He got the first two guys out with ease. However, Vanderbilt’s RJ Austin remains a thorn in the Gators’ side, as he reached base on a two-out single. After Austin advanced to second via balk, Riley Nelson hit a chopper to Brendan Lawson at first. Lawson bobbled the ball, allowing Nelson to reach, but Austin got greedy and tried to score on the play. They cut him down to end the inning.
Following the top half of the inning coach Kevin O’Sullivan emerged from the dugout and started to chew out home plate umpire John Brammer. Some missed calls in the top half of the inning combined with season-long frustrations, pushed O’Sullivan over the edge and got him ejected. Florida hitters did not respond — they went down to start the first.
Vanderbilt Strikes First
In the second, King settled in nicely and retired Vanderbilt in order. Florida got the bats going with a one-out Lawson double. Again, Florida went down quietly in the second, stranding another runner in scoring position. Vanderbilt’s Jonathan Vastine led the third inning off with a solo home run to give Vanderbilt the 1-0 lead. The Commodores put pressure on King later in the inning with a brief two-out rally. With runners on first and second, King buckled down and got out of it.
https://twitter.com/VandyBoys/status/1908574371209216256
Vanderbilt starting pitcher Cody Bowker kept it rolling in the third with another 1-2-3 inning. King returned the favor in the top of the fourth, setting Vanderbilt down 1-2-3. After Bowker had retired seven Gators in a row, Luke Heyman singled in the fourth to give Florida its first base runner since the second inning. Nothing came out of it, as Lawson followed that up with a flyout to center.
The Commodores added on in the fifth after King walked the nine-hole hitter Rustan Rigdon. Rigdon advanced to second via a wild pitch and scored on a Mike Mancini double to make it 2-0. King got out of the inning with just the one run allowed.
Gators Get on the Board
Florida scored its first run of the series after Landon Stripling came around to score on Justin Nadeau’s two-out single. After Bobby Boser walked to load the bases, Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin pulled Bowker to bring in Miller Green. Green got Colby Shelton to fly out to left field to end the inning. Vanderbilt escaped, still leading 2-1.
Bowker’s final line was 4 2/3 innings pitched, four hits, one earned run, two walks and seven strikeouts.
In the sixth, Luke McNeillie took over on the mound. He walked his first batter, but got out of it with a strikeout and a 1-3 double play.
King’s final line was five innings, four hits, two earned runs, two walks and five strikeouts.
Green came back out for Vanderbilt in the bottom of the sixth. He walked Heyman to start the inning, got Lawson on a called strike three and gave up a single to Blake Cyr. Green got pulled after walking Stripling to load the bases. Alex Kranzler (5-1) was the next Vanderbilt pitcher to take the mound. He faced Ty Evans and struck him out on four pitches. Kranzler got Hayden Yost to ground out to second base to end the inning, making that back-to-back innings Florida stranded the bases-loaded.
Florida Ties it in the Seventh
McNeillie worked a clean seventh, allowing the offense to get back to work. Nadeau led off the inning with a single. Boser backed that up with a single of his own to put runners on first and second with nobody out. Shelton could not move the runners over after a fly out to center. Luke Heyman picked Shelton up, though, by lining one into center for an RBI single. Unfortunately, Boser, who tried going first to third, was thrown out. Cyr ended the inning with a fly out to right field. It became another inning where poor execution stalled a potential big inning for Florida.
https://twitter.com/GatorsBB/status/1908601291690869212
Vanderbilt Takes the Lead in the Ninth
McNeillie continued to roll in the eighth, posting another 1-2-3 inning. Kranzler was able to settle in for Vanderbilt, posting a 1-2-3 inning. Billy Barlow (1-3) came out in the ninth to face the heart of the Vanderbilt order. Barlow induced a popout from the first hitter, then walked the next batter, who was caught stealing. With two outs in the inning, Barlow was ahead 1-2 on Vanderbilt catcher Colin Barczi. On the next pitch, Barczi went opposite field by belting his fourth home run of the year on the berm to give the Commodores a 3-2 lead.
Barczi to the berm for the lead‼️@Colinbarczi14 pic.twitter.com/F7TQ8gX6Qw
— Vanderbilt Baseball (@VandyBoys) April 5, 2025
In the bottom of the ninth, Vanderbilt brought on Connor Fennell (save) to close things out. He got Nadeau to fly out to left field and Boser to strike out. Shelton kept the game alive with a two-out double. Fennell dialed back in and struck out Heyman to end the ballgame.
Florida dropped its fourth consecutive conference series.
Looking Ahead
Florida looks to avoid its second home sweep of the season in Sunday’s series finale. The SEC Network will broadcast the game live, with the first pitch set for noon. You can listen live at ESPN 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF + WJXL 1010AM.
