A bad day in the state of Oklahoma for UF baseball and softball

Jac Caglianone's 30th home run in the ninth inning was the only bright spot for the Gators against Oklahoma State (UAA photo)

Only a leadoff home run to dead center field by Jac Caglianone in the top of the ninth inning kept a bad day in the state of Oklahoma for the Florida Gators being even worse. Without Caglianone’s 30th homer of the season, that left the yard right over the 402-foot marker,  both the Florida softball and baseball teams would have gone down on 1-hit shutouts. Caglianone’s homer was the second hit but it hardly put a dent in the outcome as Oklahoma State (42-17) pounded UF, 7-1, sending the Gators (29-28) to a Sunday elimination game in the Stillwater Regional.

Over in Oklahoma City in a winner’s bracket game at the Women’s College World Series, No. 1 Texas (54-8) run-ruled the Gators (52-14), 10-0, a no-hitter avoided by Katie Kistler’s seventh inning single. The Gators can stave off elimination today when they face Alabama (39-19) at 3 p.m. The loser goes home while the winner is assured of no worse than a 4th-place finish at the WCWS.

Caglianone, who got the start for UF,  looked good the first two batters he faced Saturday, then the bottom fell out. He gave up back-to-back home runs by Nolan Schubart and Zach Erhard. It would have been three straight out of the yard except a fan interfered so Aidan Meola had to settle for a double.

In the third, Carson Bengue and Schubart went back-to-back again, this time to lead off the inning to give the Cowboys a 4-0 lead. The way Oklahoma State’s Brian Holiday (7-3) was throwing (2 hits, 1 walk, 10 strikeouts), the game was essentially all over.

Holiday gave up a 2-out second inning double to Tyler Shelnut then didn’t allow another hit until Caglianone led off the ninth.

Caglianone pitched five innings, giving up seven hits, walking two and striking out eight in what will be his final Florida start unless the Gators beat Nebraska (40-21) at 2 p.m. today, then beat Oklahoma State twice to advance past the regional. With his home run, Caglianone became the only hitter in college baseball history with consecutive 30-homer seasons.

Meanwhile, in Oklahoma City, Keagan Rothrock (31-8) just didn’t have the same magic she had Thursday night against Oklahoma State. Texas had a 2-0 lead and two on with one out in the bottom of the first when Tim Walton made a pitching change. Ava Brown worked a 2-2 count to Alyssa Washington before leaving a pitch up in the zone that Washington sent out of the yard in the left center alley.

Down 5-0 wasn’t insurmountable, but every time the Gators hit the ball hard off Texas starter Mac Morgan (16-1) it was either right at someone or the Longhorns came up with a brilliant defensive play. Leading off the second for the Gators, Jocelyn Erickson torched a drop ball on a hard line to right field that had extra bases written all over it, but Ashton Maloney laid out and snagged the ball just a couple inches off the grass.

Brown held the Longhorns in check in the second and third, but the bottom fell out in the bottom of the fourth when she gave up a solo homer to Mia Scott and a 3-run blast by Katie Stewart. The Longhorns added one more run to make it 10-0 off reliever Mackenzie Wooten.

Kistler, who broke up Lexi Kilfoyl’s no-hitter with a home run to lead off the fifth inning against Oklahoma State Thursday night, led off the Florida half of the fifth with a hard shot that completely handcuffed Washington at second base. That was the only hit for the Gators and just their third hit in two games in Oklahoma City.

For a team that led the SEC in nearly every offensive statistical category, the two games in Oklahoma City can only be labeled a disappointment. For the Gators to survive past their Sunday elimination game, the bats have to wake up. Expect Walton to go with Rothrock once again. A week ago, Walton pulled Rothrock in the first inning when she struggled. She came back against Baylor on Sunday to pitch one of the best games of her freshman season. Can she come back today against Alabama? Back on March 9, Rothrock pitched a 1-hitter as the Gators took a 2-0 decision. The next day with Brown in the circle, the Gators got a run-rule win over the Crimson Tide. Alabama did win the third game of the series.

The Florida-Alabama all-SEC affair begins at 3 p.m.

Saturday’s SEC softball scores

No. 2 Oklahoma (56-6) 1, No. 6 UCLA (43-11) 0

No. 1 Texas (54-8) 10, No. 4 FLORIDA (52-14) 0

Sunday’s games

No. 4 FLORIDA (52-14) vs. No. 14 Alabama (39-19), 3 p.m. (ABC)

No. 6 UCLA (43-11) vs. No. 8 Stanford (49-16), 7 p.m., ESPN

Saturday’s SEC baseball scores

Stillwater: No. 11 Oklahoma State (42-17) 7, FLORIDA (29-28) 1

Knoxville: No. 1 Tennessee (52-11) 12, Indiana (33-25-1) 6

Lexington: No. 2 Kentucky (42-14) 6, Illinois (35-20) 1

College Station: No. 3 Texas A&M (46-13) 4, Texas (36-23) 2

Chapel Hill: No. 4 North Carolina (44-13) 6, LSU (41-22) 2

Fayetteville: Kansas State (35-24) 7, No. 5 Arkansas (44-15) 6

Clemson: High Point (35-26) 10, Vanderbilt (38-23) 9; Vanderbilt eliminated

Athens: Georgia (41-15) 11, UNC-Wilmington (40-20) 2

Tallahassee: Stetson (41-21) 4, Alabama (34-24) 0; Alabama eliminated

Raleigh: No. 10 North Carolina State (35-20) 6, South Carolina (37-24) 4

Charlottesville: No. 12 Virginia (43-15) 5, Mississippi State (39-22) 4

Sunday’s SEC games

Stillwater: FLORIDA (29-28) vs. Nebraska (40-21); elimination game

Knoxville: No. 1 Tennessee (52-11) vs. Indiana (33-25-1)/Southern Miss (42-19) winner

Lexington: No. 2 Kentucky (42-14) vs. Indiana State (43-14)/Illinois (35-20) winner

College Station: Louisiana (41-1) vs. Texas (36-23); elimination game

Chapel Hill: LSU (41-22) vs. Wofford (42-19); elimination game

Fayetteville: No. 5 Arkansas (44-15) vs. SE Missouri State (35-26); elimination game

Athens: No. 7 Georgia (41-15) vs. UNC-Wilmington (40-20)/Georgia Tech (32-24) winner

Raleigh: South Carolina (37-24) vs. James Madison (35-24); elimination game

Charlottesville: Mississippi State (39-22) vs. St. John’s (38-17-1); elimination game