Ashton Wilson's see the ball, be the ball moment lifts UF past Nebraska

Ashton Wilson sprints to first after hitting a 9th inning homer to seal Florida's 5-2 win over Nebraska (UAA Photo)

“There’s a force in the universe that makes things happen. And all you have to do is get in touch with it, stop thinking, let things happen, and be the ball.” – Ty Webb speaking to Danny Noonan in “Caddyshack”  

Perhaps it was Ashton Wilson’s turn to see the ball and be the ball. Florida’s right fielder by default – Ty Evans and Hayden Yost are injured – capped off a perfectly fine day at the ball yard in Stillwater, Oklahoma Friday afternoon by doing what every kid who has spent an entire season languishing on the bench dreams of doing. He launched a home run to left field. Not just any home run, mind you, but the kind that tells your coach “maybe I could have been doing this all season if you had just put me in the lineup.”

Wilson’s home run, his fourth hit of the day and the first one that wasn’t a double, didn’t just clear the left field fence but it hit the scoreboard that is perched on top of a building located behind the left field bullpen. As if a reminder that this was his day to be the Florida version of the greatest American hero, the ball caromed off his larger than life image.

Prior to Friday afternoon, Wilson, an Orlando kid who transferred to UF after spending his freshman season at Charleston Southern, was 6-for-26. For the entire season. Wilson got his first start of the season in the first game of the Georgia season. Five games as a starter and he’s 8-23 with the homer, three doubles, three RBI and the steal of third he made look easy in the second inning against Nebraska Friday.

"Stories like Ashton's, at this time of the year, you need surprise stories to make a run," Florida coach Kevin O'Sullivan said. "Obviously, what a story it is for Ashton, the day he had at the plate was incredible."

Ashton Wilson wasn’t the only Florida hero in this 5-2 win over Big Ten champion Nebraska in the first round of the NCAA Stillwater Regional, but he was the one who kept re-charging the offense. The Gators (29-27) pounded out 14 hits, 10 in five innings against Nebraska ace Brett Sears (9-1), who hadn’t allowed more than nine in a game all season long.

The Gators applied the pressure starting with leadoff hitter Cade Kurland, who homered in the left center gap on an 0-2 pitch to start the game. They picked up two more in the third when Ashton hit his second double of the game to drive in Jac Caglianone, who led off the inning with a double, and Tyler Shelnut, who got a single on a hard smash that third baseman Joshua Overbeek couldn’t handle. In the eighth, the Gators extended the lead to 4-2 when Kurland picked up his second RBI of the game on a single to right field. Dale Thomas led off the inning with a single up the middle and advanced to second on a hit and run groundout by Michael Robertson.  

Of course, in the ninth, Wilson provided the insurance the Gators needed to advance to a second round matchup with host Oklahoma State (41-17), a 19-7 winner over Niagara (38-16). The Gators and Oklahoma State will square off in a winner’s bracket game at 7 p.m. Nebraska and Niagara will play an elimination game at 2 p.m. 

While the Gators certainly needed to score more runs – the Gators did leave 12 men on base -- but they never trailed and kept the pressure on the Cornhuskers the entire game. When the Gators weren’t wearing out the baseball at the plate, they were getting one of their best pitched games of the season – 5-1/3 innings from freshman Liam Peterson, who gave up four hits, walked three, struck out seven and got the win (3-4); 1-1/3 innings from Fisher Jameson, who allowed one hit while striking out one; and a 2-1/3 inning save from Brandon Neely, who pitched his way out of a three on, one out situation in the eighth that had the ESPN crew drooling over the possibility the Cornhuskers would take the lead.

Peterson was outstanding. He struggled a bit in the first when he issued a 2-out walk and a double, but he got out of the inning with a strikeout. It was smooth sailing in innings two through five when he gave up only one hit and a pair of walks. He was almost at his pitch limit when Gabe Swanson hit a monstrous home run with one out in the sixth, so Kevin O’Sullivan pulled him in favor of Jameson. Jameson got a strikeout, gave up a single and got out of the inning unscathed when Luke Heyman gunned down Dylan Carey trying to steal at second.

Neely gave up two 1-out singles and a walk to load the bases in the eighth, but he got Tyler Stone on a line drive to Robertson in center field and then mowed down Carey on three pitches. In the ninth, Neely gave up a 1-out single but the game ended on a 6-4-3 double play grounder, Colby Shelton to Kurland to Caglianone.

SEC Friday results

Stillwater: FLORIDA (29-27) 5, Nebraska (39-21) 2

Knoxville: No. 1 Tennessee (51-11) 9, Northern Kentucky (35-23) 3

Lexington: No. 2 Kentucky (41-14) 10, Western Michigan (32-22) 8

College Station: No. 3 Texas A&M (45-13) 8, Grambling (26-27) 0

Chapel Hill: LSU (41-21) 4, Wofford (41-19) 3

Fayetteville: No. 5 Arkansas (44-14) 17, SE Missouri State (34-26) 9

Clemson: Coastal Carolina (35-23) 13, Vanderbilt (38-22) 3

Athens: No. 7 Georgia (40-15) 8, Army (31-22) 7

Tallahassee: UCF (36-19) 8, Alabama (33-22) 7

Raleigh: South Carolina (37-23) 8, James Madison (34-24) 7, 10 innings

Charlottesville: Mississippi State (39-21) 5, St. John’s (37-17-1) 2, 10 innings

SEC Saturday games:

Stillwater: FLORIDA (29-27) vs. No. 11 Oklahoma State (41-17)

Knoxville: No. 1 Tennessee (51-11) vs. Indiana (33-24-1)

Lexington: No. 2 Kentucky (41-14) vs. Illinois (35-19)

College Station: No. 3 Texas A&M (45-13) vs. Texas (36-22)

Chapel Hill: LSU (41-21) vs. No. 4 North Carolina (43-13)

Fayetteville:No. 5 Arkansas (44-14) vs. Kansas State (33-24)

Clemson: Vanderbilt (38-22) vs. High Point (34-26), Elimination game

Athens: No. 7 Georgia (40-15) vs. UNC-Wilmington (40-19)

Tallahassee: Alabama (33-22) vs. Stetson (40-21), Elimination game

Raleigh: South Carolina (37-23) vs. No. 10 North Carolina State (33-20)

Charlottesville: Mississippi State (39-21) vs. No. 12 Virginia (42-15)