Gators Win!

Final Score - Florida (5) - South Carolina (4) UAA Photo Credit

The second time BT Riopelle saw the exact pitch he wanted Friday night, he didn’t miss. In the bottom of the fourth, Riopelle got plenty of a James Hicks fast ball only to see his towering fly ball come down to earth about a half foot in front of the center field fence for a very long out.

Two innings later, South Carolina reliever Will Sanders tried to sneak an 0-1 change-up past Riopelle and he got all of it. His high-arching blast landed between the center field fence and the tall green monster some 400 feet away, his 16th home run of the season and third since Sunday when he torched Texas Tech pitching for a pair of homers that propelled the Gators into the Gainesville Super Regional against South Carolina.

Riopelle’s 2-out home run broke a 3-3 tie as Florida (49-15) went on to take game one of the best-of-three series over the Gamecocks (42-20), 5-4, at Condron Family Ballpark before a crowd of 8,439, the largest on campus baseball crowd in state of Florida history. The Gators will face South Carolina Saturday in a game scheduled for 3 p.m., but could start later if weather intervenes. The Gators will send Hurston Waldrep (8-3) to the mound.

The way the game began, it seemed as if the Gators were going to be in for a rather long night. Brandon Sproat, who has been known to struggle all season to get into a rhythm in the first couple of innings, needed 38 pitches to get through the first two innings, giving up three runs on seven hits including a leadoff home run to Will McGillis. The Gamecocks put two on the scoreboard on four first inning hits to give Sproat the look of a pitcher who wasn’t going to last very long.

After the Gators tied the game up at 2-2 in the bottom of the first on a Jac Caglianone single through the shift to right field and a 453-foot home run onto the streets in left field, Sproat got into more trouble. A single, a sacrifice bunt and a single by McGillis gave South Carolina a 3-2 lead. After Braylen Wimmer doubled to right field and Ethan Petry was intentionally walked, Sproat saved his start for all practical purposes by getting Cole Messina to tap back to the mound for the start of a Sproat to Riopelle to Caglianone inning-ending double play.

From that point on, Sproat took command. He gave up only two more hits and walked only one more batter, although there was a bit of controversy in the fifth when Wimmer hit a high tapper to the right of the mound that Sproat fielded off balance. A high and away throw to first eluded Caglianone but as Caglianone turned to chase the ball, Wimmer tripped off his feet. Thinking he was awarded second, Wimmer trotted to second but Shelnut alertly threw to Rivera, who applied the tag. That brought South Carolina coach Mark Kingston out of the dugout and a full-fledged argument ensued. However, there was no interference on the play and Wimmer was out.

Sproat finished the night with a strong 6-inning performance, allowing nine hits while striking out seven to earn his eighth win of the season. Sproat threw 105 pitches but was still throwing in the mid-to-high 90s when he finished his outing.

The Gators had tied the game at 3-3 in the fifth when Tyler Shelnut hammered the first pitch he saw deep over the left field fence for his seventh home run of the season. That set the stage for Riopelle, Florida’s Mr. Postseason. Since the Southeastern Conference Tournament, Riopelled has hit six home runs.

Florida added insurance in the bottom of the eighth on a walk to Rivera, a single down the third base line by Luke Heyman and a single in the third-short hold by Shelnut.

When Sproat departed after six innings, Kevin O’Sullivan turned the game over to freshman Cade Fisher to pitch the seventh and eighth innings. Fisher, who salvaged the Gainesville Regional with a brilliant 7-inning start against Texas Tech Sunday night, allowed only one hit while striking out one.

Brandon Neely came on to close the game in the ninth to earn his 13th save of the season but it wasn't without an anxious moment as he gave up a 2-out, first pitch homer to left field by McGillis.