Florida baseball defeated Vanderbilt, 8–3, in the second round of the SEC Tournament to advance to the quarterfinals, where the Gators will face Alabama on Thursday at 8:00 p.m. EST.
With an RPI in the 70s, Florida not only ended Vanderbilt’s SEC Tournament run, but likely eliminated any remaining hope of the Commodores reaching the NCAA Tournament. If Vanderbilt does miss out on a Regional berth, Florida would own the nation’s longest active NCAA Tournament appearance streak at 18 seasons — spanning every year Kevin O’Sullivan has served as head coach at UF, excluding the canceled 2020 COVID season.
You couldn’t have drawn up a better game for Florida, which swung the bats well and got strong performances from all three bullpen arms it used. The Gators are looking to strengthen their resume in the SEC Tournament in hopes of earning a top-eight national seed, and step one was taking down a Vanderbilt team that has underperformed all season.
Aidan King makes the start
Florida opted to start Aidan King on six days’ rest. With the SEC Tournament being single elimination, the Gators wanted to avoid having either King or Liam Peterson go two weeks without pitching before the NCAA Regional.
That said, King was on a pitch count, as Florida also didn’t want to overwork its star pitcher on short rest. The SEC Pitcher of the Year cruised through four innings, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out five.
King had command of all his pitches early, but he appeared to run out of gas in the fifth inning. With two outs, Vanderbilt strung together three consecutive extra base hits and a walk to score three runs.
The sophomore finished with 4.2 innings pitched, allowing three runs on five hits and three walks while striking out five on 75 pitches. You can expect Peterson to be on a similar pitch count tomorrow.
Florida’s bullpen shines
A top priority for Florida this week is getting as many arms work as possible before the NCAA Tournament begins. While the Gators are trying to advance and strengthen their resume, they are also focused on preparing their pitching staff for Regionals.
Having key arms go two weeks without pitching is far from ideal. Florida used three bullpen arms against Vanderbilt, and the trio combined for 4.1 scoreless innings while allowing just one hit and one walk.
Sophomore right-hander Jackson Barberi replaced King in the fifth inning and recorded a critical strikeout to strand a runner at third base. Barberi went on to throw 2.1 hitless innings, allowing just one baserunner via walk.
It was only Barberi’s second outing since returning from an oblique injury, but his velocity topped out at 99 mph, and he looked comfortable throughout his 39-pitch appearance after throwing 30 pitches against LSU last week. That was an encouraging sign for Florida, which will likely rely heavily on one of its most dependable bullpen arms throughout the postseason.
Florida then turned to left-hander Ernesto Lugo-Canchola, who delivered a 1-2-3 inning while recording two strikeouts on just 11 pitches.
Perhaps the most important outing of the day was the lone inning from Luke McNeillie, who hadn’t pitched since 04/25 vs. Texas A&M as he’s been dealing with a minor arm injury. The junior picked up two strikeouts in a scoreless frame and threw 12 strikes on 16 pitches.
This was likely close to exactly how Florida envisioned the day going on the mound. The Gators got the win, used just three bullpen pitchers, and still have Joshua Whritenour and Ricky Reeth available for tomorrow.
Offense continues hot streak
Florida’s offense continues to trend in the right direction after a 14-hit, eight-run performance in eight innings against Vanderbilt. While the Gators may not be thrilled with their 4-for-16 (.250) showing with runners in scoring position or 2-for-10 (.200) mark with two outs, they consistently hit the ball hard and finished with a team batting average of .389.
The Gators threatened in nearly every inning, reaching base with the leadoff hitter in five of eight frames. Florida also launched three home runs, as Hayden Yost, Blake Cyr, and Brendan Lawson all went deep. While the power numbers have been inconsistent for much of the season, Florida’s offense is beginning to find its rhythm at the right time — an encouraging sign with the NCAA Tournament approaching.
Coming off a three-homer performance against LSU, Yost recorded three hits, including a home run and a double. He’s now up to 10 home runs this season, all of which have come over the last 21 games.
Thursday night will present a much tougher challenge as Florida takes on an Alabama team that boasts one of the best pitching staffs in the country — statistically comparable to the Gators’.