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Florida Gators get Crucial Series Win in Offensive Explosion vs. No. 9 Georgia

Cade Kurland and Luke Heyman had four RBI each as the Florida Gators take the rubber match vs. the No. 9 Georgia Bulldogs and likely seal spot in NCAA Tournament.

Bennett Solomon

Florida Gators pitcher Jac Caglianone
Florida Gators pitcher Jac Caglianone / Cyndi Chambers Sports/Special to the
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With its postseason hopes on the line, the Florida Gators baseball entered Saturday in a must-win contest against the No. 9 Georgia Bulldogs. At one game over .500 at 27-26, at-large bids must have a record of over .500 to make the NCAA Tournament. A loss would’ve caused those tournament hopes to disappear. 

Luckily for the Gators, they had their best pitcher starting on the mound in Jac Caglianone. The bad news: they hadn’t won a SEC series since March 31. Florida had played two rubber matches in the last two weeks against Tennessee and Kentucky. They lost both of them. 

And it didn’t help Caglianone struggled in the opening innings, surrendering three runs in the first two innings. UF’s offense had to support their pitcher in order for its season to stay alive. 

But in the fourth inning, the offense clicked in a major way. A 12-run inning put the Gators ahead 12-3, and they never looked back. Behind the monstrous fourth inning, Florida (28-26, 12-17 SEC) secured the rubber match 19-11 over the No. 9 Bulldogs (39-14, 17-13) to most likely seal its NCAA Tournament spot. 

They earned their first series win since defeating Mississippi State March 31, and the offense over the past two games has come alive. And certainly at the right time. 

Caglianone got the Gators on the board in the fourth inning with his 29th home run of the year. He crushed a changeup over the Foley Field scoreboard for a two-run long ball, sparking the Gators offense. 

Down 3-2, an RBI groundout from Luke Heyman tied the game at 3-3. Then, Cade Kurland knocked a solo home run over the right field wall, putting Florida ahead 4-3.

Tyler Shelnut, Luke Heyman, Michael Robertson and Ashton Wilson all recorded RBI hits to continue the onslaught in the inning. 

A RBI single from Robertson, a two-run double from Wilson and a bases-clearing double from Heyman allowed UF to increase its lead to 10-3. Another two-run double from Shelnut was the icing on the inning, and by the time the Gators ran back out for the top of the fifth, they held a 12-3 lead. 

Robertson tacked on insurance runs in the top of the seventh on a two-run single, and the Gators plated two more in the eighth. 

However, Georgia never went away and didn’t make it easy for UF pitching. A three-run seventh and a five-run eighth from the Bulldogs had them within five heading into the top of the ninth.

Though, Kurland halted all of Georgia’s momentum in the inning. He hit a two-out, three-run home run, his second of the day to the opposite field, to put the game out of reach and seal a 19-11 Florida win. 

Heyman finished the game with four RBI, recording 10 total in the three-game set. Five Gators recorded two-or-more RBI on the day, as Kurland scored four, Robertson had three and Wilson, Caglianone and Shelnut had two each. 

Now, the Gators will await the their first round opponent in the SEC Tournament. They’ll play Tuesday in a single elimination game in order to get to the double elimination round. A time and opponent has yet to be determined.

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Bennett Solomon
BENNETT SOLOMON

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