All Gators

Florida Gators Pitcher Brandon Neely has Dominated Postseason

Florida Gators pitcher Brandon Neely is a throwback to an era of dominant-multi-inning closers.

Kyle Lander

Florida Gators pitcher Brandon Neely has a 1.29 ERA in the postseason.
Florida Gators pitcher Brandon Neely has a 1.29 ERA in the postseason. / Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
In this story:

For the 27th time this season, the Florida Gators ever-reliable closer Brandon Neely walked onto the mound in what would be another pivotal outing.

With the season potentially on the line in the seventh, Gators Head Coach Kevin O’Sullivan couldn’t wait any longer to motion to the bullpen to request the services of one of the NCAA’s best relievers this postseason. 

Neely made his way out of the pen inheriting a runner on first base with no outs and the heart of the Wolfpack order in front of him with only a one-run lead. 

As per usual though, he wasn’t fazed. 

Finding himself in similar situations throughout the postseason, Neely made quick work in the seventh to ease all concerns from Gator fans and those in the dugout. 

Then, knifing and dominating the rest of the game for the Gators, Neely saw out the remainder of the contest to close it out and push his team to at least one more ball game in Omaha. 

Neely has been arguably the best or second-best player for the Gators during this run to the College World Series next to Jac Caglianone. 

He’s given everything on the mound for the Orange & Blue and has come up big for his team time and time again over the past month when his name was called. 

His performances over these past few weeks have seen his name being grouped with former Gators’ All-American closer Michael Byrne. 

So, just how good has he been?

Without Neely’s 4.2 innings of one-run work against the Georgia Bulldogs on May 17th, the Gators may not have even made the tournament.

He helped the Gators escape the Stillwater Regional with 2 1/3 shutout innings in the first win over Nebraska. 

Then, he followed that up with an absolutely dominant outing against Oklahoma State. In this appearance, he threw 104 pitches and struck out a career-high 11 batters over five scoreless innings in relief. 

And it didn’t stop there. 

Being the steady workhorse he is, Neely chucked 131 pitches over two days against the Clemson Tigers to help push this squad to Omaha. 

Finally, on this journey, we have the two games in the College World Series. 

He has struck out nine batters in just five innings, or 15 outs, over the first two games with six coming in Monday’s win over NC State.

To sum it up, Neely has pitched 21 innings, struck out 32 batters along the way and only given up three total runs over these six appearances for an ERA of just 1.29 in the postseason.

It takes a different type of person mentally to fill this high-stress closer role that Neely has taken upon himself, and Kevin O’Sullivan knows that. 

“They're hard to find at this level, even at the big-league level. But for whatever reason, he really takes to that role,” O’Sullivan said about his closer’s performance on Monday. 

“He's so efficient that you don't realize how low his pitch count has been, but he's been just outstanding for us.

“And those types of pitchers are really hard to find. You have to have stuff and have you to have the mentality.”

Simply, Neely has been tough as nails for the Gators and if they find themselves with any lead late, we all know who O’Sullivan is going to call to close out the game.

Published
Kyle Lander

KYLE LANDER

Home/Baseball