Gators Fall to Ole Miss as SEC Woes Continue

The Florida Gators struggles in conference play continue with a loss on the road

The Florida Gators still can't get it together against key opponents / Kyle Lander / Gators Illustrated

OXFORD, Miss. — The Florida Gators dropped their seventh SEC contest in a row Thursday, losing on the road to Ole Miss 7-5.

One of the biggest takeaways from the opener of this series was Florida’s pitching staff's inability to command their pitches. As a whole, the Gator pitchers combined for 13 walks. That’s too many for a team trying to win games in the SEC. 

Additionally, this extends their worst start to the season since 2001. They now sit at 0-7 in league play. 

How It Transpired 

With how the Gators have been playing in recent weeks, the start to Thursday’s game was not a surprise to most. 

The offense started by putting a zero on the board. Shortstop Colby Shelton did reach on an infield single, but he was quickly picked off while on first base. 

Then, in the bottom half, the Rebels would take the lead. It wasn’t all their doing, though. 

After freshman Aidan King issued a leadoff walk, outfielder Blake Cyr wasn’t able to see the ball off the bat on a routine fly out, and it landed in the outfield for a single. And just two batters later, the home team took advantage by plating a run on a single into right field. Ole Miss added another run, too, with a bases-loaded walk from King, which set the score at 2-0 before the inning concluded. 

It was a good thing he steadied himself and held the score at 2-0 as well. That’s because just a few innings late, the Gators would take the lead on a three-run shot to left-center field from outfielder Ashton Wilson.  

Unfortunately for Florida, this lead was short-lived. In the bottom half of the third, Ole Miss tied the game at 3-3 with a sac-fly to left field. 

And just two innings after tying it, Ole Miss would regain the lead. Despite starting the inning with a strikeout, recently introduced Luke McNeillie roughed it out over the next few hitters. He started by walking the next two Rebels. Then, he surrendered a two-run double down the right field line that gave the hosts a 5-3 lead. 

This hit, combined with a walk right after, ended McNeillie’s night. Trailing him on the mound in the middle of the fifth was righty Caden McDonald. The righty was able to close out the frame, but not before the Rebels added one more run to give them a three-run advantage. 

Ole Miss continued to stack unanswered runs onto their lead in the next frame as well. Upon loading the bases in the sixth, the Rebels had a runner cross home plate thanks to a sac-fly to right field that gave them a 7-3 lead. 

Florida had their chance at cutting the lead down the stretch. In the seventh, Bobby Boser walked into the batter’s box with the bases loaded and just one out. And by the end of his at-bat, he laced a pitch through the left side of the infield to score two runs and cut his team’s deficit in half and put the score at 7-5. 

Unfortunately for Florida, the score stayed this way over the final two innings. With that being the case, the Gators dropped their seventh straight SEC game and moved to 18-10 on the season. 

Onto Friday’s Doubleheader 

Due to the chance of poor weather on the weekend, Games Two and Three of this series will be played tomorrow. The first of the two will begin at 4 p.m. EDT. The second game will follow approximately 45 minutes after the ending of the first.