NCAA Regionals: Gator Baseball Doomed By Rain Delay, Lose To Oklahoma

Gator Baseball Falls To Oklahoma To End Season

Brandon Neely dug deep to pitch 6.2 innings, Jud Fabian played defense, Oklahoma did not play defense in the final game of NCAA Regionals in Gainesville, and it looked like the Gator baseball team was on their way to advance.

And then the rain came.

And with time to regroup the Sooners scored four runs in the 8th inning to win 5-4 and advance to the Super Regionals.

Just to get to game seven against Oklahoma and be six outs away from moving on, Florida had to survive a scare against Central Michigan in the early game yesterday, followed by the unexpected nine inning pitching clinic from Carsten Finnvold.

Game seven in NCAA Regionals round always means all hands on deck. After getting shelled on Saturday for four runs in just 2.1 innings of work, Brandon Neely got back on the mound for Florida looking like a completely different pitcher.

Beyond a Kendall Pettis home run in the 5th inning, no Oklahoma Sooner made it past 1st base until the 6th inning. Much like Finnvold the night before, Neely pitched to contact and Oklahoma kept lifting fly ball after fly ball into the waiting gloves of Gator fielders.

To their credit, Oklahoma pitcher Trevin Michael had similar success against Gator batters. His only real blemish was a 2nd inning home run by Jac Caglianone.

The factor that swung the game in Florida’s favor prior to the delay is that Jud Fabian played defense and Oklahoma did not.

In the 4th inning Oklahoma sent a deep shot into center field that Fabian tracked all the way and caught as he went crashing into the wall to save a double.

In 6th inning, with runners on first and third with two outs, Fabian laid out in front of him to make a diving catch that saved at least one run to keep Florida ahead 2-1

Florida was ahead 2-1 because in the 5th inning Oklahoma gift wrapped a run to the Gators.

Colby Halter reached base on a Sooners error. With two outs, BT Riopelle singled into right field. Oklahoma would bobble he ball and Halter never stopped running from first to come all the way home and score.

And Then The Rain Came

With two outs in top of the 7th and Neely still going strong, a lightning strike was detected and play was halted. Then more lightning. Then rain. And for over five hours, with the season on the line, both teams had to wait.

When play did resume shortly before 9 PM, it looked like the Gators would be just fine. A sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 7th made it 3-1.

Then the top of the 8th happened.

A two run home run tied it. A groundout would bring home the go ahead run. And in what turned out to be the winning run, a slow dribbler through the infield would make it 5-3 in favor if the Sooners.

Wyatt Langford would hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 9th to make it 5-4, but Florida was unable to get anyone else on base and their season came to an end.

Florida is a freshmen heavy squad that will expect to be even better next season. But one can’t help but think what could have been with this Gator baseball squad if it hadn’t been for that pesky mother nature.

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