Opening night turns into a dud for Florida Baseball

The last time we saw Florida Baseball take the field, it ended in disappointing fashion as the Gators fell to LSU in game three of the College Worlds Series finals. It was still a great season and while some of the key players from that squad have moved on, the 2024 edition of the Gators still have enough talent to run it back.

So while opening night is just one game in a long season, it does take a little bit of the wind out of the sails of a squad ready to embark on a new journey.

Florida Baseball: Can't Win Them All

Before anyone could blink, the Gators were down 7-0. Cade Fisher got the start after being a Freshman All-American in 2023, when he worked mostly out of the bullpen. Two innings and six runs later, he was back in the dugout.

To Florida's credit, after the initial shell shock they did make an attempt at a huge comeback. Jac Caglianone had two hits and new short stop Colby Shelton, who transferred over from Alabama, had a homerun that got Florida within 7-5 in the fifth inning.

But that's as close as the Gators got as St. John's tacked on two more and prevailed 9-5.

The overreaction is that Fisher isn't meant to be a starter and the Gators are in trouble after seeming to overswing all game long. The sane and rational take is that losing to St. John's stings, but these things happen in baseball. Remember last year when Florida blew a massive lead against USF? That didn't doom Florida's season and one loss on opening night won't do that either.

Because of incoming weather, today's game has been moved up to a 10 AM start with true freshman Liam Peterson slated to take the mound for the Gators.