Florida baseball rallies to beat Jacksonville on the road
Florida baseball rallies to beat Jacksonville on the road
Florida moved to 4-0 on the 2025 college baseball season with a 10-4 win at Jacksonville Tuesday night.
Things started out rough with Jacksonville taking a two-run lead in the first. Clemson transfer Billy Barlow hit the first Dolphins batter he saw and walked in a run later in the inning. A pair of errors — a passed ball and botched play at third — extended an already rough frame, but Barlow induced a double play to limit the damage.
Florida couldn't get much going offensively the first time through the order. Colby Shelton doubled to right and Justin Nadeau singled to left, but neither scored. Barlow pitched through the third, ending his day with a 0.00 ERA on one hit, three walks and hit batter. The errors saved him from a spiked ERA, but there are some obvious command issues to address.
Luke McNeillie took over in the fourth and went 1-2-3, but another run came through in the fifth on a leadoff triple and balk. Fortunately, Florida's bats picked up in the top half of the inning, scoring four runs. Bobby Boser hit a three-run homer to spark the rally, and Brody Donay hit his fourth home run in as many games after a pitching change. A trio of base knocks brought in another for the Gators in the sixth, making it 5-3.
McNeillie settled back in for the bottom of the sixth and struck out the side, ending the day with a career-high seven punchouts. A three-spot in the top of the seventh gave Florida a five-run cushion; Blake Cyr drove in the first run, and Hayden Yost knocked in the others.
Aidan King came out for the bottom of the seventh and got into some trouble after another error (Kurland). An unearned run scored, but an unassisted double play to first stopped the bleeding. Then, it was Jacksonville's turn to commit an error. Two more runs crossed in the top of the eighth for insurance, and King retired the side in order for a much cleaner frame.
Alex Philpott looked sharp in the close, striking out the first two batters and ending the game on a line out to center. He needed just 12 pitches to get through the ninth.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
44 minutes ago
- New York Times
Stanley Cup Game 3 fines and fallout: Jake Walman docked the max, Panthers ready for Oilers response
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Edmonton Oilers defenseman Jake Walman received $10,000 in fines from the NHL on Tuesday after squirting water toward the Florida Panthers bench and punching Matthew Tkachuk in the head during an emotional Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. Walman's fines were $5,000 apiece for unsportsmanlike conduct and roughing. They were the only supplemental discipline to come from Monday's 6-1 Panthers win, which featured 140 penalty minutes — the fourth-highest total in Cup Final history. Advertisement The unsportsmanlike conduct happened late in the second period with Florida already ahead 4-1. Panthers forward A.J. Greer and Walman got mixed up along the boards, and Greer ripped off Walman's right glove, tossing it onto the Florida bench. Walman responded by squirting water at his opponent, prompting TNT analyst Brian Boucher to tell him to cut it out. Unreal trash talking sequence by AJ Greer and Jake Walman 🍿 — All Sports Culture (@ASCSportsMedia) June 10, 2025 'I obviously did that for a reason,' Walman said after the game. 'I won't go into the details. It's just gamesmanship, I guess. I've just got to realize there's cameras everywhere and they see that stuff.' The roughing incident occurred at 14:44 of the third period. Walman was assessed two minor penalties for roughing and a minor for unsportsmanlike conduct after engaging Tkachuk in front of the Oilers net, first spearing him and then delivering a couple of gloved punches to the head while teammate John Klingberg held Tkachuk. Jake Walman just gave a couple rights to Matthew Tkachuk 😳👊 — Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) June 10, 2025 The NHL doesn't look fondly on unnecessary incidents coming from the bench, which is why Walman was fined for squirting the water. The league has attempted to crack down on extracurriculars throughout these playoffs, handing out a series of fines during Round 1 for incidents that occurred in warmups. On April 25, Ottawa Senators forward Nick Cousins received a $5,000 fine while the Senators were docked an additional $25,000 after Cousins softly shot a puck at Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz before those teams played Game 3 of their series. And when the Montreal Canadiens' Arber Xhekaj and Washington Capitals' Dylan McIlrath came together to exchange words during warmups on April 27, both teams received a $25,000 fine. The players were each docked individually, as well, with Xhekaj paying $3,385.42 and McIlrath forking over $2,018.23. Advertisement Tempers flared throughout Game 3 of the Cup Final, with six members of the Oilers being sent to the dressing room before the final buzzer and three Panthers being shown the gate early as well. 'It's for the Stanley Cup, you know? So, f—, there's not an inch out there,' Walman said. 'Everybody's doing everything they can. That's a grown man's game out there. It's not for the faint of heart. Guys are putting everything on the line.' The NHL also looked at the Trent Frederic incident with Sam Bennett but determined the penalties assessed were appropriate. 'I just gave a shot. My stick broke, so I figured I was going to get a penalty anyway,' Frederic said. 'So just kinda kept going.' Everything stemmed from Trent Frederic breaking his stick with cross-checks on Sam Bennett 😳 — Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) June 10, 2025 After winning the first three games of the Stanley Cup Final last year, the Panthers chartered a plane and flew their families to Edmonton for Game 4 just in case there was a Stanley Cup celebration on the Rogers Place ice. They then got smoked 8-1 behind a four-point night from Connor McDavid in the first of three straight wins by Edmonton. So the Panthers aren't getting ahead of themselves after Monday's lopsided win. They know McDavid and the Oilers can respond. As Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said after getting clobbered last year in Game 4, 'It only counts as one win. It doesn't matter how much you lose (by).' Last year, McDavid said, 'It's not over 'til it's over' after three straight losses to open the series. Ominously perhaps for the Panthers, McDavid said after Monday's game that Edmonton's best is still coming. 'The experience of taking a beating and then being able to come back and play your best game lets you know it's there,' said coach Paul Maurice, who felt last year's Game 5 loss was actually Florida's best five-on-five game in the playoffs. 'It's what we expect from Edmonton. The emotions are different in the Final. … The game in Edmonton last year got away from us. Advertisement 'There were only one or two guys in the room who had won a Stanley Cup. For everybody else that walked into that room, it was their first chance to win a Stanley Cup. In that game, I gave an awesome speech. The opposite speech that they needed. I gave the exact opposite of what they needed, but I learned that, too. We were wired going out, and I think (Stuart) Skinner made two or three really good saves early in that game. One was a cross-body save, and then it got away from us. It gets to 4-1, 5-1. It's the same as Edmonton. I don't believe any of the bulls— that they unraveled. The game got to a point it probably wasn't getting better. Let's move on to the next one. That's all that was.' As Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse said Tuesday, 'That's the beauty of the playoffs. We're down one no matter what the score was last night. And Game 4 is a big one. Every one presents a new challenge and new test in the reset.' It hadn't been a great start to the series for Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad, but he was solid in Game 3 with a power-play goal and a big hit on McDavid. Ekblad STEPPED UP on McDavid 👀 — B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 10, 2025 Maurice had a political way of describing how good Ekblad was in Game 3 compared to Games 1 and 2. 'I thought he was all energy in the first two games,' Maurice said. 'He was covering a lot of ice, and (Monday), I thought he was perfectly focused in the game. So he was still doing it but defined in the areas he was pinching. I thought he played a really smart, veteran game.' Eetu Luostarinen continues to develop into one of the Panthers' best two-way forwards. In fact, as good as Gustav Forsling is on the back end, Luostarinen brings that acumen to the forward position. Just look at his steal and then pass that led to Bennett's breakaway goal in the second period. SAM BENNETT BURIES ON THE BREAKAWAY 🚨 CATS ARE COOKIN' IN FLORIDA 😼 — SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 10, 2025 'I got on the elevator with him up there, and I looked up, he's a big man now,' Maurice said. 'And that's what I noticed: 'S—, Loosty, you're taller than I thought you were.' But the 'Forsling up front' (comparison), that's really good, really good, because what you haven't seen in the playoffs as much, but Gustav Forsling had some great offensive numbers this year and never got a snap on the power play. Advertisement 'We felt that (Anton) Lundell and Luostarinen, that there was more offense there, but truly respected the fact that they never cheat for it. Brad (Marchand's) kind of training was with Patrice Bergeron, a player that never cheated the game. That's the way he knows how to play the game, so he fits perfectly with those two guys. They're going to do the right thing as hard as they can. They're very clean players. But there is offense there, and Brad's been able to bring that out of those two. It's there for them, but just sometimes you need the right kind of veteran piece to bring it out.' (Top photo of Jake Walman, Matthew Tkachuk and John Klingberg: Peter Joneleit / Getty Images)
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
'I Think He's Got The Bubonic Plague' — Panthers Coach Explains Why Teams Should Steer Clear Of UFA Sam Bennett
The scouting report is out. Sam Bennett, who is a pending UFA, continues to increase his value on the open market with a playoff-leading 14 goals. But according to his coach, potential buyers should be aware that there is more than meets the eye before offering Bennett a $10-million salary. Advertisement 'He's got a horrible attitude,' Panthers coach Paul Maurice sarcastically told TNT reporter Jackie Redmond during a TV timeout in Monday's Game 3 between Florida and Edmonton. 'I think he's got the bubonic plague, Dengue fever, he's got a whole bunch of things. I don't think he can be cured.' Given more time, Maurice might have added that Bennett also reclines his seat on commercial flights, doesn't tip 15 percent on meals and spends his off days kicking kittens. None of it might be true. But whatever it takes to keep Bennett in a Florida Panthers jersey. Good luck with that. Following a two-goal performance in a 6-1 win in Game 3, Bennett moved the Panthers to within two wins of claiming a second straight Stanley Cup championship. He also put himself in the driver's seat of winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. Advertisement If he achieves both, you can bet that Bennett will be rewarded in free agency. Stanley Cup Final: Panthers Maul Oilers In Ugly Game 3 Stanley Cup Final: Panthers Maul Oilers In Ugly Game 3 SUNRISE, FLA - Panthers pounce. It's what they do. The only question is whether he will re-sign with the Panthers, where he's spent the past five years, or take his talents to the open market. On Monday, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman stressed again in a pre-game interview with the TNT panel that Florida and other tax-free states do not have a competitive advantage. But try telling that to Canadian fans who have watched as teams from the state of Florida and Nevada have reached the final in each of the past six years. 'It's a ridiculous issue," said Bettman. "When the Florida teams weren't good, which was for about 17 years, nobody said anything about it.' Advertisement Ridiculous as it might be, the Panthers don't have a single player earning more than $10 million this season. But they also have seven UFAs, including Bennett, Brad Marchand and Aaron Ekblad, who will need new contracts. And after making three straight final appearances, none of them will come cheap. Bennett is likely to earn the most out of all of them. With every goal, with every hit and with every Panthers win, his value continues to grow. At the start of the playoffs, the thinking was that Bennett might be worth somewhere around $6 million. Now, it looks like Bennett could eclipse captain Aleksander Barkov, who is earning $10 million, as the highest-paid Panther. After all, Benett is every thing that a championship-contending team is looking for. He hits, he fights and he comes up with clutch goals. Sometimes, he does all three on a single shift, as he showed in Game 3 when he delivered back-to-back bodychecks to cause a turnover in the defensive zone, then went the length of the ice and scored on a breakaway to put the game out of reach. 'He's so good all over the ice, but he doesn't cheat the game for the two goals,' Maurice told Redmond. 'He's under pucks, he's does all the hard, right things. That's just who he is." Advertisement Too bad he's supposedly infected with every infectious disease known to man. Photo credits: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images and Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
Washington Post
an hour ago
- Washington Post
Oilers' penalty woes and composure issues lead to blowout loss and put them in precarious spot
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Falling behind early, parading to the penalty box and losing their composure, the Edmonton Oilers find themselves in an all-too-familiar position trailing the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final . Not much went right for them in Game 3 on Monday night, a 6-1 blowout loss that put them down 2-1 in the series after taking the opener at home. By Tuesday, they were back on the ice for practice, eager to put their worst performance since early in the playoffs behind them.
