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USA Today
30-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Conway Regional: Florida vs. ECU live updates
Conway Regional: Florida vs. ECU live updates The NCAA College Baseball Tournament begins on Friday with regional play, and Florida is considered a favorite to come out of the Conway Regional despite not being a host team. The Gators are the No. 2 seed in the region behind Coastal Carolina and face No. 3 East Carolina at noon. Right-handed ace Liam Peterson (8-3, 4.10) will get the start opposite ECU draft prospect Ethan Norby (7-5, 3.81). As always, winning game one in a double elimination setting is critical. A loss means a much more difficult path to the Super Regionals. All eyes are on Florida's offense, as Spring Brooks Stadium is a noted hitters' ballpark with short porches that benefit home-run-hitting teams. Florida has more than 100 combined homers and ranks 31st in the country, so offense is the key. Of course, they'll have to do so without two of the team's best hitters this year, Luke Heyman (arm) and Colby Shleton (hamate). If Peterson can deliver a quality start, Florida's offense should prevail. Jake Clemente is in the bullpen ready for a three-inning save, too. Stay right here with Gators Wire as first pitch comes in at noon and we provide live updates after each inning below. What channel is Florida vs East Carolina on today? TV Channel: ESPN2 ESPN2 Livestream: Fubo (free trial) Florida vs East Carolina in the Conway Regionals will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2. Richard Cross and Todd Walker will call the game from the booth at Spring Brooks Stadium in Conway, South Carolina. Streaming options for the game include FUBO, which offers a free trial to new subscribers. Florida vs East Carolina time today Date: Friday, May 30 Friday, May 30 Start time: Noon ET The Florida vs East Carolina game starts at noon ET from Spring Brooks Stadium in Conway, South Carolina. 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. Our team of savvy editors independently handpicks all recommendations. If you make a purchase through our links, we may earn a commission. Prices were accurate at the time of publication but may change.
USA Today
16-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Florida baseball rallies late to beat Alabama Crimson Tide in series opener
Florida baseball rallies late to beat Alabama Crimson Tide in series opener Florida baseball defended its home turf on Thursday night against the Alabama Crimson Tide, pulling off a 7-6 victory in the opener of the final three-game series of the regular season. The Gators were down early, coughing up a five-run deficit before they could get onto the scoreboard. However, the Orange and Blue scored in four straight frames from the fourth through the seventh, overcoming that 5-0 deficit to take Game 1. Liam Peterson was the starter in this one and it was not a pretty outing for the sophomore out of Palm Harbor, Florida. He surrendered five runs in five innings on five hits, two walks and a hit-by-pitch while striking out four. Fortunately, the tandem of Luke McNellie and Jake Clement was able to keep the Tide scoreless through the final four frames — two apiece — with the former earning the win and the latter getting the save. Bobby Boser went 2-for-4 and Ty Evans went 2-for-3, with both scoring one run and one knocking in an RBI, while the latter slugged a clutch double. Brody Donay also went 2-for-4 and crushed a game-winning, two-run homer in the seventh to finish with a team-high three RBI. Next up for Florida baseball The Gators will take on the Crimson Tide once again at the same time (6:30 p.m. ET) and same place (Condron Family Ballpark) on Friday, May 16. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network+ and can be heard on WRUF. 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.
USA Today
15-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Red-hot Florida baseball ends regular season with three game set against Alabama
Red-hot Florida baseball ends regular season with three game set against Alabama Florida returned to national relevance last weekend with a sixth straight series win against the SEC and a season-defining victory against the previously No. 1-ranked Texas Longhorns. The Gators now have a chance to end the regular season with a .500 record or better in conference play as the Alabama Crimson Tide come to Gainesville for a three-game series starting Thursday. Starting shortstop Colby Shelton is once again listed as out on the SEC Availability Report heading into the weekend. He's missed the past few weeks and Florida's offense has kept pace, but the rest of the lineup is going to suffer at some point with him on the bench. McCall Biemiller, Niko Janssens and Jacob Gomberg are all new additions to the injury report, giving Florida limited left-handed relief arms this weekend. The good news is that Florida's big lefty, Pierce Coppola, is back in the fold and should look to go four innings in his third start back from injury. Liam Peterson is the expected Friday night starter, with Coppola going Saturday and freshman Aidan King in the Sunday slot. Florida has all but secured a playoff spot, but there's an outside shot at hosting a regional with the second-half surge coming together. A sweep of Alabama may do the trick, but a deep run in Hoover might also be needed. Here's what the Gators are putting on the field this weekend. Projected Starting Lineup: Florida Gators Pos. Player Name AVG OBP SLG AB R H HR RBI C Luke Heyman .301 .394 .578 173 37 52 13 44 1B Brody Donay .303 .422 .642 165 349 50 14 31 2B Justin Nadeau .289 .423 .423 142 31 41 3 21 3B Brendan Lawson .316 .429 .535 187 39 59 9 54 SS Bobby Boser .319 .422 .578 204 62 65 14 54 LF Blake Cyr .253 .358 .414 174 40 44 7 29 CF Hayden Yost .283 .399 .415 159 36 45 3 33 RF Ashton Wilson .247 .407 .400 85 23 21 3 19 DH Ty Evans .240 .294 .430 100 21 24 3 23 Probable Starters: Game 1 - Thursday (6:30 p.m. ET) Team Pitcher Record ERA FLORIDA RHP Liam Peterson 8-2 3.81 ALABAMA RHP Tyler Fay 0-2 5.54 NOTES: Liam Peterson threw Saturday last weekend, but he only went four innings (66 pitches). Florida's ace should be rested, and the SEC Tournament starts next Tuesday, May 20, so he needs to be on the right throwing schedule. Texas put more bat to ball against Peterson last weekend than we're used to seeing, but the Longhorns are one of the nation's elite programs. Alabama isn't much easier of an opponent, but Peterson's strikeout numbers should return to normal. Tyler Fay started the year as a bullpen arm for Alabama, but has moved into the starting rotation over the last month or so. He's a power sinker-slider guy who can run it up to 95 mph and mix in a changeup. His walk rate is down from 9.6% to 5.7% as a freshman, but the strikeout rate also slightly dipped from 19.3% to 17.6%. Fay's ground ball rate is also notable in Year 2, moving above 50% while his fly ball rate drops below 30%. Florida's not going to mash against this guy, but this Gators team isn't built to win off the home run. Probable Starters: Game 2 - Friday (6:30 p.m. ET) Team Pitcher Record ERA FLORIDA RHP Pierce Coppola 3-0 1.15 ALABAMA RHP Riley Quick 7-2 3.53 NOTES: Pierce Coppola being back in the rotation helps Florida's bullpen a lot, especially the guys who have been throwing multiple times a series the last couple of months. Coppola hasn't been able to avoid the injury bug at any point in his college career, but he's back in the fold for a postseason push similar to last year. Coppola is still ramping up, so expect him to go no more than four innings. His stuff has seemed the same, as far as generating swing and miss goes, but there's some hesitancy there that hasn't been addressed fully just yet. Still, he's a good option to get through the lineup once, maybe twice, before turning things over to the 'pen. Big strikeout numbers and a low ERA are never bad. Riley Quick missed all of last season with Tommy John, but he's been Alabama's most impressive starter in his return season. With a 3.53 ERA and 57 strikeouts to just 18 walks over 51 innings, Quick is going to be another tough starter to crack. His fastball runs up to 99 mph and sits 96-97 most of the time and his mid-80s slider can be a plus pitch when it's on. Quick also has a changeup that he's working on, but it's the slider that Florida should game plan for. There are some command concerns with Quick, so patience is another key for the Gators. Probable Starters: Game 3 - Saturday (4 p.m. ET) Team Pitcher Record ERA FLORIDA Aidan King 5-2 2.90 ALABAMA LHP Zane Adams 7-2 4.84 NOTES: Aidan King might have been at his best last weekend against Texas, or at least the best since his SEC debut against Tennessee. Nothing is guaranteed in the SEC, though. With Adams on the mound, Alabama is going to give it all to win the regular season finale at home. King just needs to stay away from the walks and he's golden. The strikeout stuff is usually there, and he's learning to go deeper in games. Zane Adams entered the year as Alabama's ace and held his own this season. Adams is down in walk rate (10.1% to 8.1%) and up in strikeout rate (21.8% to 17.5%). While hitters are batting slightly better against him than last year, his SIERA is down from 4.52 to 3.78 this year, which suggests improvement from the pitcher and implies worse luck, among other factors. Florida doesn't need to worry about velocity here. Adams is a 90-92 mph guy who can run it up to 94-95 early when the juice is flowing. He has a breaker that can come in slow and slurvy or low-to-mid-80s and more slidery, while also working in a changeup and cutter. Other Players to Watch It's not an Alabama preview without mentioning Justin Lebron, the 2024 SEC Freshman of the Year and early-season favorite for the 2025 Golden Spikes Award. Gators Wire got an early look at Lebron on the high school circuit in Broward County when he played for Archbishop McCarthy. He showed plenty of promise defensively and had 70 hits over two seasons on varsity, but he never showed the kind of power potential that would lead to a top-5 conference ranking in home runs (17). He only had one in high school. Besides avoiding the future first-round bat, there are at least two other Crimson Tide bats with an OPS over 1.000 — senior first baseman Will Hodo and senior outfielder Kade Snell. Hodo is second on the team with 13 home runs and has a penchant for getting hit with 17 plunks this year. Snell is the team's hit leader with 73, good for third in the SEC. Out of the bullpen, Carson Ozmer leads the way with a 2.10 ERA over 26 appearances and 34.1 innings. Florida will likely see him twice this weekend. There's also Braylon Myers with a 2.57 ERA and 49 strikeouts through 35.0 innings (18 appearances) to consider. Series History OVERALL 70-59 AT HOME 35-19 AWAY 25-31 NEUTRAL 10-9 Follow the Action THURSDAY (6:30 p.m. ET) FRIDAY (6:30 p.m. ET) SUNDAY (4 p.m. ET) * Watch links go directly to game feed Predictions GAME 1: Florida, 8-4 GAME 2: Florida, 6-5 GAME 3: Florida, 5-4 Series prediction: The Friday matchup is Florida's best with a former reliever on the mound for Alabama and Liam Peterson pitching for the Orange and Blue, but Friday and Saturday could go either way. Kevin O'Sullivan's crew is hot, though, so we're riding with a Gators sweep to close out the regular season. 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.
USA Today
29-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Florida baseball's turn around feels real after series win over No. 5 Arkansas
Florida baseball's turn around feels real after series win over No. 5 Arkansas Florida baseball's comeback has been quiet. Since starting SEC play 1-11, the Gators have won seven of nine games against the conference. The first two series came against a pair of the only three SEC teams ranked lower than Florida in most systems, but conference No. 2 Arkansas was a true test over the final weekend of April. The Gators claimed the series against No. 5-ranked Razorbacks with a 9-5 rubber match victory Sunday afternoon. Florida took an early series lead on Friday night behind a career night from Liam Peterson, but a 7-0 loss on Saturday evened things up and put the Gators at a disadvantage on the mound. A five-man contingent of UF bullpen arms navigated around a rough second inning Sunday, and the Orange and Blue eventually overcame a four-run deficit with runs in every frame but the third. Now 8-13 against the SEC with nine conference games left, Florida can go one game over .500 and finish the regular season with decent odds at the NCAA Tournament. Because UF beat No. 8 FSU in the season series and the SEC expanded over the offseason, Florida's magic number figures to be 13 conference wins. A three-game sweep against South Carolina next weekend would likely allow one-win series finishes against No. 1 Texas and No. 16 Alabama to close things out. Kevin O'Sullivan's squad, as always, aims to win all the games, but there's no need to white-knuckle things as observers. Injuries have made it difficult for Kevin O'Sullivan and Florida's coaching staff to determine the best lineup and starting rotation for the Gators, but the group they have going out now is consistently beating quality opponents under pressure. There are holes and maybe this isn't a Gators team destined to finish as a Final Four team in Omaha, but they didn't look like an SEC team a month ago and could have missed the playoffs entirely. Things have turned around, and there's still work to do for Florida to keep Sully from missing the postseason for the first time as a Gator, but here's a look at the big changes made over the past month. The lineup change The easiest change to point to is the top of the lineup. Bobby Boser has thrived in the leadoff spot, batting 18-43 (.419) and jumping nearly 30 points in batting average since assuming those duties. Colby Shelton (15-35, .429) is just as hot as Boser since that Missouri series shakeup to the lineup that landed him in the two-hole, freshman Brendan Lawson (16-38, .421) has followed the trend of climbing 20-30 points in batting average and Luke Heyman is one of the better SEC clean-up hitters even if he's trending down over the past week or two. Boser just likes to be in the batter's box, so getting him up first and leading the offense has done a lot for this lineup. Shelton is still looking for the home run pop and not the double pop, but he's one of the most consistent hitters in the conference and should be hitting second in any version of Florida's lineup. Hitting the true freshman Lawson is a bold move for a so-called old-school coach like Sully, but the Canadian kid is a ballplayer and among Florida's best hitters even when he's going through a slump. Heyman lost the team batting crown against the SEC to Shelton over the weekend, but he's still the guy you want at the plate with two on and the game in the balance. As majestic as Brody Donay's home runs can be, Heyman's come more consistently, with a better strikeout-to-walk ratio and in dramatic moments. He loves showing up against a rival, or top-5 team such as Arkansas. It's in Heyman's blood to compete, and he's visibly stepped as the BT Riopelle leader behind the plate that a young pitching staff needs. However far this group goes, these four at the top of the order are going to be remembered as the engine that got them there. Figuring out the roster around injuries Injuries have been an easy talking point all season to explain Florida's woes. Pierce Coppola went down, sabotaging the starting rotation; Frank Menendez went down, crushing the bullpen; Kyle Jones and Cade Kurland have been out for most of the year and Florida simply wasn't plugging the holes as quickly as they came. But none of that has mattered much in recent weeks now that the Gators have found answers, even if temporary, to each of those question marks. Justin Nadeau has been Florida's most fortunate offensive player with Kurland going down. Although he went 0-for-20 over a week in March, Nadeau is ending April on a 10-game hit streak, excluding the Stetson game where Landon Stripling pinch hit for him in his first plate appearance. Nadeau has kept Lawson from leaving first base, so he's defensively solid — even if there have been a few mistakes at second so far. Kurland figured to be a key bat at the top of the order for Florida, and Boser and Co. have done a nice job filling in for him, as mentioned above. But things were a bit ugly without Kurland to start, and his delayed injury designation prevented Nadeau or another player from claiming the position earlier in the year. Clemente finds his role Coppola's injury happened on the first day of March and moving Aidan King into a weekend starter spot would have happened at some point, but Jake Clemente and Peterson both dealt with injuries in the first month of the season that delayed Kevin O'Sullivan from figuring out his pitching staff. Peterson being the ace was always the plan, but King was the de facto No. 1 for almost a month because he'd simply been there more regularly. In recent weeks, Peterson has shown how the maturity that comes with a year of college ball makes him the top dog, but finding an heir apparent before being at full strength together will have its benefits — if not later on this year, then next season when both are still leading the weekend rotation. Coppola will return at some point and reclaim the Sunday spot, but Sully has found starter innings from Clemente out of the bullpen. Clemente is Florida's unofficial closer who can throw three innings to hold a four-run lead or come in with two outs and a man on in a one-run game. His ability to go multiple frames has paid off plenty since moving to the bullpen, and he's thrown 12 innings with five saves over as many appearances since April 8 against Florida State. Had Clemente given 12 innings of one-run ball over the three starts he would have made over the same period, Gator Nation would have labeled him a more effective player. Still, the Gators wouldn't be where they are without Clemente and Sully finding the way to use him most effectively. Coppola won't have to go more than three innings at any point this year if Clemente can stick to the plan Florida used against Arkansas — two saves, 5 2/3 innings. Billy Barlow, Luke McNeillie and Alex Philpott have eaten the bulk of the innings in place of Coppola, but adding him and a left-hander to the mix would be nice. Gotta maintain this momentum Of course, Florida is dealing with more new injuries coming out of the Arkansas series, namely a wrist problem for starting shortstop Colby Shelton. It kept him out of the Gators' lineup on Sunday, when every Florida starter hit safely for the Gators. Boser made the start at shortstop in place of Shelton, who is dealing with a wrist injury, according to Nick Marcinko of Gators Country. The Gators can't afford to lose their top hitter and defensive anchor up the middle, but the current setup is Boser at short, Brendan Lawson at third base and Landon Stripling at first base. The left side performed well with a combined five hits for Florida in the win, but there's a clear defensive dropoff in the field, even if it's simply a result of a lack of practice time together. However long Shelton needs to return for Florida can't be rushed. Stripling was already adding to the offense, and Lawson will figure out third base if he wants to eventually play shortstop. Moving Boser to the most important infield spot is some good damage control, and he's going to hit well enough to cover up most of his mistakes. Blake Cyr could also be better against the SEC. He's batting .200 with a .639 OPS through 20 games. Ashton Wilson (.196 AVG, .697 OPS) and Hayden Yost (.222, .653) are the other outfield options with Kyle Jones hurt, and Ty Evans (.200, .631) is still slowly returning from injury, too. One more arm to rely on The Coppola plan spelled out two sections above assumes the redshirt junior will return at some point, but he's missed most of his career with injuries. Planning for life without Coppola isn't a bad idea, but it's clear that Kevin O'Sullivan doesn't have a go-to guy beyond the six listed above. McNeillie is a legitimate SEC arm, but Barlow and Philpott are still hit-or-miss guys who have 15 innings against the conference under their belts. Getting Jackson Barberi (8.0 IP vs. SEC, 11.25 ERA), Caden McDonald (7.1 IP, 9.82 ERA) or Christian Rodriguez (4.1 IP, 14.54 ERA) in the mix regularly would be a huge relief cushion for the Gators. All are righties, but Florida doesn't have a good lefty option behind Frank Menendez (out for season) and McCall Biemiller, who has taken on the specialist role. Jacob Gomberg has struggled a ton in three appearances, Niko Janssens hasn't thrown in a game since April 1 and Mason Laurito hasn't thrown this year. That leaves the three righties to battle it out for that open spot in the bullpen. Barberi and Barlow both make starts, but the former is strictly a midweek starter. Barlow appears to be the favorite here, but McDonald has emerged as a redshirt freshman candidate for more time after giving up one earned run over 11 1/3 innings in April. Rodriguez could be an impact one-inning arm that comes in twice a weekend, but he's still figuring out some things after Tommy John. The changeup-fastball velocity difference can be shut down kind of stuff, but the location and feel has to be there, too. What's next? There are 10 games left in the regular season: three games in Columbia against South Carolina this weekend, a midweek matchup with USF in Gainesville on Tuesday, a three-game away series at No. 1 Texas next weekend and a final three-game series back at home against No. 16 Alabama. A 4-0 run to start this 10-game stretch would be ideal. South Carolina is in the mix of SEC teams worse than Florida on paper, so the goal needs to be to sweep with the floor set at a two-win series victory. Losing to South Florida can't happen this late in the season, but it wouldn't affect Florida as much as an SEC loss would. Taking one from Texas on the road will feel like a win, but getting a true series win would make the end of the season much more relaxed. In the best-case scenario, Florida walks into the season-ending series with Alabama at 12 SEC wins, maybe 13 if UF sweeps Texas. In either scenario, the Gators wouldn't need to win the series, but that 13-win threshold is important to meet. The worst-case scenario is that Florida drops at least five of six against South Carolina and Texas and needs to sweep Alabama to have a percentage point's chance of making a regional. 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.
USA Today
26-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Peterson's career night leads Florida baseball over Arkansas in series opener
Peterson's career night leads Florida baseball over Arkansas in series opener The climb out of the SEC graveyard is far from over for Florida, but Friday night's 6-4 series-opening win against a top-5 ranked Arkansas Razorbacks team was a legitimate statement from the Gators. Three weeks ago, when Florida was 1-11 against the SEC and coming off a sweep by Vanderbilt in Gainesville, things looked pretty hopeless. Holes can be dug out of, but the Gators didn't have much of a pathway to make things right. Sweeping Missouri was a must, taking two of three from Mississippi State in Starkville was phase two of the plan and now the Gators have knocked over the latest domino that gets them back to the College World Series. Florida's remaining opponents are No. 5 Arkansas, at South Carolina and at No. 1 Texas before closing out the year at No. 18 Alabama. The difference between going 4-5 and 5-4 against the three ranked teams could be the difference for Florida when at-large bids are dished out. Starting off this final month of regular season action with a win against a top-5 team leaves all the possibilities open for Florida to make a run. The Gators only needed seven hits to score six runs between the third and fourth innings. Liam Peterson was every bit the Friday night SEC starter Kevin O'Sullivan has tabbed him with a career-high 13 strikeouts over six-plus innings of three-run action. Jake Clemente helped clean up the backside of the win as he continues to settle into that closer role, and Luke Heyman hit another home run to keep the lead strong. LP makes a statement Liam Peterson's career night couldn't have come at a better time for Florida. Good teams need their ace to play like an ace, and the Gators were riding Aidan King instead of Peterson for a while there. King's great, but Peterson is up first. Peterson has a year of experience under his belt, giving him a first-hand look at what it takes to be the No. 1 arm on an SEC staff that's expected to win it all every year. Peterson has been fine all year, but he hasn't delivered that lights-out night the No. 1 is supposed to have every once and a while. His best against an SEC school might have been last week when he allowed three earned runs on seven hits and a walk. Ole Miss and Tennessee both chased him off before the end of the fifth, Missouri and Vanderbilt both walked four or more times against him and Peterson missed the Georgia series. Something clicked against Arkansas, though. The tight slider and fall-of-the-table changeup generated sword after sword as Peterson racked up a career-high 13 strikeouts. Eleven of those strikeouts came over the first four innings, and Peterson didn't look tired by the end. He came out for the sixth with 95 pitches in the books and only needed 10 to cruise, so he tried to do the same in the seventh. Kevin O'Sullivan gave him the hook after losing a 10-pitch at-bat to walk the leadoff man, but Peterson wanted more. Peterson gave up two home runs to the first five batters he faced, but he was dominant the second time through the order, striking out seven of the nine hitters. Making those kinds of in-game adjustments wins big games, and Peterson putting himself in the opportunity to go deeper into the game paid off. Luke McNeillie came out to face the next two batters, but a two-run homer moved Sully on to Jake Clemente for an extended close. Clemente handed Charles Davalan, who holds the second-most hits in the SEC, a third strikeout and got Aloy, the SEC leader in hits, to ground out and end the inning. Get to the bullpen Arkansas starter Zach Root matched Peterson the first time through Florida's order, striking out five of the first eight Gators hitters. Justin Nadeau broke through in the No. 9 spot with a two-out single. Root gave Nadeau a little too much attention at first and overthrew a pickoff attempt. The ball died in right field and Nadeau never stopped running, getting Florida on the board. Florida chipped away at Root again, taking advantage of a leadoff walk in the fourth. Brendan Lawson and Blake Cyr both singled to move Colby Shelton around and tie the game. More runs with men on would have been nice, but Florida made Root throw more than 30 pitches that inning. Bobby Boser, Shelton and Lawson all singled to right field in consecutive at bats. Lawson brought around the go-ahead run in Boser and forced Arkansas to a pitching change. Dylan Carter inherited two runners with one out and Luke Heyman at the plate. Giving up a run would have been decent damage control. Instead, Heyman took Carter out of the ballpark to give Florida a commanding 6-2 lead. Arkansas' bullpen didn't give up a hit after that, so credit to Carter for coming back out and giving some quality work after the home run. Christian Foutch took over with one out in the seventh inning and was perfect through the eighth. Clemente closes it out Jake Clemente looks more and more comfortable in this multi-inning closer role by the week. In his last four appearances, Clemente has four saves, a 1.00 ERA over nine innings and a 50% strikeout rate against 30 batters faced. He's able to go right at guys and get through the order once with his best stuff. The questions now lie with the bullpen. McNeillie didn't do great, but he'll certainly throw again this weekend and could be the Sunday starter. Clemente isn't technically burned and only needed 31 pitches to get his eight outs. It would be strange to see him play at all on Saturday, but a Sunday multi-inning close for a sweep might be warranted. That's what Sully needs from Clemente in the postseason, so it's a good test if the pitch count works out. King doesn't need to go six or seven tomorrow with the bullpen mostly intact. A strong four or five is more than enough, assuming Billy Barlow and Alex Philpott provide a combined three innings of quality relief. McNeillie could easily close out a game like that, especially if it's close, and Florida has plenty of less proven options to try on the mound if the score isn't as close. 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.
