Florida baseball dropped its opening day contest against St. John’s on Friday, 9-5.

It’s a stunning loss for the No. 2 Gators who have big aspirations this season. St. John’s jumped out to a 7-0 lead early in the game and was able to hold off any serious comeback attempt from Florida.

Cade Fisher got the opening day start but things got out of hand quickly. Fisher gave up 5 earned runs on 5 hits and 2 walks in just 2 innings of work. St. John’s tagged Fisher with a trio of doubles to help break things open early in the game.

It was an uncharacteristic outing for Fisher, who was a freshman All-American for the Gators in 2023. Last season, he posted an ERA of 3.1 and had a perfect 6-0 record on the season. However, almost all of that work — 25 of 27 appearances — came out of the bullpen.

Jac Caglianone was one Florida’s standout performers offensively. He went 2-for-4 with a walk. In addition to his work in the lineup, Caglianone is expected to get a start on the mound at some point this weekend. Colby Shelton also got on the board with his first home run of the season.

Florida can still win its opening-weekend series if it wins the last two games against St. John’s.

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