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Florida is moving on to the Super Regionals.
On Monday, the Gators beat No. 11 national seed Oklahoma State 4-2 for their second victory in as many days over the regional hosts to win the Stillwater Regional. Florida jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on a 2-RBI single from Ashton Wilson in the third inning and maintained that lead the rest of the way.
After beating the Pokes 5-2 on Sunday night, Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan said if the winner-take-all Game 7 was to go the Gators’ way, they’d need some youngsters to step up on the mound. And that’s exactly what happened.
Jake Clemente, a redshirt freshman, made his second career start. He gave the Gators 3.1 innings with 2 punchouts and just 3 hits allowed.
Freshman Frank Menendez replaced Clemente in the fourth with 1 out and runners on second and third. The Gators had a 2-1 lead but the Pokes — woeful at scoring once they got on base Sunday evening — were threatening. He retired his first 2 batters on a pop up and a fly ball to strand the 2 baserunners.
Oklahoma State left 2 more on base in the fifth after Menendez worked himself into another jam. He loaded the bases before recording an out with Florida up 3-1. But he struck out OSU to end the inning after just 1 run scored on a sac fly.
Fisher Jameson replaced Menendez in the sixth. He retired each of the 10 batters he faced, picking up his third save of the season and earning Menendez his first career victory.
The Cowboys left 11 on base on Sunday night in a 5-2 loss to the Gators. They stranded 7 more in Monday’s defeat.
Florida plated just 1 run after the fourth inning — a solo shot from Tyler Shelnut in the sixth — but with the pitching performance, that 1 run was enough insurance to get the job done.
Jac Caglianone set up the Gators’ first 2 runs with a double in the third inning, extending his on-base streak to 46 games. He went 2-for-3 with a run scored.
On the heels of a 9-4 loss to Georgia on May 16, the Gators found themselves in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament after opening the season at No. 2 in the country. They were flirting with the wrong side of .500, but that feels rather immaterial now.
The Gators have won 3 straight and 6 of their last 8 to surge into the Supers for a second consecutive season.
Clemson awaits. Florida will head to Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina, to face the No. 6 national seed Tigers in the best-of-3 Clemson Super Regional. That series will begin on Friday or Saturday; the NCAA will announce game times and dates later.
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Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
