Caglianone Saves Day For Gators In Series-Clinching Win Over MSU

On a crisp Easter Sunday afternoon at Condron Ballpark, the No. 6 Florida Gators were looking for a miracle of their own.

Facing a one-run deficit in the bottom of the ninth inning, designated hitter Jac Caglianone entered the batter’s box with a man on first and no outs. Facing a 1-2 count, Caglianone let his swing rip and sent a ball spiraling into right field.

As the crowd rose to its feet, everyone in the ballpark held their breath in anticipation. The ball flew past the foul pole and landed in the right field berm. Caglianone let out a triumphant roar as he trotted around the bases. The Florida two-way phenom had walked off the No. 21 Mississippi State Bulldogs in an instant classic series finale.

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The Gators (16-11, 6-3 SEC) rode Caglianone’s walk-off to a 4-3 victory to secure the series win over the Bulldogs (19-10, 4-5). UF also won the series opener Friday on a walk-off hit by Cade Kurland.

Florida initially struggled in the batter’s box Sunday, only recording three hits in the first eight innings,

Caglianone also took to the mound for his sixth start. He did his part in keeping the team afloat. Through 5 2/3 innings, Caglianone compiled a line of three hits, four walks, three runs and five strikeouts.

Freshman right-hander Luke McNeillie (3-3) relieved Caglianone in the sixth inning en route to one of his finest performances of the 2024 campaign. McNeillie pitched the final 3 1/3 innings, finishing with a line of two hits, no walks, no runs and three strikeouts.

“This has been one of those years where nothing seems to be surprising at this point,” UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “It was another exciting win. We did make some mistakes, obviously… But really, what we need, as a team, is somebody to step up in a big spot and deliver a big hit.”

The Jac Caglianone Show

Caglianone came out of the gates firing away at the Bulldogs. After hitting the first batter he faced with a pitch, Caglianone retired 12 consecutive batters in the first four innings. He also sat down five batters on strikes in that span to immediately get the Condron Ballpark crowd going.

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On the flip side of the plate, it took the Gators some time to find their rhythm. By the bottom of the third inning, however, they were ready to finally get things rollingy.

After keeping Florida off the board in the first two innings, MSU starting pitcher Karson Ligon led off the third inning by plunking Colby Shelton and Ty Evans with a pair of pitches in back-to-back at-bats. Shelton later advanced to third on a ground out before scoring on a wild pitch.

With Ty Evans now on second base as a result of the errant pitch, Tyler Shelnut cracked a single into shallow center field to give Florida runners at the corners. Evans ended up stranded in scoring position to finish off the frame, but not before the Gators had jumped out to a 1-0 lead.

The Bulldogs Respond

MSU center fielder Connor Hujsak eventually broke up Caglianone’s no-hitter with a leadoff double in the fifth inning. Two at-bats later, Hujsak scored on a single into deep right field from designated hitter Bryce Chance. Caglianone quickly retired the side from there, leaving the score tied at 1-1 after five innings.

But the Bulldogs found new ways to keep on rolling. After MSU catcher Johnny Long landed on second base via a walk and sacrifice bunt, shortstop David Mershon drilled a single into center field to bring him home. Mershon eventually scored on a bases-loaded walk later in the frame, prompting O’Sullivan to replace Caglianone with McNeillie.

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Facing a bases-loaded jam with two outs, McNeillie made it out of the frame thanks in part to a diving catch from Evans. But the Bulldogs had already made their mark: they now had their first lead of the game at 3-1.

Florida came back out with a strong showing of its own in the bottom of the sixth inning. Luke Heyman and pinch hitter Armando Albert landed on the base paths via a walk and hit-by-pitch, respectively. Both runners advanced into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt from Tanner Garrison.

Freshman pinch hitter Hayden Yost then knocked a hard-hit ground ball down the third base line. As Heyman scored with ease, Yost charged down the base path to narrowly beat the throw at first, as the Gators cut the deficit to 3-2.

Caglianone Saves The Day Once Again

McNeillie kept the Bulldogs at bay in the waning innings. After recording a hitless frame in the seventh inning, he struck out three MSU batters in the eighth and ninth to keep the Gators in it.

“After the seventh inning, [David] Kopp, our pitching coach, came up to me and said ‘This game is yours,'” McNeillie said. “I knew what the plan was, unless something went wrong, and I just had to keep running with it.”

McNeillie had done his part. Now, it was the offense’s turn to show out. Entering the bottom of the ninth inning, Evans was immediately greeted with a hit-by-pitch to lead things off. With the tying run now on first base, the crowd rose to its feet. Now up to bat for the Gators: Caglianone.

“Every time you think you’re going to get a heater, they seem to flip the script and throw an off-speed [pitch],” Caglianone said. “He wasn’t really commanding his change-up or his slider too great. He got that first one, but in my last [at-bat], it was all off-speed all over the place.”

Caglianone initially fell behind 1-2 in the count, but he remained unfazed. He stepped out of the box, collected himself and squared back up for the payoff pitch. As the fastball came in over the heart of the plate, he cocked back his bat and drilled a laser into right field.

The ball traveled 412 feet before landing in the grass behind the right-field fence. Just like that, the ballgame was over. Caglianone’s ninth-inning heroics gave the Gators their third consecutive SEC series victory this season and 16th of their last 18 league series.

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Up Next

Florida will return to Condron Ballpark on Tuesday for a game with the Florida A&M Rattlers. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+ and ESPN 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF, with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m.