Heading into Florida’s final series of the regular season, Ashton Wilson had just three total hits in his first 11 appearances this year. He then went 4-for-15 in the three-game set against Georgia, scoring four runs and adding two RBI.
That momentum carried into Friday’s Stillwater Regional opener against Nebraska, where Wilson had a monster performance to lead the Gators to the winner’s bracket.
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Wilson went 4-for-5 with three doubles and a towering home run in the top of the ninth to help seal Florida’s 5-2 victory over Nebraska in the NCAA Tournament opener. He drove in three of the Gators’ five runs in the effort – but even he admitted his confidence wasn’t where he necessarily wanted it to be entering that first at-bat.
“I mean, it wasn’t necessarily the highest thing in the world,” Wilson told Tom Hart and Kyle Peterson after the game. “But I was just trying to pass it to the next guy and keep the train moving. Just help the team in any way possible.”
After his big day, though?
“It’s definitely higher,” Wilson said with a grin. “No doubt about it.”
Ashton Wilson stayed ‘steady’ during first year at UF
Wilson started his college career at Charleston Southern and transferred to Florida this season. His time in Gainesville didn’t start out the way he necessarily wanted as he entered Friday’s game with a .231 batting average over his 15 appearances, but a huge showing in the Stillwater Regional showed he was more than capable of rising to the occasion.
That’s because his confidence level remained the same even before his breakout performance in the Georgia series.
“I feel like it was the same,” Wilson said. “I feel like I’m a pretty steady guy. Like, I don’t get too low or I don’t get too high. So I was pretty steady, I feel like. Pretty steady.”
Friday’s game got off to a shaky start for Florida after Liam Peterson allowed a run in the bottom of the first inning, but he settled in quickly. All told, he threw 5.1 innings for the Gators, giving up four hits and totaling seven strikeouts to get the win.
With the victory, Florida will play its next game on Saturday in the Stillwater Regional against the winner of Niagara vs. Oklahoma State, which will round out Friday’s action.
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