Florida defeated Stillwater Regional host Oklahoma State 4-2 on Monday to advance to the Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament.
Gators slugger Jac Caglianone finished the game going 2 for 3 at the plate with a double and a walk during the contest. His double in the third inning led the way for Florida to score a two-run single on its next at-bat. For Caglianone, it took a full team effort to finish off the Cowboys on their home field.
“I mean, it means everything,” Caglianone said postgame. “I mean, I feel like I shouldn’t be the one wearing this headset. [Pitchers] Fisher Jameson, Jake Clemente, Frank [Menendez], all these guys held their ground. We were asking for them to just go out and do their job and that’s exactly what they did. I’m just really grateful for this group of guys. Like you said ups and downs throughout the year, but honestly, none of that matters now in the postseason.”
The pitching trio was able to finish off the Cowboys despite giving up five hits and walking five more. The group struck out seven and only allowed two runs during the contest. Now, they’re heading to the Super Regionals.
After an up-and-down regular season, Caglianone pointed at the Gators’ regular-season finale against Georgia as the catalyst for their run. Florida needed to secure two more wins in SEC play to push themselves into the postseason. After dropping the first game of the series, Florida would go on to score 26 runs over the next two games to save their season.
“We went into that weekend and we knew we had to do,” Caglianone continued. “We needed to get at least 13 team wins in conference play to have a shot to even be here. Luckily we did that and honestly, the vibes just kind of switched and everybody was really amped up and enjoying themselves. Just having fun and playing baseball.
“You know, we kind of got away from that for a little bit but I think we found that spark once again and it shows today.
The win secured the 16th regional victory in Florida program history after the Gators pushed through the five-game gauntlet. Now, the Gators will move on to play 6-seed Clemson in the Super Regional. The last time these two teams matched up in baseball was in 1983 but UF hasn’t played at Clemson since 1930.
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