STILLWATER REGIONAL: Florida 4, Oklahoma State 2 — Young Pitchers Deliver - Florida Gators (2024)

John Paternoster

• Box Score

Game Recap: Baseball | Monday, June 3, 2024 | Scott Carter, Senior Writer

WHAT HAPPENED:The Gators grabbed an early lead for starter Jake Clemente, and then held on as relievers Frank Menendez and Fisher Jameson finished off No. 1 seed and host Oklahoma State, 4-2, on Monday afternoon in the Stillwater (Okla.) Regional championship. The No. 3-seed Gators (32-28) won four of five games in the regional and avenged their only loss — a second-round loss to the Cowboys on Friday night — with back-to-back wins over Oklahoma State in less than 24 hours to eliminate the Cowboys. Outfielder Ashton Wilson had a two-run single in the third inning, Michael Robertson added an RBI single in the fourth and Tyler Shelnut hit a solo homer in the sixth to account for the Gators' scoring.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:Right-hander Fisher Jameson, after an ineffective and short outing in Sunday's elimination-game win over Nebraska, returned as a dominant closer on Monday. Jameson replaced Menendez with two outs in the sixth inning and retired all 10 Cowboys he faced to record the save and earn Menendez his first career victory.

STAGGERING STATISTIC:Transfer outfielder Wilson,a late-season addition to the lineup due to injuries, earned Most Outstanding Player in the regional. He hit .429 (9-for-21) in the Stillwater Regional after coming into the NCAA Tournament batting .231 (6-for-26) in limited playing time. Wilson had a homer, three doubles and six RBI as the Gators kept their season alive.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Gators head coach Kevin O'Sullivan said after Sunday night's win over Oklahoma State that if the Gators were to advance, it would come down to the young pitchers stepping up. They checked that box Monday, starting with Clemente. A redshirt freshman from Coral Springs, Clemente made only his second career start and was able to give the Gators an efffective 3 1/3 innings, setting the stage for Menendez and Jameson to do the same.

KEY MOMENT:Lefty reliever Menendez faced a sticky situation when he replaced starter Clemente with one out and runners on second and third. The Gators led 2-1 following an RBI double by Aidan Meola in the fourth when Menendez entered to face left-handed hitting Colin Brueggemann. He retired Bruegemann on a pop up to right field and Avery Ortiz on a fly ball to left, preserving Florida's one-run lead. Menendez wiggled out of another jam in the fifth, this one of his doing. He loaded the bases with nobody out and UF leading 3-1. He retired the final three batters, the only run scoring on a sac fly. Menendez, a freshman from Miami, pitched a career-high 2 1/3 innings.

QUOTE OF NOTE:"I'm just really grateful for this group of guys. Ups and downs throughout the year, but obviously none of that matters now, we're in the postseason." — Two-way Gators standout Jac Caglianone to ESPNU after Monday's win

UP NEXT:The Gators will play No. 6 national seed Clemson in the best-of-three Clemson Super Regional at Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson, S.C. The series starts Friday or Saturday. Game times and dates will be announced by the NCAA. Clemson defeated Coastal Carolina in the Clemson Regional to advance to a super regional for the first time in 14 years.

NOTABLES

• The Gators are Super Regional bound for the 12th time in program history and 10th time under head coach Kevin O'Sullivan.
  • This is Florida's second-straight Supers berth.
• Florida won its 16th NCAA Regional and 10th of the O'Sullivan era.
• Florida made its 24th Regional Finals appearance.
  • Florida's 24 Regional Finals appearances rank second in the SEC.
  • The Gators have advanced to Regional Finals in each of the last-three seasons.
• The Gators have won seven of their last eight NCAA Tournament elimination games.
• Making his second start of the season (April 16 vs. Jacksonville: 2.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 5 K) Clemente allowed just one run across 3 1/3 innings.
  • He was charged with three hits allowed, three walks and two strikeouts.
• Florida put the leadoff man on base in each of the first-six innings.
• Shelnut hit his 14th home run including his first of the postseason to lead off the sixth.
• Caglianone extended his on-base streak to 46-straight contests.
  • Caglianone has hit safely in 56 of 60 games while reaching safely in all but one contest.
• Wilson provided the Gators with a 2-0 lead in the third with a two-run single for his fifth and sixth runs batted in of the Regional.
  • Wilson finished 9-for-21 and earned Tournament MVP honors at the Stillwater Regional.
• Jameson fired 3 1/3 perfect innings with four strikeouts to secure the save.
• Florida's scoring streak of 139-consecutive games is the third-longest in program history (May 27, 2022-present).
• The Gators are 133-86 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
  • UF wields an 90-52 record across 39 NCAA Regional appearances.
• Florida is now 4-5 all-time vs. Oklahoma State (3-3 away).
  • The Gators are 2-1 against the Cowboys under head coach Kevin O'Sullivan.
• Monday's official attendance was 4,811.