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After much reflection, I am announcing that I am bringing ChompTalk.com to a close.
What began as a personal passion project grew into a vibrant community and an outlet for my deep love of sports and storytelling. Over the years, ChompTalk became a trusted source for news, insights, and conversation — thanks entirely to the dedicated readers, contributors, and supporters who believed in the mission.
Bringing this chapter to an end is bittersweet. The decision was not made lightly, but it is the right time to step back and focus on new opportunities and priorities. While the website will no longer be updated, the memories, friendships, and experiences it fostered will remain with me.
To everyone who ever clicked, shared, contributed, or cheered from the sidelines — thank you for allowing me to live my dream for nearly a decade. Your support meant the world and made this journey worthwhile. To all the SIDs and everyone associated with UF athletics, I am grateful to have crossed paths with you and to have shared stories of the teams you were so dedicated to. To everyone that contributed to the success of ChompTalk, sincerely, thank you. We could have never gotten this far, if it weren’t for the work you put in. It was truly appreciated.
Though this is the end of ChompTalk.com, the spirit of curiosity, community, and passion will continue. I look forward to seeing where the next adventure leads.
After surviving a horrific SEC start and charging into NCAA tournament play, the Florida Gators fell flat — twice — against East Carolina and cut the 2025 season short.
Florida fell 10-4 to the Pirates Sunday for its second and final loss in the Conway regional.
Left-hander Pierce Coppola started for the Gators and struggled with his command. He loaded up the bases in the first two innings. Some poor fielding, particularly on an E5 throwing error to field a bunt play, allowed two runs to score in the bottom of the second. Coppola then struck out the side, bringing his total to five Ks, to make it a 2-0 ECU lead.
Justin Nadeau singled in the top third to bring Florida’s deficit to 2-1. Right-handed reliever Billy Barlow took over for Coppola in the bottom frame after the lefty walked his third batter in as many innings with no outs. The Myrtle Beach native gave up two RBIs without an out, prompting Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan to call on closer Jake Clemente far earlier than anticipated.
The Pirates tacked on two more runs in the third and a solo homer in the fourth to make it an ugly 8-1 lead.
Florida found a spark when it loaded the bases in the top sixth. East Carolina chose to pull starter Lance Williams to no avail. The Gators tacked on three runs before handing the ball back to Clemente in the bottom frame down 8-4.
The Gators just couldn’t pull it together defensively. They let up a ninth run on their second error of the game. Luke McNeillie and Blaine Rowland came in after Clemente and kept the Pirates at bay, but it was already too late. Alex Philpott let up the tenth and eleventh runs to seal the deal.
With the loss Florida’s season is over. The NCAA baseball transfer portal opens today and fall practices will begin in late 2025.
Florida Gators softball couldn’t pull off the sweep – losing to the Georgia Bulldogs 2-1 in the second game of the Gainesville Super Regional on Saturday. The Gator bats were shoved into an icebox on offense as the Bulldogs pulled out a pitchers’ duel. Now, Florida faced with its second winner-take-all Super Regional game in as many seasons.
“All in all good softball game,” Tim Walton said postgame. “It’s ultimately a toughness tester now. I think that’s really what it feels like. I told my team that last night, they (Georgia) have to beat us twice, and they played a great game (Saturday).”
The Bulldogs jumped out in front 2-0 within the first two innings thanks to a pair of solo home runs by Lyndi Rae Davis and Emily Digby off Florida starter Keagan Rothrock. Digby said they went back and did their homework prior to Saturday’s game – studying the pitches the Bulldogs saw in Friday’s Game 1.
Walton said if the Gators posted a few runs in the first inning he might’ve kept the sophomore out there but the early 2-0 deficit made things different.
“So that was a decision I made pretty quickly,” he said. “I made my first-ever trip down to the bullpen. I walked all the way around and went down and told them, ‘Here’s the plan.’ And Keagan obviously gave up the leadoff home run. And so then that was it. I wasn’t going to go any further with her.”
Following the second homer, the Gators made the switch to Olivia Miller who combined with Kara Hammock to post zeros over the remaining five innings. Miller faced eight batters in two innings of scoreless ball while Hammock faced 11 in three frames and generated seven groundouts.
“For them to come in and shut it down and us to make really good defensive plays, I thought that was really good momentum for us,” Korbe Otis said.
Walton was complimentary of how both pitched and the defense played behind them. That included a stellar team-up to catch a runner at the plate.
Meanwhile, Florida got some things cooking on the offensive side but its hot bats flamed out on Saturday.
The Gators left 13 runners on with multiple runners stranded in five different frames. That includes eight in scoring position. They started the game striking out twice with the bases loaded then left runners on the corners in the third and recorded three straight outs after Otis and Kenleigh Cahalan started the fourth with back-to-back hits.
Their only run batted in came when Otis lifted a ball into center field that looked off the bat like it had the legs for a go-ahead grand slam in the fifth. But it ended up in the glove of Georgia’s Dallis Goodnight and Florida plated just one as pinch runner Kylie Shaw came home.
“Softball’s a game of inches,” Otis said. “Didn’t go out (Saturday). Maybe it goes out (Sunday), but softball’s a game of inches. It just wasn’t there for us (Saturday).”
Cahalan grounded out to end the threat. Taylor Shumaker and Jocelyn Erickson flew out in the sixth to leave a one-out runner in Kendra Falby on second.
It looked like Florida was about to pull the comeback when a leadoff single and error put Reagan Walsh on second in the seventh then Mia Williams walked. Walton said he would’ve tried to sacrifice Ava Brown but let her swing away due to his team being the visitors. Brown struck out on a full count.
Georgia’s Tony Baldwin then made a switch in the circle, citing Otis’s prior at-bats against Bulldog starter Lilli Backes. The change worked as the Gator left fielder flew out. Both Williams and Brooke Barnard tagged up on it to get the tying and go-ahead runs in position.
However, the comeback wasn’t meant to be. Cahalan popped out in shallow right field for the final out. Walton said they had an opportunity to win but just didn’t execute.
“When we got to that point, we’re chasing balls out of the zone,” Walton said. “We’re not a chase team. More swing-and-misses (Saturday) probably than we’ve had. I don’t know if we had more swing-and-misses all year. That’s probably the most swing-and-misses we’ve had.”
Walton said those whiffs pointed to the magnitude of the event. In total, Florida posted a dismal 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position. Otis said they’re one swing away from winning that game in several situations.
Baldwin said Backes did a good job of controlling the strike zone and that’s what allowed her to keep Florida from getting that big hit. Backes said the pressure’s on the Gators to execute. Walton said at the end of the day the Gators just need to simplify it at the plate.
Walton’s no stranger to three-game Super Regionals. The loss marks the eighth time a team of his will face a winner-take-all scenario in the round with it happening in three of the last four seasons. Otis knows she gets to show up to the ballpark again on Sunday and said the team’s only worried about the next pitch.
“(Sunday’s) a new day coming out,” she said. “We’re one swing away from winning that game in a lot of senses. So I think we’re very prepared and very confident going in.”
Florida baseball coach Kevin O’Sullivan and his tattered-up crew of Gators entered their week at the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama, with one goal in mind: beat Ole Miss on Wednesday to give themselves a chance at a NCAA regional host seed.
Step one is complete as the No. 15 Gators (38-19, 15-15 SEC) defeated South Carolina (28-28, 6-24 SEC) 11-3 Tuesday and moves on to face the Rebels Wednesday at 9 p.m. EST.
Right-handed junior Billy Barlow got the start on the mound against the Gamecocks. He’s had an up-and-down year both as a midweek starter and out of the bullpen on SEC weekends, and started off the game with a sketchy first inning. He loaded the bases and let up a run before getting out of the frame.
Florida responded shortly after with a three-run second inning in one blow. Bobby Boser hit a 3-run homer in the bottom second to take the lead and tie catcher Brody Donay for home runs by a Gator this season with 16.
Donay would retake the lead just an inning later with a solo-shot homer to the backside. Outfielder Hayden Yost followed suit with an RBI double to make it 5-1 after three frames.
Barlow found a little trouble in the fourth, walking the seven and eight-hole hitters with two outs. O’Sullivan opted to take a chance on freshman reliever Blaine Rowland, who’d shown promise by throwing 7.2 innings of no-earned run ball since April 26.
The right-hander got the winning decision Tuesday with 3.2 innings of solid pitching, including a scoreless fifth, sixth and seventh.
Florida added a run in the fourth and fifth on a Ty Evans RBI double and a Yost home run. Yost has four homers this season since hitting his first against Texas. The Gators will be welcoming of a hot streak between the two outfielders.
Rowland let up a pair of runs in the eighth, and O’Sullivan brought in Christian Rodriguez to finish the inning. Florida went on a tear in the bottom frame to make it 11-3, and the right-hander from Stoneman Douglas came out for the ninth to close out the win.
Another day, another mercy rule win for Florida softball in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
This time it was a second 8-0 victory in five innings against the Mercer Bears (40-26) this weekend in Sunday’s Gainesville Regional final. Florida (46-14) picked up four extra-base hits and scored in every inning aided by a rebound performance from Keagan Rothrock to push the Gators to a 3-0 weekend and their 16th Super Regional appearance.
“It’s very refreshing to know that we can come out and compete in a tournament like this and turn the page quickly to the next opponent,” Florida coach Tim Walton said. “It’s not easy to do…and I have said this quite a few times, we’re a tough matchup in a tournament. Really tough. And so I think that benefits us a little bit.”
Since the Gators’ exit at the SEC Tournament, Walton said the team was “going hard” with multiple scrimmages to make the experience as real as it could be in preparation for the Gainesville Regional. And then they practiced following that.
Ava Brown said everything they did leading up prepared them for the past weekend.
“I think there was nothing that we did that we didn’t need,” she said. “And I think coming into this weekend we knew, obviously going into the postseason in general, whatever we get is whatever we’re going to earn. We’re not going to be given anything, because no team wants it to be their last game.”
She also said everything goes back to preparation. She believes they thrive under pressure because of how tough they practice and prepare. They’re all bought-in.
“This is what they came here for: for the opportunity to compete for championships,” Walton said.
The offense strikes again
All in all the Gators totaled eight hits in 24 at-bats for an even .300 including three doubles from Kendra Falby, Jocelyn Erickson and Korbe Otis plus a three-run home run by Brown. Seven different hitters recorded knocks and all nine reached base.
Walton said Sunday’s lineup, which was used on Friday and Saturday as well, was computer-generated to create as many runs as possible. He was particularly impressed with how many runs the Gators scored. They scored every chance they got – a coach’s dream.
“That was legit,” Walton said. “That’s the coolest thing to see, to see that we scored one every inning.”
Florida got it going early in the top of the first when an error on a fielder’s choice from a ground ball by Mia Williams with the bases loaded scored Taylor Shumaker from third. Then Erickson tripled the lead in the second on a two-out double down the right field line that plated Falby and Shumaker.
Korbe Otis provided a one-out runner in scoring position in the third on a two-bagger with Kenleigh Cahalan scoring the left fielder on a single to center.
Then Brown provided some fireworks in the fourth when she blew the game open on a two-out bomb to get to 7-0. It made her the sixth player on the roster with at least 10 home runs.
Reagan Walsh provided the run-rule score in the top of the fifth. Falby doubled to left field for the team’s final extra-base hit. After Shumaker walked and Erickson lined out, both runners moved up on a wild pitch. Walsh then lifted a 2-1 pitch into right for the eighth run on a sacrifice fly.
Rothrock rebounds
Meanwhile, the Gators got an outstanding outing from their sophomore right-hander to the tune of 4.1 one-hit innings with six strikeouts to two hit batters.
She led it off with a hit batter but retired the next eight in a row as Florida built its lead. Rothrock also tossed two different 1-2-3 innings including striking out the side in the second. It was a turnaround performance from Saturday’s six runs and eight hits allowed in 4.2 frames against FAU. Rothrock said it provided her a little bit of relief going into the next week.
“I think it’s just knowing that when stuff like that happens, that I can bounce back from it, and just knowing that I’m always going to have the offense behind me, and they were there yesterday big time and had my back,” she said. “And then today was just coming back out here and just knowing who I am and what I’m good at, and just continuing to do what I’m good at.”
Walton said she generated more swings and misses in the first two innings. He pitched her every day during the week leading up to the weekend and almost put Rothrock in relief on Friday just to give her more work.
“Historically, the more Keagan pitches, the better she gets,” he said. “You look up on the scoreboard yesterday, she was 72 (miles per hour). Today, she never hit 72. So that says something about (how) she’s a spin pitcher, not a velocity pitcher and when she spins the ball she’s really, really good.”
Rothrock said any player would love a coach who has 100 percent faith in them. She said if Walton didn’t believe in her then he wouldn’t put her in and trust her in big situations.
“I love that he has that confidence in me, and I love that I can feel that confidence from my teammates as well,” she said. “And the best part about it is…whenever the starter gets pulled, or even the middle reliever, it’s never a bad exchange.”
Once the righty got the first batter of the fifth, Walton moved for a battery switch with Olivia Miller pitching and Makenna Bellaire catching. Miller got the next two outs on balls in play to end the game. Walton said he might need both of them in the week to come – even mentioning how Miller’s had a good season and Bellaire graduated from high school early to be on this squad.
“They earned that,” he said. “I don’t just give away anything. They earned that opportunity to have that moment.”
What’s next?
Florida moves on to the Super Regional round once again – its second in a row and fourth in the last five years. Rothrock made it clear the Gainesville Regional is in the rearview mirror.
“I think it’s really good momentum, but this weekend’s over, and so for us, it’s over we’re putting it behind us, and we have a new week ahead of us,” she said. “A new week to prepare for, a new opponent to prepare for.”
On Florida’s senior day, there was much more than honoring the Gator graduates on the line. Florida was also chasing a .500 SEC record, a series win over ranked Alabama and to stay alive in the regional hosting race.
Still, it’s only right that seniors Bobby Boser and Ty Evans shined the brightest on their day.
No. 23 Florida defeated the No. 18 Crimson Tide 9-2 Saturday in the regular season finale. Boser and Evans combined for four hits, four RBIs and a pair of home runs in what could be their final games at Condron Family Ballpark.
“I can’t say enough about this group,” said Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan. “We got contributions from everybody up and down the lineup… and we limited the damage.”
Aidan King got the start on the mound for UF and went right to work. The freshman struck out his first two batters faced before getting the unassisted out at first for a 1-2-3 opening frame.
Boser, who was honored during Florida’s senior day festivities alongside Billy Barlow, Pierce Coppola and Evans, got his special day off to an electric start, turning on the fourth Alabama pitch of the game for a solo home run. Catcher Brody Donay showed him up two outs later with another homer hit even further past the right outfield wall.
“I was hoping to get a little something, maybe a knock or two,” said Boser. “Leading off for our guys on this day, it was real special.”
After the first inning, Florida was out to a 2-0 lead.
In the top half of the second inning, the errors problem Florida’s had all weekend reared its ugly head once again. Blake Cyr, who was moved to second base from left field amidst the injury onslaught the Gators endured Friday, overthrew a double play ball, allowing a runner to score from first.
King tossed his fifth strikeout to limit the damage and keep it a 2-1 Florida lead.
Errors continued to plague the Gators in the third. A pair of errors and a dropped foul out cost King about 15 pitches and forced him to work through what was effectively a 5-out inning. The seniors stayed hot in the bottom frame as Ty Evans cracked a home run shot of his own, making it 3-1 Gators after three.
O’Sullivan chose to make a defensive change in the fourth, swapping Brendan Lawson and Landon Stripling at the corners. It payed off when Cyr made a Jeter throw to first, where Lawson made a great pick to finish the double play and end the frame.
Despite the defensive hiccups, Florida’s offense kept rolling through the Tide. Stripling laid down an RBI double to score Ashton Wilson. Alabama pulled its starting pitcher before it was able to escape the frame. After four innings, the Gators led 4-1.
Florida picked up its eighth error of the weekend in the top fifth, which allowed Alabama to bring in a run on an RBI double. The Tide looked dangerous with loaded bases, but King escaped the jam. The Gators then put together an outpouring of five runs in the bottom frame to lead 9-2 after the fifth inning.
King let up a leadoff double in the seventh, and the runner advanced on a sacrifice fly to end the right-hander’s outing. He received a standing ovation on his way to the dugout as righty Luke McNeillie took over on the bump. He let up a run on another sacrifice fly before closing the frame.
“Obviously I didn’t want to go out,” said King. “But it was good to get the seniors their last win.”
Neither team scored again as the Gators cruised to the finish line and a series win.
Florida heads to the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama, to take on South Carolina in the first round Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. with a regional hosting spot within reach.
After a comeback win, both in scoring and in pure will, in Florida baseball’s series opener against the Alabama Crimson Tide, fans stuck it out to see if the Gators could pull off another rally. It wasn’t meant to be as the UF offense went stagnant and was unable to make up for a five-run fifth inning.
“We have enough… we at least have a chance to go and win the series,” said Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan. “That’s the ultimate goal.”
Left-hander Pierce Coppola got his sixth start of the year for Florida. He came out hot, striking out the first frame in just 14 pitches. The Gators bats kept it rolling, scoring a run thanks to an RBI single from catcher Brody Donay. Florida stranded the bases loaded and left the first inning up 1-0.
Coppola nearly sat the side in order again in the top of the second before third baseman Brendan Lawson’s third error of the weekend allowed a runner to reach first before Coppola struck out his sixth batter of the day. Florida added a second in the bottom frame after shortstop Bobby Boser scored Landon Stripling on an RBI single.
Alabama squared things up on a sacrifice fly and an RBI single in the top third as Coppola’s momentum began to waver. The lefty struck out his eighth batter to end the frame, and the Gators went 1-2-3 through the bottom half to keep the scored tied, 2-2, after three innings.
Coppola tossed his tenth strikeout of the game before he was pulled in favor of Billy Barlow after 4.2 innings. The junior right-hander punched the third out to keep it 2-2 through four frames.
“Honestly I didn’t feel that great, I felt a little slow today,” Coppola said. “But I’ll take it.”
“He pitched really good,” O’Sullivan said. “The positive is we got him up to 67 pitches. If we can get to the point where we can get five innings out of him, that would be great.”
Barlow returned for the fifth and walked the bases loaded with one out, forcing O’Sullivan to retrieve him from the mound and call upon redshirt freshman Christian Rodriguez. He nearly forced a double play to end the inning, but Boser fumbled the ball and allowed two runs to score safely. The righty then hit a batter to load the bases before giving up a three-run double.
“The wheels fell off,” O’Sullivan said. “I don’t know… it just happened so quickly.”
Rodriguez punched the third out, and Florida’s offense went scoreless in the bottom half to end a disastrous fifth inning which saw the Gators down 7-2.
Florida’s offense remained stagnant into the final inning down 7-2. Caden McDonald came in for Rowland, who finished with no hits or runs, one walk and three strikeouts in 2.2 innings. McDonald got through the top half after allowing a sacrifice fly and a solo home run, giving the Gators three outs to make up seven runs.
“[Rowland] threw the ball really good,” O’Sullivan said. “We got him out of there because we want to use him tomorrow too.”
The Gators picked up four runs in the bottom half of the ninth inning but couldn’t fill in the rest of the gap, setting up a series finale rubber match 4:00 p.m. Saturday for senior day.
The Florida Gators (44-14, 14-10 SEC) opened NCAA tournament play with a resounding 8-0 win over the Mercer Bears in the Gainesville regional in front of 2,140 fans Friday evening.
Despite a slow start offensively, the Gators were able to earn the run-rule victory after just five innings of play.
Kara Hammock got the start for the Gators in the circle. In the top of the first, she allowed a one out base hit, but the inning ended after she induced a 6-4-3 double play.
In the second, a walk and a hit batter put runners on first and second with two outs, but once again, Hammock navigated the trouble forcing a line out to end the threat.
Florida finally had an opportunity in the bottom of the inning as Mia Williams was hit by a pitch with one out. That was followed by a bloop single from Ava Brown. Kenleigh Cahalan walked to load the bases with two outs, but Rylee Holtorf ended the inning with a fly out to center.
The Bears threatened to score in the third inning as well. Hallie Langford singled with one out. That was followed by a four-pitch walk to Parris Wiggs. After recording an out, Hammock walked Jones to load the bases with two down. Head coach Tim Walton made the move to Brown who promptly forced a fly out to left, leaving Mercer scoreless.
Florida, on the other hand, finally broke through in the bottom half of the inning. Kendra Falby led off the frame drawing a walk before freshman Taylor Shumaker crushed a two-run blast to right to give the Gators a 2-0 advantage.
B3 | SHUUUU SHOT ‼️
Taylor Shumaker knocks out her 19th bomb to tie Florida's freshman home run record!
Three batters later, Mia Williams smacked a 3-2 pitch down the left field line that plated Jocelyn Erickson. Williams then scored on Cahalan’s double to make it 4-0. Holtorf would complete the scoring in the inning with a bunt single that scored Korbe Otis.
With Brown in the circle, Florida retired the Mercer side in order in the top of the fourth. The Gators added a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning, Williams set the tone with a two-run double that saw Erickson and Reagan Walsh cross home plate and increase the lead to 7-0.
The Bears collected a pair of singles in the fifth, but were again shutout by Brown. Florida completed the game with a run in the bottom of the inning. Gabi Comia led off the inning with a single up the middle. Falby then singled to left before Shumaker walked to load the bases. Erickson singled up the middle to score Comia and end the game in walk-off fashion.
In total, the Gators recorded eleven hits in 23 at bats (.478 average), additionally they were 9-16 with runners on base and 5-11 with runners in scoring position.
Erickson (2-3) and Williams (2-2) were the only Gators to record multiple hits and every player that appeared at the plate reached base at least once.
Brown (11-3) picked up her eleventh win of the season, tossing the final 2.1 innings giving up just two base hits.
On Deck:
The Gators advance to the winner’s bracket of the regional tournament. Florida will take on Florida Atlantic (45-10, 23-4) Saturday afternoon with the first pitch scheduled for 12:00 PM.
Are you ready for Gators baseball? Better question: is your heart ready?
The crowd at Condron Family Ballpark put their hearts to the test Friday night. A huge audience settled in for a series where Florida could play it’s way into the hosting conversation before two bombs given up early by its ace, disastrous injuries, a burnt redshirt and, eventually, an awe-inspiring comeback.
No. 23 Florida (36-18, 14-14 SEC) defeated No. 18 Alabama (39-14, 15-13 SEC) 7-6 in the final home series opener of the regular season for the Gators.
“We’ve had some great wins here,” said Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan “But how gutsy of a win this was for our team… we could’ve easily hung our heads.”
Right-handed starting pitcher Liam Peterson returned to his usual series opener spot after weather delays shifted him around the rotation the last two weekends. He tossed a modest 25-pitch first frame with two strikeouts, but gave up a two-run bomb as Alabama outfielder Richie Bonomolo Jr. took a 2-1 fastball into the left field berm.
The bottom of the first started strong for the Gators with a Bobby Boser leadoff single, but quickly took a turn for the worse. Freshman infielder Brendan Lawson, who was 1-for-14 since the start of the Texas series headed into the weekend, hit into a double play.
Things went from “worse” to “worst” after Luke Heyman was hit by a pitch with two outs. He went down, and eventually exited the game after talking it over with trainers and wincing in pain.
Brody Donay moved over to catcher after the injury and Landon Stripling, Florida’s only available bench player, came in at first.
Peterson walked the nine-hole hitter in the top of the third before letting up another two-run shot, this time to star Crimson Tide shortstop Justin Lebron. He’d walk another and give up two more singles before getting the third out as Florida trailed 5-0 and sent a herd of pitchers out to the bullpen.
In the top of the fourth, the injury situation became something unprecedented. Justin Nadeau was hurt on a ball hit to second and had to come out, leaving Florida with a hole in the infield and no eligible position players. O’Sullivan was forced to bring in sophomore outfielder Blake Brookins, burning his redshirt and a year of eligibility right before the end of his second collegiate season.
Florida was able to add a run in the bottom fourth on a wild pitch, but it wasn’t much consolation for the preceding events.
Things began to go the Gators’ way in the fifth. After Boser reached on an error with two outs, Florida hit him around to make it a 5-2 game and sent Alabama starting pitcher Tyler Fay packing. Alabama reliever Braylon Myers couldn’t stop the bleeding right away, giving up an RBI double to Ty Evans. Blake Cyr walked to load the bases and Donay followed suit with an infield RBI single. Alabama moved on from Myers and went to sophomore Matthew Heiberger.
The crafty left-hander struck out Yost to end the inning with Florida now trailing just 5-4.
“It was huge,” Evans said. “Honestly, we were just trying to stack good ABs. The first pitch he kind of got me with… I was able to put a good swing on it there with two strikes.”
Luke McNeillie took over for Peterson and the Gators in the sixth. He loaded the bases before nearly working out of the jam, but an E5 would make it 6-4 before he could finish the frame.
“[Peterson] battled,” said O’Sullivan. “In all fairness to him, the last three weeks have probably been frustrating for him. He may not have had his best stuff or location today… but I’ve got no complaints about his start.”
Brookins would get his first hit of the 2025 season on a one-out double in the bottom half of the sixth to bring up the top of Florida’s order. Boser singled to score the sophomore and make it a 6-5 game.
The game fully turned towards Florida in the seventh. After McNeille tossed a 1-2-3 frame, Donay stepped to the plate as the leading run. He launched a ball into the Florida bullpen for the 7-6 lead.
“We just find every way to get back in it,” Donay said. “Everyone on the team plays a role in it.”
Florida called upon closer Jake Clemente early in the top eighth. Despite a walk and an error, he secured three outs, including two Ks, and returned for the ninth with a one run lead. He got the job done and awarded UF the win.
The Gators will seek a series win tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN SEC Network+.
The Florida Gators are returning to the NCAA Tournament Final Four for the second straight year and third time in program history. Florida held on to beat Duke 11-9 in the quarterfinals Thursday afternoon at Dizney Stadium in front of 589 fans.
The Gators opened the game scoring early and often, racing out to a 3-0 lead thanks to goals from Frannie Hahn, Clark Hamilton, and Gabbi Koury. Koury’s goal came in transition off a beautiful pass from Jordan Basso. Following Duke’s first goal, the Gators regained momentum as Koury found the back of the net again with just under four minutes remaining in the first period. By the end of the first, Florida commanded a 5-1 lead.
The Gators added to their lead in the second. Hamilton scored her second less than five minutes into the quarter while Josie Hahn added one just past the midpoint of the period to make it 7-1. The Blue Devils got one back, but Florida, once again, responded with two more before the halftime intermission.
The third period saw momentum swing wildly towards Duke. Florida opened the half with a pair of goals that made it 11-2 with 9:30 left in the third period. It appeared the game was all but over.
Duke wasn’t done though. The Blue Devils took over the faceoff circle from that point winning each draw control until midway through the fourth. With 4:10 remaining in the period, Duke scored to cut the deficit to 11-3. The Blue Devils added two more in less than three minutes to carry all the momentum into the final quarter.
Entering the final frame, Florida owned a 11-5 lead. That changed rather quickly as the Blue Devils got on the board within a minute. A couple more draw controls went in favor of Duke and suddenly, Florida’s lead was down to just two at 11-9. Duke had scored seven straight and kept the Gators scoreless for more than twenty minutes.
With just over three minutes remaining, the Gators managed to get off their first shot since the early stages of the third period. The shot was stopped and Duke quickly raced up the field with a chance to cut the deficit to just one. Celeste Forte stepped in front of the Duke attacker and drew a charge to give the Gators possession. Following a turnover, the Blue Devils had another opportunity with 54-seconds but Georgia Hoey made a big stop to the upper left side of the net that allowed Florida to run out the clock and advance to the Final Four.
Florida had five players record multiple goals: Gianna Monaco, Josie Hahn, Frannie Hahn, Clark Hamilton, Gabbi Koury. Jenny Markey added one for the Gators. Florida recovered nine ground balls while the Blue Devils snatched eleven.
In net, Elyse Finnelle made nine saves before giving way to Hoey in the fourth quarter.
What’s Next:
Florida will take on the winner of the North Carolina – Princeton matchup that is set to take place this evening. The Tar Heels are the nation’s No. 1 seed. The game will be played May 23rd at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA.
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