For the first time this season, Florida found itself in a pitchers’ duel. Tied at two runs apiece in the eighth inning, neither team gave up any leverage.
Then, Tyler Shelnut came up to the plate.
Down 0-2 in the count with one runner on, the senior third baseman squeaked a two-run home run over the left field wall to take a 4-2 lead. It ricocheted off the top of a small roof in the visitor’s bullpen and fell back into the field of play but was ruled a home run.
“Honestly, I had no idea what was going on,” Shelnut said with a smile.
The Gators third baseman got into a rundown trying to advance to third. He was tagged out by an Aggies infielder, but another umpire overruled the call and signaled for a home run.
“I was like, ‘Shoot, that’s even better,” he said. “That was a series of events right there.”
Behind a stellar start from junior starter Jac Caglianone and Shelnut’s eighth inning heroics, the No. 8 Florida Gators (12-6, 2-1 SEC) defeated the No. 4 Texas A&M Aggies (18-2, 1-2 SEC) 4-2 Sunday afternoon at Condron Family Ballpark.
Despite an uninspiring performance from his offense on Saturday, head coach Kevin O’Sullivan didn’t lack confidence heading into Sunday’s rubber match with the No. 4 Aggies.
“I feel good about going into tomorrow,” O’Sullivan said after the game Saturday. “Our main guys are rested and ready to go… We’re gonna put this one behind us and get ready to play tomorrow.”
Florida lost 10-6 after leaving 12 runners on base and failing to score for five consecutive innings. It marked one of the most miserable performances from the Gators’ lineup, but a new day presented a new opportunity for their offense.
However, rather than an offensive onslaught that had occurred the two days prior, the game unfolded as a low-scoring contest.
In 107 pitches, Caglianone delivered 5 ⅓ clean innings and surrendered just one earned run. He struggled with command at times but outdueled one of the best lineups in the nation.
“Didn’t have my best stuff, but found a way to make it work,” Caglianone said.
On the other side of the mound, sophomore left-hander Justin Lamkin cruised through the Gators’ lineup.
Lamkin pitched 4 ⅔ innings and nearly made it out of the fifth, but a solo home run by Florida first baseman Luke Heyman spoiled the final moments of his outing.
With the score knotted at two runs apiece, Shelnut belted a two-run home run in the eighth inning to take the lead.
Florida All-SEC closer Brandon Neely entered in the seventh inning and pitched two scoreless innings in relief but was taken out for freshman right-handed reliever Luke McNeillie.
According to O’Sullivan, Neely felt discomfort in his bicep, so he took him out as a precautionary measure.
“It’s nothing serious,” O’Sullivan said. “But we’re certainly not going to run him out there this early in the season. He’s too valuable.”
Against the top of A&M’s lineup, McNeillie surrendered a leadoff single and retired the next three batters to earn his first career save. Florida improved to 2-1 in SEC play and earned its first SEC series victory.
“We know how good we are, we know what we’re capable of,” Shelnut said. “It’s just finding that rhythm, getting in a groove and starting to play better baseball as a whole.”
The Gators will return to action against Jacksonville at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+.
Contact Luke Adragna at ladragna@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @lukeadrag.
Luke Adragna is a third-year journalism student and the Florida Gators football reporter at The Alligator. He is a cat ethusiast and completes the NYT Daily Mini in less than a minute each day.
