The Florida Gators completed a sweep of the Missouri Tigers and moved to 4-11 in SEC play with a 3-2 walk-off win in the second half of Saturday's doubleheader.
Another seven-inning affair, the game appeared destined for extras knotted at two apiece entering the final frame. With only six hits on the scoreboard between both teams, it was a question of which bullpen arm would buckle first. Despite a strong outing from Missouri's Xavier Lovett, it was the Tigers who came up short in the closest game of the series.
Kevin O'Sullivan seems to have figured out a few things, starting with the lineup. Batting Bobby Boser, Colby Shelton, Brendan Lawson and Luke Heyman in the first four spots, in that order, worked beautifully this weekend, and it even took pressure off some of the guys behind them. Liam Peterson and Aidan King did what they are supposed to as the top two members of the starting rotation, and Jake Clemente has thrived in the closer role so far. Playing two seven-inning games helped keep the bullpen fresh, too.
Cool Hand Luke
Luke McNeillie made his first start for the Gators since March 6, 2024 against UCF. McNeillie moved into a bullpen role after that and has been Florida's most-used relief arm other than Brandon Neely since. While McNeillie might not have starter stamina, he's a solid long-relief guy who has gone three or more innings on six occasions this year, including Saturday night. He struck out five through four innings against Missouri, allowing one run on a homer by Pierre Seals in the second.
McNeillie walked two in the third, prompting a mound visit from Kevin O'Sullivan, but he got out of the jam and cruised after that. Chris Patterson hit a two-strike double off him in the fourth, but McNeillie stranded him on second.
Florida failed to score in the first after a leadoff walk by Bobby Boser and one-out single from Brendan Lawson. Luke Heyman nearly drove in Boser with a deep fly ball to left-center, but Seals made a diving catch to rob him. Seals laid out for another to end the second inning and left fielder Tyler Macon made a diving play for the first out of the third. With a field full of web gems in waiting behind him, Missouri starter Tony Neubeck made it through the Florida lineup once while allowing just the Lawson single.
Cyr ya later, ball
Xavier Lovett took over for Neubeck with one out in the third and made Boser and Colby Shelton look silly with his running sinker. The wait between innings might have hurt him, however, as Lovett walked Lawson to open the fourth. He got Luke Heyman to whiff on a ball in the zone, but Blake Cyr Lovett went deep to give Florida the lead in the next at-bat.
Alex Philpott relieved McNeillie in the fifth and immediately gave Sully pause when he walked the leadoff batter. A single just over the head of Shelton at shortstop put two on with no outs, but Heyman shifted the momentum of the inning with a backhand pick on a ball in the dirt and caught the runner at third. The batter struck out two pitches later, setting up a pop-up to right to end the biggest threat of the night for Missouri.
Who doesn't love a walk-off?
Florida blew a chance to add some insurance in the bottom half of the fifth, stranding two men in scoring position. Justin Nadeau and Boser walked with one out on eight straight balls from Lovett. Both moved into scoring position when Lovett threw the ball into center field on a pick-off attempt, but the heart of the Gators' lineup couldn't get it done. Shelton tapped the ball between the pitcher and catcher, and Lovett made the play at home. Credit to the Missouri catcher, Jedier Hernandez, for corralling a high throw and making the tag.
Things didn't go as well for Philpott in the sixth. Cayden Nicoletto hit a game-tying home run on the first pitch he saw. Philpott retired the next three in order, including a pair of strikeouts, but the damage was done. The Gators failed to capitalize on another opportunity in the bottom of the sixth. Blake Cyr walked with one out and stole second, but he got greedy and was tagged out trying to swipe third.
Fortunately, Philpott went 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh and Lawson walked it off in the bottom half of the inning. Lovett only recorded one out, a grounder to third from Boser after hitting Wilson and giving up a Nadeau double. He intentionally walked Shelton to load the bases and set up forceouts at every base, but Lawson found the wide-open grass down the right-field line to complete the sweep.
What's next?
Florida still needs to win a couple more series to have a chance at the playoffs, but going undefeated this week was a must. Winning the season series against Florida State on Tuesday should help, and any SEC sweep is a resume booster, even if it's against the worst team in the conference. Mississippi State in Starkville is another big series next weekend. Then comes Arkansas back at Condron Ballpark, at South Carolina, at Texas and a regular season finale against Alabama.
The Gators play next on Tuesday, April 22, at home against Georgia Southern. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET.
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