The rivalry between the Gators and Hurricanes was renewed Friday night, with UF’s Jac Caglianone and UM’s Daniel Cuvet going head-to-head in Coral Gables. In a sold-out crowd at Mark Light Field, No. 4 Florida out-muscled its in-state rival Miami, hitting three home runs to power the Gators to a 7-3 victory.
Caglianone and the Gators got the better of the ‘Canes tonight, with the UF top of the order leading the way.
In the top of the seventh, UF’s Cade Kurland smoked a solo shot over the left field wall off Miami’s Myles Caba to push the score to 5-3. Then, the 2023 Golden Spikes finalist flexed his power. Facing the lefty Caba, Caglianone took his fastball the other way, blasting a moonshot over the scoreboard in left-center field.
Miami starter Gage Ziehl had to battle all night long against the light tower power of the Florida offense. UF worked the junior from the jump, forcing the right-hander to 80 pitches through four frames. Still, Ziehl worked his way through his outing, throwing nine strikeouts and allowing six hits and four runs in six innings of work.
The Gators opened up the scoring in the opening frame as UF’s Luke Heyman smoked a ground ball directly at shortstop Antonio Jimenez. Jimenez bobbled the ball, causing it to trickle into the outfield and allowing the Florida runner at second to score easily.
After missing out on several major scoring opportunities, Miami’s Jason Torres broke through for the ‘Canes in the third. With a runner on third, Torres swung on a 3-0 count and sent his team-high sixth home run over the right field wall to take Miami’s first lead of the night.
Florida, however, wasted no time to retake the lead. In the top of the fourth, Heyman smoked his second home run of the season well over the center field wall to take the lead once again at 4-3.
UF starter Cade Fisher and the rest of the Gator pitching did a great job neutralizing the Hurricanes’ bats. While only allowing three runs and seven hits, the pitching staff struck out 10 ‘Canes and found a way to slow down the explosive offense of Daniel Cuvet.
Cuvet finished the night hitless, although he got plunked twice by UF’s Fisher. Cuvet wasn’t alone, as five starters, including Cuvet, went hitless against the tough pitching from the Gators.
While leaving eight runners on base, Miami missed out on some key opportunities on offense. In the bottom of the fifth, down two, UM had the bases loaded with two outs for Dorian Gonzalez Jr. The captain walked on four pitches, cutting the deficit in half with Lucas Costello due up. On a 2-2 count, the Wake Forest transfer looked at a strike-three call, allowing UF to hold on to a one-run lead.
From that point on, the Gators never looked back, retiring 10 consecutive ‘Canes and adding on some needed insurance runs to put the game to rest.
Miami looks to bounce back tomorrow afternoon against the Gators. Junior lefty Rafe Schlesinger will take the bump for the ‘Canes, facing UF freshman Liam Peterson. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.