![Florida pitcher Jake Clemente (20) comes into the game in the top of the fifth inning to pitch in relief against Kentucky, Friday, May 10, 2024, at Condron Family Ballpark in Gainesville, Florida. The Gators lost 12-11 in extra innings. [Cyndi Chambers/ Gainesville Sun] 2024](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_392,w_4052,h_2279/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/293/01hzmcf1btrjf6ytazpw.jpg "Florida pitcher Jake Clemente (20) comes into the game in the top of the fifth inning to pitch in relief against Kentucky, Friday, May 10, 2024, at Condron Family Ballpark in Gainesville, Florida. The Gators lost 12-11 in extra innings. [Cyndi Chambers/ Gainesville Sun] 2024")
Clemson Baseball is preparing for its first Super Regional appearance since 2010. Their opponent will be last season’s runner-up, the Florida Gators.
We reached out to Benjamin Henderson, the site expert at Hail Florida Hail, FanSided’s site covering Gator sports. Benjamin provided us with some insight on the Gators’ season and how they will approach this weekend’s best-of-three series at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
Rubbing The Rock:
Florida was the 2023 runner-up and the preseason No. 2 program. They finished outside the Top 25 and bowed out of the SEC Tournament in one game. What went wrong this season for the Gators? Conversely, Florida won the Stillwater Regional as a 3-seed. What went right for the Gators this past weekend?
Benjamin Henderson:
Ironically, what went wrong for Florida all season is what went right for them over the weekend. Florida had shown it could hang with anyone in a weekend series, but too often down the stretch, the bullpen let them down. Likewise, during their midweek games when pitching depth is as important as anything, the Gators kept losing because they didn't have anyone who could get outs.
But something clicked against Oklahoma State and the Gators were able to get outings from guys in the bullpen they hadn't had all season long to take two from the Cowboys and move one.
RTR:
Who are the likely Florida starters for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday if necessary?
BH:
Saturday will almost for sure be Liam Peterson. He's a true freshman who struggled early in the season with giving up home runs, but as he has limited the long ball his stat line has improved.
The Sunday and Monday starters could be swapped around, but Florida has been using Pierce Coppola as their game two starter. He was injured last year and has struggled this year.
The normal game three starter has been Jac Caglianone. He was as dominant as anyone the front half of the year but has looked mortal his last few starts.
RTR:
Clemson has built a reputation for come-from-behind victories. Do the Gators have the bullpen to fend off potential rallies late in the game?
BH:
As mentioned above, Florida's bullpen was a trainwreck all season. A ton of guys had career outings against Oklahoma State to hold the fort down. If those outings continue, Florida will like their chances. If those were one-time flukes, Florida can't build a large enough lead and still feel safe.
RTR:
Kevin O’Sullivan was an assistant with the Tigers under Jack Leggett and is still a popular name in Clemson. Has he had any heat from the Florida fanbase this season? Or did most fans figure it was just a matter of time until they put things together?
BH:
From any reasonable fan, most have been behind O'Sullivan all year. The one critique most had was he didn't attack the transfer portal as aggressively as some would have liked, especially with pitching depth. But the one thing for O'Sullivan is that he never plays the "Woe is me card." When some of the freshmen weren't playing well, he made a comment in the middle of the season that it was time for them to stop playing like freshmen.
So most would look at Florida's regional performance as the ceiling of what most said was always possible this year, even when things didn't look bright.