TOP OF THE EIGHTH
— Obertop walked. Cannarella to second.Brandon Neely is replacing Jake Clemente on the mound with no outs and runners on first and second in the top of the eighth. Brandon Neely has been hero all postseason and Florida needs him now more than ever.
— SCORE: Cam Cannarella singled home Blake Wright, who reached second on a throwing error from Dale Thomas. 7-5 Florida with no outs and a runner on second T8
— Wright reached on a throwing error from Dale Thomas and advanced to second
BOTTOM OF THE SEVENTH; 7-4 Florida
— Donay struck out swinging
— Thomas walked
— Shelnut struck out looking
— Heyman lined out to short
TOP OF THE SEVENTH; 7-4 Florida
— Hinderleider struck out swinging
— Mathes struck out looking
— Purify struck out swinging
BOTTOM OF THE SIXTH; 7-4 Florida
— Shelton struck out swinging
— Wilson struck out swinging
— Caglianone was hit by a pitch. Kurland advanced to second.
— Kurland struck out swinging
— Robertson hit an infield single to short
— SCORE: Brody Donay hit a two-run home run. 7-4 Florida with no outs B6
— Thomas singled up the middle
TOP OF THE SIXTH; 5-4 Florida
— Nawrocki hit one hard toward right but Cade Kurland made an excellent diving snag and threw him out to end the inning
— McCladdie walked. Jac Caglianone's day on the mound is done after 5.2 innings. Jake Clemente is replacing him. Caglianone exits with his team leading 5-4 and a runner on first.
— Bissetta struck out for the third time in as many at-bats
— SCORE: Clemson catcher Jimmy Obertop hit a solo home run to left off Caglianone. 5-4 Florida with one out in the sixth
— Cannarella lined one toward left but Colby Shelton made a leaping snag for the out
BOTTOM OF THE FIFTH; 5-3 Florida
— Shelnut struck out swinging
— Heyman struck out swinging
— SCORE: Colby Shelton hit a two-RBI single to right-center with the bases loaded. 5-3 Florida with one out and runners on the corners B5. Righty Reed Garris has entered the game with one out and runners on the corners in the fifth, replacing Aidan Knaak.
— Wilson was hit by a pitch to load the bases
— Caglianone picked up intentional walk No. 2 of the weekend, giving the Gators first and second with one out in the fifth. Ashton Wilson has made teams pay for that this postseason.
— Kurland walked
— Robertson grounded out to second
TOP OF THE FIFTH; 3-3
— Wright struck out swinging
— Hinderleider grounded into a fielder's choice. Purify was out at second.
— Mathes flew out to right
— Purify was hit by a pitch
BOTTOM OF THE FOURTH; 3-3
— Donay lined out to third
— Thomas smoked a pitch but right at second baseman Jarren Purify, who made a nice pick and throw for the out
— Shelnut struck out looking
TOP OF THE FOURTH; 3-3
— Nawrocki flew out to center
— Tryston McCladdie, who replaced Jack Crighton afterhis second-inning ejection, flew out to left in his first at-bat of the day
— Bissetta struck out swinging
BOTTOM OF THE THIRD; 3-3
— Heyman flew out to deep center
— SCORE: Colby Shelton singled to center, driving in Cade Kurland from second. 3-3 with two outs B3
— Kurland advanced to second on a wild pitch. He got an excellent jump and made it easily.
— Caglianone struck out swinging
— Kurland singled to right-center
TOP OF THE THIRD; 3-2 Clemson
— Obertop struck out swinging
— Cannarella grounded out to second
— SCORE: Blake Wright hit a two-run homer to center. 3-2 Clemson with one out T3. Doug Kingsmore stadium going absolutely nuts.
— SCORE: Jacob Hinderleider doubled to right-center, driving in Jarren Purify from second. 2-1 Florida with one out and a runner on second T3
— Mathes grounded out to second. Purify advanced to second,.
— Jarren Purify walked
BOTTOM OF THE SECOND; 2-0 Florida
— Michael Robertson struck out swinging
— Brody Donay struck out swinging
— Dale Thomas walked
— Tyler Shelnut flew out to center
TOP OF THE SECOND; 2-0 Florida
— Nolan Nawrocki grounded out up the first base line. Nawrocki and Caglianone got into a brief shoving match and the benched cleared.Clemson first baseman Jack Crighton is the only player ejected as a result of the benches-clearing incident that just occurred, prompting tons of booing.
— Jack Crighton doubled to left-center
— Tristan Bissetta struck out swinging
— Jimmy Obertop struck out swinging
BOTTOM OF THE FIRST; 2-0 Florida
— Luke Heyman grounded out to short
— Colby Shelton struck out swinging
— Ashton Wilson flew out to right
— SCORE: Jac Caglianone hit the first pitch he saw way, way out to center field. He needs one home run to tie the all-time Florida record. 2-0 Gators with no outs B1
— Cade Kurland was hit by Aidan Knaak's first pitch
TOP OF THE FIRST; 0-0
— Cam Cannarella grounded out to second to end the inning
— Blake Wright hit a fly ball to the wall in left but Tyler Shelnut couldn't haul it in, allowing a two-out double.
— Jacob Hinderleider grounded out to second
— Aiden Mathes worked a lengthy at-bat butultimately flew out to left
FLORIDA LINEUP
2B Cade Kurland
SP/DH Jac Caglianone
RF Ashton Wislon
SS Colby Shelton
1B Luke Heyman
LF Tyler Shelnut
3B Dale Thomas
C Brody Donay
CF Michael Robertson
SP Caglianone
CLEMSON LINEUP
RF Alden Mathes
SS Jacob Hinderleider
3B Blake Wright
CF Cam Cannarella
C Jimmy Obertop
LF Tristan Bissetta
1B Jack Crighton
DH Nolan Nawrocki
2B Jarren Purify
SP Aidan Knaak
PREGAME
— Florida (33-28) is set to take on Clemson (44-15) in game two of the Super Regional round at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon. The game will be televised on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.
— Florida would advance to the College World Series for the second year in a row with a win on Sunday afternoon. Clemson would have to win Sunday and a Monday winner-take-all game to advance.
— The Gators are starting star two-way player Jac Caglianone on the mound Sunday. Lefty Pierce Coppola would start in the if-necessary game on Monday.
PREGAME READING
'I've seen it before': Neely postseason heroics reminiscent of past Gator great
Gators ride fifth-inning offensive surge to game one victory over Tigers
CLEMSON SCOUTING REPORT
CLEMSON OVERVIEW
Overall record: 44-15
Conference record: 20-10ACC
D1Baseball RPI: No. 8
All-time record against Florida: 12-19; The Gators and Tigersare meeting for the first time since Feb. 27, 1983, when they take the field for the first time on Saturday
Key stat: Clemson freshman rightyAidan Knaak has pitched at least six innings while allowing two or fewer earned runs in eight of his 14 starts, including both of his last two appearances. Among Division I pitchers whohave thrown at least 100 changeups in 2024, Knaak ranks fourth nationally in whiff rate on the pitch.
ON THE MOUND
A 6-foot, 205-pound righty, Knaak leads the Tigers in innings pitched (79), ERA (2.96), strikeouts (103) and batting average against among pitchers with at least 25 innings (.217).
While Knaak's entire arsenal has plus qualities, his changeup is among the best in college baseball this season. Among all Division I pitchers who have thrown at least 100 changeups on the season, Knaak ranks fourth in whiff rate on the pitch, which has enabled him to strikeout 11.7 per nine innings while maintaining solid walk numbers (3.3 per nine).
The Tigers have relied on a core group of relievers,led by closer Austin Gordon, who's been credited with 12 saves. Like Florida closer Brandon Neely, Gordon is capable ofgiving his team multiple innings from the bullpen and has even made a handful of starts. Gordon works from a high thee-quarter slot and maintainslow-to-mid 90s with his fastball which has reached 97 mph at times. A slider and slow curveball back up the offering.
AT THE PLATE
Clemson's offensive firepower this season is undeniable, especially in the confines of its home ballpark, Doug Kingsmore Stadium, which is just 390 feet deep to dead center.
The Tigers rank No. 38 nationally in total runs scored, No. 39 in hits, No. 27 in home runs and No. 53 in battingaverage on balls in play. Clemson has also demonstrated the ability to create offense on the bases with 58 stolen bases as a team, a modest number when compared to the entire country but a solid showing for an offense that relies more on its power than anything.
Blake Wright (21) andJimmy Obertop (20) rank first and second on the team, respectively, in home runs whileJacob Hinderleider (13) andCam Cannarella (10) have also reached double digits.
Cannarella, the Tigers' center fielder, is one of the focal points of his team's lineup and defensive success. The sophom*ore fromHartsville, South Carolina, is pacing his team in batting average (.343) and ranks third in on-base percentage.
Clemson outfielder Alden Mathes has also ranked among the nation's best defenders with 13.48 defensive runs saved.
