STILLWATER, Okla. — Ashton Wilson tucked his head and began his slow trot toward first base just before his home run landed in deep left field at O’Brate Stadium Friday afternoon.
“You shouldn’t have turned away,” ESPN analyst Kyle Peterson told him during a postgame interview. “You should have seen where it landed.”
The Florida right fielder sent a moonshot halfway up the scoreboard and nearly out of the ballpark in the top of the ninth inning during the opening game of the Stillwater regional of the NCAA baseball tournament.
It was the final exclamation point on the Gators’ offensive showcase, and the last nail in Nebraska’s coffin.
Florida, the No. 3 seed at the regional, pounded out 14 hits — seven for extra bases — in its 5-2 win over the second-seeded Huskers (39-21).
The win in front of 4,709 fans — many wearing scarlet — advances Florida (29-27) to a winner’s bracket game Saturday evening, while the Huskers will play an elimination game Saturday at 1 p.m.
Wilson enjoyed a breakout day, going 4-for-5 at the plate as the Gators, last year’s NCAA tournament runner-up, exhibited their danger.
Having played sparingly until Florida’s final regular season series at Georgia, Wilson entered Friday’s game with just six hits on the year — all of them this month.
His first three at bats against Nebraska resulted in doubles off Big Ten pitcher of the year Brett Sears. Wilson’s fifth trip to the dish was his fourth collegiate home run, the first three coming last spring during his freshman season at Charleston Southern.
“I just tried to help my team in any way possible,” Wilson said.
The Gators got an assist right away Friday when Sears hung an 0-2 slider to Florida leadoff Cade Kurland in the first inning. Kurland took it over the wall in left-center field for a 1-0 lead.
The Huskers, fresh off their Big Ten tournament championship over Penn State, got the run back in the bottom half. Gabe Swansen roped an RBI double over short stop with two outs to score Case Sanderson, who had singled.
Swansen, who delivered the game-winning hit to about the same spot in the field in a 2-1 win over the Nittany Lions for the conference crown Sunday in Omaha, was responsible for Nebraska’s second run Friday also. He kept his postseason hot streak at the plate going with a solo home run in the fifth inning which rivaled Wilson’s ninth-inning bomb.
The Nebraska junior cut the deficit to 3-2 with his fifth long ball of the season, a no-doubter with one out that was 39 degrees off the bat, according to the broadcast, and ricocheted off the scoreboard in left field.
The blast cued exit of Florida’s freshman starter Liam Peterson, who struck out seven and held the Huskers to four hits with a fastball sitting in the mid-90s paired with a deceptive changeup.
The Husker offense, though, couldn’t make up any more ground on the Gator bullpen.
Chasing two runs in the bottom of the eighth, Nebraska thought it had the Gators where it wanted them. The Huskers loaded the bases with one out on Florida reliever Brandon Neely.
Florida had added insurance on reliever Drew Christo in the top half. Dale Thomas, whose bat handle snapped on the first pitch of his at bat, led the frame off with a single. He advanced to second on a groundout and then scored on a single to right by Kurland.
The Gators led from the third inning on after Wilson’s second double plated two runs with two away to break the 1-1 tie.
Jac Caglianone, the 2023 ABCA national player of the year, doubled to center to lead off the frame, then Sears retired the next two Gators. Tyler Shelnut kept the inning alive with an infield single, then Wilson ripped a fastball which caught too much of the plate.
Sears, who critically did not start the Big Ten tournament opener last week, left after completing five innings, the third time he has exited as early in 16 starts this season. The Gators knocked him for 10 hits — four of them doubles — as he threw 92 pitches. He struck out four and walked one.
Christo was greeted with a leadoff double in the sixth that was inches from a home run in right field. But he kept the Gators off the board with a pair of line outs and a fly out.
The junior from Elkhorn, at the very least, saved Nebraska’s pitching staff for the rest of the regional. Christo finished out the game on the hill, holding Florida to just four hits while striking out four and walking a pair on 64 pitches.
FLA (29-27).102 000 011 — 5 14 0
NEB (39-21)..100 001 000 — 2 8 0
W — Liam Peterson. L — Brett Sears.
2B — F, Ashton Wilson 3, Jac Caglianone 1, Michael Robertson 1. N, Gabe Swansen.
HR — F, Wilson, Cade Kurland. N, Swansen.
Evansville upsets East Carolina
Wes Carroll is an Evansville man through and through, and his pride was on full display after his team became the only No. 4 regional seed to win on the opening day of NCAA Tournament.
The Purple Aces’ 4-1 victory over No. 16 national seed East Carolina on Friday came in their first game in the national tournament since 2006 and at one of college baseball’s most intimidating venues in Clark-LeClair Stadium in Greenville, North Carolina.
Freshman left-hander Kenton Deverman allowed a run and three hits over eight innings and Kip Fougerousse hit his team-leading 18th homer for the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament champions.
“What an incredible game for our program, for our fans and all of our alumni, the university, and the people watching back home,” Carroll said. “I knew we were an older club. I knew we had a lot of talent and we’d come in and handle that environment.
“For a freshman to do it, I think it was one of the most incredible performances I’ve seen for a Purple Ace in a baseball uniform in many, many decades.”
The 45-year-old Carroll’s childhood home was minutes from the Evansville campus, he grew up watching the Aces and later he and his older brother, 12-year major leaguer Jamey Carroll, played for them. The 16th-year coach said Deverman’s performance, to him, was reminiscent of Andy Benes’ 1-0 shutout of top-ranked Arizona State in the 1988 regionals for Evansville.
Next up is a surprise matchup against No. 3 regional seed VCU on Saturday for a spot in Sunday’s regional final. The Rams advanced with a 1-0 win over Wake Forest.
“I think a lot of people agreed we were a sleeper 4-seed,” Fougerousse said. “We could have easily been a 3-seed, but we didn’t care. We’re going to go out there and give it our all. MVC has got some great baseball. It’s a deep league, it’s a tough league, and I think we went out there and show a little bit what it’s like today.”
LSU freshman Steven Milam hit four homers in 177 regular-season at-bats. He has hit four more in his last 25 — and they’ve been big ones.
The 5-foot-8 switch hitter homered twice in the defending national champion Tigers’ 4-3 win over Wofford. He went deep from the right side in the seventh inning for LSU’s first run and delivered the walk-off homer from the left side in the bottom of the ninth.
“I just hit one last week, so I’m kinda used to it a little bit,” a smiling Milam said.
Actually, Milam hit two homers in the SEC Tournament, including a walk-off shot to beat South Carolina in the semifinals.
It’s obvious from looking at Milam that he wears his heart on his hair. With the help of teammate Jake Brown’s girlfriend, he had it dyed blond and had purple tiger stripes added, a process that took two hours.
Three of the last four teams to receive at-large bids picked up wins, and the fourth nearly got the job done.
Coastal Carolina, which will send coach Gary Gilmore into retirement after the season, scored all of its runs in the first three innings and got six solid innings from Riley Eikhoff in a 13-3 win over Vanderbilt. It was the fifth time this season the Commodores lost by at least 10 runs.
Indiana made fast work of Southern Mississippi, leading 8-0 in the fifth inning and collecting 17 hits in a 10-4 win. Brock Tibbitts and Morgan Colopy each homered and combined for seven RBIs.
UCF beat Alabama 8-7, with Andrew Sundean’s pinch single in the top of the ninth scoring the go-ahead run.
James Madison was one out away from knocking off South Carolina when Joe Vogatsky hit a batter and Cole Messina followed with a tying two-run homer to force extra innings. A walk and an error in the bottom of the 10th set the stage for Will Tippett’s sacrifice fly in the Gamecocks’ 8-7 win.
Gavin Gallaher’s three-run walk-off homer in the ninth inning brought North Carolina back from an 8-5 deficit in an 11-8 win over LIU. … Charlie Condon went 3 for 3 and hit his nation-leading 36th homer in Georgia’s 8-7 win over Army. … Jaylin Flores’ third grand slam of the season highlighted a seven-run fifth inning in Texas’ 12-5 win over Louisiana-Lafayette. Flores also had a slam in the regional final against Miami last year. … Dakota Jordan’s three-run homer in the 10th gave Mississippi State a 5-2 walk-off win over St. John’s. … Bryce Boettcher’s homer in the top of the 11th sent Oregon to a 5-4 win over San Diego. … Ashton Wilson doubled three times and hit his first homer for Florida in a 5-2 win over Nebraska. … Hudson White and Ben McLaughlin each connected twice and Arkansas totaled six homers in a 17-9 win over Southeast Missouri State. … Bryan Arendt hit a grand slam and drove in five runs in UNC Wilmington’s 9-0 win over Georgia Tech.
Christian Gordon allowed two hits and struck out 13 in 7 2/3 innings and Brian Curley gave up one hit the rest of the way for VCU. … Jack Crowder allowed three hits in eight innings in Illinois’ 4-1 win over Indiana State. … West Virginia’s Derek Clark pitched his fourth complete game, allowing one run and four hits with eight strikeouts in a 4-1 win over Dallas Baptist. … Carson Dorsey allowed one run in 8 2/3 innings in Florida State’s 7-2 win over Stetson. … UConn’s Ian Cooke and Braden Quinn combined to scatter eight hits and strike out nine in a 4-1 win over Duke. … Virginia’s Joe Savino and Chase Hungate combined on a four-hitter with 11 strikeouts in a 4-2 win over Penn.
