The Florida Gators will play two games on Wednesday after they eliminated the Kentucky Wildcats in the first game of the day in Omaha. After a seven-run first inning, Florida tacked on eight more and were powered by Pierce Coppola on the mound and Brody Donay at the plate to move onto the College World Series semifinals against Texas A&M.
Florida 15, Kentucky 4
Florida used a big first inning to surge their way to the evening semifinal against the Aggies. The Gators scored seven runs in the first inning, chasing Kentucky starter Dominic Niman from the game after he recorded just one out and allowed five runs on three hits. One of those hits was a Donay grand slam that gave Florida a 7-1 lead.
The Gators tacked on two more in the bottom of the third and another five in the fifth inning.
Kentucky found it tough to break through against Florida left Pierce Coppola, who went five innings and struck out nine batters.
Émilien Pitre’s two-run home run off Coppola in the top of the fifth inning was the last time they would score in the game.
Key stats
Donay is the fifth Gator this College World Series with a multi-home run game. His second blast of the game went 415 feet and delivered a 117.6 mph exit velocity, the hardest-hit ball in the tournament. He finished the game 3-for-5 with five RBIs.
Highlights
The Gators jumped all over the Wildcats early, punctuated by Donay’s opposite-field grand slam.
Donay wasn’t finished hitting bombs. He led off the bottom of the fifth with his 14th home run of the season to make it 10-5 Gators.
Jac Caglianone hit his 35th home run of the season and 75th of his Gators career to pass Matt LaPorta for the most in program history.
What’s next
Tennessee and Florida State will begin their semifinal on Wednesday afternoon in Bracket 1. If the Volunteers win, they will advance to the College World Series championship, which begins Saturday.
Should Tennessee lose against the Seminoles, the two teams will meet one last time on Thursday with a championship series spot on the line.
Florida now moves on to face Texas A&M on Wednesday evening as the Bracket 2 semifinal gets underway. A win by the Aggies would eliminate the Gators.