Florida 2B Cade Kurland, LHP Pierce Coppola leave Saturday game vs. Miami with injury

Florida baseball faced a pair of injury scares in the first three innings of its game against Miami on Saturday afternoon in Gainesville, as both second baseman Cade Kurland and starting pitcher Pierce Coppola left the game early.

Making a diving play in the top of the first inning, Kurland remained down after ranging to his left and retiring the side, holding his left shoulder and arm. He left the field with a trainer holding his arm and later returned to the dugout with his arm in a sling.

Then in the top of the third, Coppola abruptly left the game with two outs in the inning. The left-hander has a lengthy injury history that’s kept him out of action for multiple seasons. While there wasn’t a noticeable dip in velocity, Coppola had thrown just 22 strikes in 40 pitches, walking a pair of batters while striking out three and not allowing a hit.

Update: According to D1Baseball’s Kendall Rogers, Coppola left the game due to a “blister issue.”

Kurland, a junior out of Tampa, is one of many Gators off to a fast start this season, hitting .353 (12-34) with 13 RBIs. He’s hit three home runs, drawn six walks and struck out nine times. Across 140 career games for the Gators, Kurland entered Saturday slashing .277/.384/.518.

Coppola, a redshirt junior, worked his way back to the mound for eight appearances in 2024. Saturday was career start No. 12 for the Verona, N.J. native, who has drawn plenty of MLB Draft intrigue despite his struggles to stay healthy.

Florida is off to a 10-0 start to the 2025 season. It defeated Miami 6-2 in game one of a three-game set on Friday night. The Gators checked in as the No. 8 team in this week’s D1Baseball Top 25.