Florida Gators shake up weekend pitching rotation
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators will shakeup their weekend pitching rotation this weekend when they host the No. 21 Mississippi State Bulldogs. Junior pitcher Brandon Neely will replace sophomore Cade Fisher on Friday night. The Gators will stick with freshman Liam Peterson and junior Jac Caglianone on Saturday and Sunday respectively.
The move comes after a loss to the No. 17 ranked Florida State Seminoles on Tuesday night in Jacksonville. Kevin O’Sullivan was critical of his team’s performances in midweek games and of the pitching staff, which has struggled giving up leads early in games.
“There’s some other changes we’re going to have to make. We can’t keep playing from behind. We’re going to have to set the tone in the game. We can’t keep doing this because eventually, it’s going to have a mental effect on your offense. You can only come back so many times. We’re going to do a better job on the front end of games and we’ll figure it out.”
Former Friday night starter, Cade Fisher, is currently sitting on an 8.13 ERA with 27 runs allowed (25 earned) in 27.2 innings pitched. 16 of those runs have come in the first two innings of his six starts.
Neely currently owns a 4.50 ERA across 11 appearances and 16 innings.
The Gators will play host to Mississippi State on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. The two will meet again on Saturday (6:30 p.m.) and cap the series on Easter Sunday (1:00 p.m.).
Projected pitching matchup
| Team | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| Mississippi State | Khal Stephen | Jurrangelo Cijntje | TBD |
| Florida | Brandon Neely | Liam Peterson | Jac Caglianone |
Brandon Neely named National Pitcher of the Week
Brandon Neely was named the SEC Pitcher of the Week and the Dick Howser Trophy National Pitcher of the Week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) after his 6.0 shutout innings of relief last week while appearing in three of the Gators’ four games. Neely totaled 10 strikeouts against just two hits and two walks over his three outings.
It marked the first-career weekly national honor for Neely. The NCBWA Board reviews candidates from each Division I conference and names winners each week throughout the season.
After tossing one scoreless frame against undefeated Florida State, Neely returned to the mound for a three-inning save in the game-one win over No. 4 Texas A&M on Friday night. The righty fired two more shutout innings against the Aggies to earn the victory on Sunday in the decisive game three.
