STILL WATER ZONE: Florida 4, Oklahoma State 2 – Young pitchers connect

What happened: The Gators grabbed an early lead in the first Jake ClementeThen keep them as painkillers Frank Menendez And Fisher Jameson No. 1 seed and host Oklahoma State finished, 4-2, Monday afternoon in the Stillwater (Okla.) Regional tournament. The No. 3-ranked Gators (32-28) have won four of five district games and avenged their only loss — a second-round loss to the Cowboys on Friday night — with two straight wins over Oklahoma State in less than 24 hours to eliminate the Cowboys. Defense player Ashton Wilson He had two solo runs in the third inning. Michael Robertson He added an RBI single in the fourth and Tyler Shelnutt He hit a solo homer in the sixth to account for the Gators’ scoring.

Game player: Right-hander Fisher Jameson, after a short and ineffective outing in Sunday’s elimination game over Nebraska, returned as a dominant closer on Monday. Jameson replaced Menendez with two outs in the sixth inning and retired all 10 Cowboys he faced to record the save and earn Menendez his first career win.

Amazing statistic: Midfielder Wilson, who was added to the lineup late in the season due to injuries, was named regional MVP. He hit .429 (9-for-21) at the Stillwater Regional after entering the NCAA Tournament batting .231 (6-for-26) in limited playing time. Wilson had a homer, three doubles and five RBI as the Gators kept their season alive.

In the spotlight: Gators head coach Kevin O’Sullivan He said after Sunday night’s win over Oklahoma State that if the Gators advance, young shooters will have to step up. They checked that box on Monday, starting with Clemente. Clemente, a redshirt freshman from Coral Springs, was making just his second career start and was able to give the Gators 3 1/3 effective innings, paving the way for Menendez and Jameson to do the same.

Key moment: Left-handed reliever Menendez faced a difficult situation when he replaced starter Clemente with one out and runners on second and third. The Gators took a 2-1 lead after an RBI double Aidan Meola In the fourth when Menendez came in to face a left-handed batter Colin Brueggemann. Bruegemann has retired a popup to right field and Avery Ortiz On a fly ball to left, preserving Florida’s one-run lead. Menendez wobbled out of another jam in the fifth round, and that was his own doing. He loaded the bases with nobody out and UF leading 3-1. He retired the final three batters, the only run he scored on a sac fly. Menendez, a freshman from Miami, pitched a career-high 2 1/3 innings.

Quote from note: “I’m really grateful for this group of players. They’ve had their ups and downs throughout the year, but obviously none of that matters now that we’re in the postseason.” — Prominent two-way crocodiles Jack Calianone to ESPNU after Monday’s win

the next: The Gators will play nationally ranked No. 6 Clemson in a best-of-three Clemson Super Regional at Kingsmoor Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina. The series begins on Friday or Saturday. Game times and dates will be announced by the NCAA. Clemson defeated Coastal Carolina in the Clemson Regional to advance to a superregional for the first time in 14 years.

Notables

• The Gators are in the Super Regional for the 12th time in program history and the 10th time under the head coach Kevin O’Sullivan.

  • This is Florida’s second straight Supers berth.

• Florida won its 16th NCAA title and 10th in the O’Sullivan era.
• Florida appeared in the 24th Regional Finals.

  • Florida’s 24 regional finals appearances ranked second in the SEC.
  • The Gators have advanced to the regional finals in each of the past three seasons.

• The Gators have won seven of their last eight NCAA Tournament playoff games.
• In his second start of the season (April 16 vs. Jacksonville: 2.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 5 K) Clemente allowed just one run across 3 1/3 innings.

  • He was charged with three hits allowed, three walks, and two strikeouts.

• Florida put the leadoff man on base in each of the first six innings.
• Shelnut hit his 14th home run including his first in the postseason to move into sixth place.
• Caglianoni extended his stat streak to 46 consecutive contests.

  • Caglianoni has hit a goal safely in 56 of his 60 matches while reaching safely in all but one competition.

• Wilson gave the Gators a 2-0 lead in the third inning with a single on his fifth and sixth runs in the zone.

  • Wilson finished 9-for-21 and earned Most Valuable Player honors at the Stillwater Regional.

• Jameson pitched 3 1/3 perfect innings on four hits to secure the save.
• Florida’s 139-game scoring streak is the third-longest in program history (May 27, 2022-present).
• The Gators are 133-86 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.

  • UF has a 90-52 record in 39 NCAA regional games.

• Florida is now 4-5 all-time vs. Oklahoma State (3-3 away).
• Official attendance on Monday was 4,811.