Florida baseball: 3 things learned from the Gators' sweep of Cincinnati

The No. 2 Florida baseball team completed a three-game sweep of the Cincinnati Bearcats with a 13-7 win on Sunday at Condron Family Ballpark.

The Gators (7-1) outscored the Bearcats 39-16, scoring 13 runs in each of the three games.

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Here are three things learned from the series with Cincinnati:

Plenty of pop in Florida's lineup

The Gators belted 13 home runs in the three-game series, including a school-record eight home runs in Sunday's win.

Pitcher/designated hitter Jac Caglianone belted four home runs in the series, including three on Sunday, becoming the first Gator to hit three home runs in a game since Jud Fabian on May 4, 2022 against USF. Outfielder Wyatt Landford belted his second homer of the season in Saturday's 13-3 win and shortstop Josh Rivera had two home runs on Sunday.

"Looks like Wyatt's back to where he should be," Florida coach Kevin O'Sullivan said. "Looks like he's comfortable in the box again. Offensively, obviously we can't complain."

The Gators have hit 20 home runs in eight games so far this season.

Hurtson Waldrep has ace potential

Waldrep improved to 2-0 on the season with a strong outing, allowing two runs on three hits in six innings with three walks and 13 strikeouts on Saturday.

"He was really good, obviously," O'Sullivan said. "It wasn't an easy lineup to navigate through. They have six left-handers and a switch-hitter. I thought his breaking ball early in the count for a strike, his split was really good."

Florida's bullpen remains a work in progress

The Gators are still looking to define roles out of the bullpen.

On Friday night, sophomore righty Ryan Slater was wild in relief of starter Brandon Sproat, walking four batters and allowing three runs, all earned, in 2.2 innings. The Gators held on for a 13-6 win.

On Sunday, sophomore righty Blake Purnell was pulled without recording an out after walking a batter and hitting a batter in relief of Caglianone. Cade Fisher and Brandon Neely finished off the game allowing 4 earned runs over 4.1 innings, with Fisher getting the win and Neely getting the save.

Up next

The Gators will begin a two-game, mid-week series with Jacksonville on Tuesday night in Jacksonville (6 p.m., WRUF). Florida will then host the Dolphins on Wednesday night at Condron Family Ballpark (6 p.m., SEC Network Plus, WRUF).