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Local shop hosts late-night grand opening

TUESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2022 www.alligator.org/section/the_avenue

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Shutting down Second Street: How Bazar hosts late-night grand opening

THE STORE’S NEW 60 SW SECOND ST. LOCATION HELD ITS GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION FRIDAY

By Aurora Jimenez Castro

Avenue Staff Writer

Weekend nights in downtown Gainesville are typically loud and crowded — people fill the street and there’s not an empty parking spot in sight.

This Friday, it wasn’t the typical scene. Northwest Second Street found itself lined with sportscars and local vendors. Packed shoulder to shoulder, attendees waded through the crowd browsing records, handmade jewelry and unique art by local vendors.

How Bazar shut down Northwest Second Street for its new storefront’s grand opening block party Jan. 14.

Adorned with the store’s vintage clothing, the store was crammed with hundreds of attendees as vendors filled the streets. How Bazar’s new location — a large, warehouse-style event space with lounge areas, wall-to-wall clothing displays and a bar — is located at 60 SW Second St.

The Gainesville-based vintage fashion and lifestyle outlet featured DJs hosted by record label Dion Dia, a car show, a first time fashion show and a skating competition hosted by Samurai Skate from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Hundreds packed closely together near the downtown parking garage. With hip-hop music blaring from a raised stage and attendees showing off their best winter wear, temperatures dropped to the 50s as the unexpectedly cold night ensued.

How Bazar is a Gainesvillebased vintage clothing and lifestyle brand. Focused on ethical consumption, the brand is worker owned — ownership is split between five Gainesville artists.

Before the block party, the store was housed in the Seagle Building on University Avenue, often hosting night markets and silent discos.

The block party dwarfed past How Bazar events. In size, scale and festivities offered, the event was a first of its kind for the brand.

Red carpet in the parking garage

How Bazar hosted its first ever fashion show to showcase local styling talents.

How Bazar and 14 other stores styled the models in aesthetics ranging from streetwear to vintage and upcycled looks.

Set to a hip-hop playlist, volunteer models walked red carpets stretching from the entrance of the Downtown Parking Garage to the street.

Audience members looped around the carpet runway and peered down from the upper levels of the garage.

Jordan Ortiz, a 22-year-old server and aspiring model, introduced the show. After moving to Gainesville in late 2019 from Deltona, he was invited by How Bazar to direct and curate the fashion show.

Ortiz emphasized the unprecedented scale of Friday’s block party.

“Tonight we got five different things that should all be its own one,” Ortiz said. “So tonight has just been amazing — so many different people came out.”

Vintage wheels and modern cruisers

The fashion show wasn’t the only new addition to How Bazar’s event repertoire — the block party hosted a car show for the first time ever.

Car owners showed off their rare, vintage and modern sports cars. Parked alongside the curb, attendees got up close and took pictures with the unique vehicles.

For Steven Rodriguez, a 24-yearold lineworker who curated and organized the car show, the How Bazar block party served as a way to inspire others to participate in the city’s growing car scene.

“For tonight, this might give people motivation to come out more and bring their cars out more,” Rodriguez said. “Once they see all these nice cars, it motivates them to bring out their cars and build them even better and maybe even get a chance to be in the show next time.”

The displayed cars’ owners hailed from Gainesville, Jacksonville, Ocala and other parts of north central Florida.

Rodriguez parked his own silver, four-door 1985 Mercedes 190 II. The How Bazar car show was one of few Rodriguez hosted; however, he was pleased to see the show was received with excitement.

“Everybody’s loving it. I keep asking everybody that I put in the show…if you’re enjoying it. Of course, they’re all very hyped and very proud…that they were chosen to be in the show,” Rodriguez said.

Ashleigh Lucas // Alligator Staff

River Himmer walks down the runway in a fashion show for the grand opening of the How Bazar location on Friday, Jan. 14. The show took place inside a parking garage on Second Ave.

Read the rest online at alligator.org/section/the_avenue.

@aurora_rjcx ajimenezcastro@alligator.org

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2022 www.alligator.org/section/sports

BASEBALL Previewing Florida baseball after disastrous 2021 campaign

Gator baseball preview: Infield

By Carson Cashion

Sports Writer

If you had to pick one stat to define Florida’s 2021 baseball season, a very strong argument could be made for errors. Anywhere losses could be found, errors were surely nearby.

The final two Gainesville regional losses to South Alabama and USF: four combined errors.

The season-opening series loss to Miami: six errors in three games.

Florida concluded the season with 70 errors, its highest mark since 2011. While the entire roster is hungry to set the record straight after an abysmal fielding campaign last season, no group is hungrier than the infielders.

Featuring a mix of seasoned veterans and new additions, the unit should have the pieces in place to bounce back in 2022. With the season on the horizon next month, how the infield fares could be make-or-break for the team as a whole.

The Gators return one of their most consistent fielders at first base, junior Kendrick Calilao. The Kissimmee-born player made headlines last season when he came up to bat in the bottom of the 10th against Florida State.

With the game deadlocked at two, Calilao blasted a shot onto the left-field berm, a walk-off home run against the in-state rival Seminoles. In a season full of unfulfilled expectations and out-right disappointment, the walk-off from Calilao was a rare, warm memory from the inaugural campaign at Florida Ballpark.

Fans remember Calilao for that shot, but what they may not remember was how cleanly he performed at first base. The Gators fielding woes were no secret last season, leading the SEC in errors, but Calilao was the exception.

His fielding percentage of 1.000 was the only perfect stat line of any starting infielder. As the Gators look to fix their mental mistakes and start fresh this season, Calilao’s job at firstbase should be locked up.

Another name to watch at the first-base position would be junior Kris Armstrong. While he started at the designated hitter position for most of the end of the season, the Jupiter, Florida, native could also split time with Calilao.

Starting roles around the diamond are up in the air entering the season. Sophomore Colby Halter played at both second and third in 2021. The Jacksonville, Florida, native’s batting average of .302 leads returning Gators, and he sits second in RBI’s among returners with 32.

Another veteran from that group, sophomore Josh Rivera, started at shortstop in each of Florida’s postseason games. The Avon Park, Florida, native was named to the Preseason All-SEC Second Team at shortstop, but mistakes with the glove plagued his 2021 season. Rivera led the team in errors, tallying 13. Nevertheless, he should still remain a starter for the Gators at shortstop or second base.

The new addition to Florida’s infield group comes with a familiar name. Freshman Deric Fabian, brother of senior Jud Fabian, was named the Florida Dairy Farmers “Mr. Baseball” in his final year at North Marion High School. Deric was ranked the 26th overall prospect in Florida by Perfect Game.

Because Deric played shortstop in high school, one of the Gators’ returning infielders will likely shift over to third base. It is unclear which Gator will do so at this time, and that role could be experimented with over the course of the season by head coach Kevin O’Sullivan.

The manager was not afraid to mix and match infield lineups last season, so everybody will likely have opportunities to show off their talents at each position.

Sophomore Mac Guscette sat behind Nathan Hickey at the catcher spot for much of last season, but took advantage of every opportunity he was given by O’Sullivan as a true freshman. By the time postseason play came around, Guscette had earned the right to start at catcher for all six postseason games.

Although the Nokomis, Florida, native only registered 57 at bats last season, his .298 batting average ranked fifth among all players. Combine that with a fielding percentage of .988 and he most likely has the starting position locked up. Keep an eye out for freshman Rene Lastres, though, who will join the team this year touted as the No. 5 prospect in Florida by Perfect Game.

After the fielding collapse last season, there’s only one direction to go for the Gators in the SEC rankings. With a healthy amount of talent returning, as well as a handful of stand-out freshmen joining the squad, Florida is primed for a potential bounce-back year on defense.

How high up the conference leaderboards will that bounce go? That is unclear.

The season kicks off on Feb. 18 when the Gators host the Liberty Flames in a three-game series at Florida Ballpark.

Grethel Aguila // Alligator Staff

Junior Kendrick Calilao returns as the only Gator with a perfect fielding percentage last year.

@carsoncashion ccashion@alligator.org

Gator baseball preview: Outfield

By Ethan Budowsky

Sports Writer

When slugger Jud Fabian was selected in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft by the Red Sox and leadoff hitter Jacob Young was drafted by the Nationals, Florida’s outfield prospects appeared bleak heading into the 2022 season.

But Fabian shockingly turned down $2 million and returned for a junior season to patch up a dilapidated Gator outfield. Fabian’s surprise return leaves optimism in Gainesville that the Gators can avoid another disappointing season like 2021.

With the season less than a month away, expectations are not as high for Florida as in years past. The Gators have an extremely talented roster, but it is young and lacks experience. Having Fabian back is a boost that could help the Gators surprise a lot of people in 2022.

The Ocala native came into last season a projected top-five pick, but slipped down the board as he struggled with strikeouts.

Fabian mustered just a .249 batting average in 2021 and struck out 79 times in 269 plate appearances, a 29.3% strikeout rate. This raised concerns about his plate discipline and ability to hit professional pitching.

However, the Gators star center fielder is out to get his draft stock back into the early first round. A positive from last season is he showed tremendous power and on-base ability, posting a .924 on-base plus slugging (OPS) and 20 home runs in 59 games. He will have to show those same abilities while decreasing his strikeouts in 2022 in order to change scouts’ minds about him.

Fabian flashing this power more consistently will help both his draft stock and catalyze a UF offense that relied on him and Jacob Young at times last season. Young, who currently plays in the Nationals organization and Fabian combined for more than a third of Florida’s long balls in 2021 and no other player cracked double-digits.

Young’s departure leaves a gaping hole in the Gators’ lineup. They will need to replace his offensive production at the top of the order where he hit .315 with an .846 OPS last season. Florida will also be looking to replace Young’s solid defense in the outfield.

There is good news and bad news for the Gators. The good news is there’s plenty of youth in the outfield: Fabian is the only upperclassman, Sterlin Thompson is the only sophomore and there are five freshmen outfielders on the roster.

The bad news is there’s plenty of youth in the outfield: Fabian and Thompson will occupy center and right field for the majority of the season, leaving the competition for Young’s spot in left wide open.

Junior Kendrick Calilao is expected to get some starts in the outfield, but most of his playing time last year came at first base or designated hitter. However, since his freshman year, Calilao has struggled to receive consistent playing time and has yet to prove he can be a reliable everyday player. The Orlando, Florida, native appeared in just 39 games in 2021, making 28 starts.

That leaves the door open for an abundance of underclassmen to take grasp of the final outfield spot.

The most experienced candidate would be Tucker Talbott, who is entering his third year on campus. He has yet to appear in any games but is the oldest Gator outfielder after Fabian and Thompson.

However, head coach Kevin O’Sullivan could opt to go young in search of greater talent. Florida brought in another strong recruiting class in 2022, leaving O’Sullivan with four extremely talented true freshmen to pick from.

All four freshmen ranked in the top-10 among outfielders in the state of Florida coming out of high school. Ty Evans was ranked third, Michael Robertson fourth, Corey Robinson fifth and Matt Prevesk eighth.

While Florida’s youth may suggest the Gators are entering a transition year, it could also create an opportunity to take the country by surprise. If one of these young talents takes a stranglehold on the final outfield spot with a breakout year, their lineup will get a huge boost.

O’Sullivan has never been afraid to opt for talent over experience in his years at Florida. It is always a risk because Florida struggling to fill that third outfield spot could spell huge trouble for them offensively, but it could have huge rewards. If one player can assert themselves above the rest of the group, O’Sullivan may be cooking with gas in 2022.

Florida outfielders had three of the top five OPS’s on the team last season, so they will need to replace that production this season.

It will be interesting to keep an eye on the outfield rotation this season and what kind of production Florida gets from those spots — especially early on. It is certain to play a huge role in determining the potential of this year’s team and whether they can return to being among the best in the nation.

The first pitch of the season will be thrown on Feb. 18 when the Gators host the Liberty Flames at 6:30 p.m. at Florida Ballpark.

Grethel Aguila // Alligator Staff

Junior Jud Fabian hopes to add much needed firepower to the Florida outfield this season. The Ocala, Florida, native led the team in home runs last season.

@ethanbudowsky ebudowsky@alligator.org

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