No. 3 Florida dropped the series opener 10-1 against Auburn on Friday night inside Condron Ballpark.
The Tigers struck for eight runs in the first two frames, knocking Florida’s starter Brandon Sproat out of the game after tossing just 1.1 innings.
Sproat allowed eight earned runs on four hits, three walks, and one hit by pitch. Command was a big issue for the hard throwing right hander on Friday night. Sproat wasn’t fooling anyone when he was getting it across the plate either.
Florida’s bullpen stepped in nicely after Sproat’s early exit, completing 7.2 innings of work while allowing just two runs and two walks.
The Gators’ relivers ate some innings in tonight’s contest, potentially saving Florida from a bullpen disaster later in the series. Tyler Nesbitt is likely the only bullpen arm that won’t be available for the remainder of the series. Blake Purnell and Fisher Jameson both threw 32 pitchers or less and should be available on Sunday at the very least.
Florida (22-5, 5-2 SEC) struggled to come up with the big hit tonight, leaving 12 runners stranded in nine innings at the plate. The Gators were able to get the leadoff runner on base in four of nine innings but hit just 1-18 with runners on base. Kevin O’Sullivan’s squad hit the ball hard at times tonight but just couldn’t catch a break.
The Gators will look to knot the series on Saturday night at 6:30 PM.