While the scoring across the street at The Swamp started slowly, the No. 20 Florida Gators baseball team wasted no time scoring Saturday in the second game of its three-game Southeastern Conference series with No. 16 Mississippi.
Florida scored all eight of its runs in the first five innings and rode senior left-hander Stephen Locke’s pitching to an 8-4 victory over Ole Miss at McKethan Stadium in front of a season-high crowd of 5,103. The victory evened the series at 1-1.
“We had to have this one,” said head coach Kevin O’Sullivan after Florida improved to 26-13 overall and 10-7 in the SEC East Division. “We didn’t want to be down two games going into (Sunday) against an All-American.”
That would be Ole Miss starter Scott Bittle (3-2, 1.93 ERA), a second-round (75th player overall) selection of the New York Yankees in last June’s draft. O’Sullivan and his staff were to decide the Florida pitcher to oppose him Saturday night, and freshmen left-handers Nick Maronde (1-1, 4.19 ERA) and Alex Panteliodis (3-4, 3.76 ERA) are possibilities.
Saturday, starter Phillip Irwin lasted only 3.1 innings for Ole Miss (27-11, 10-7 SEC West), allowing eight hits and seven runs. Only two of those runs were earned as the Rebels committed four errors in the field.
Florida led 6-0 after scoring one, two and three runs in the first, second and third innings, respectively.
In the first inning, Josh Adams hit a ground ball to third base that should have ended the inning, but it went through Zach Miller’s legs and allowed Avery Barnes to score.
In the second, a pair of one-out singles by Teddy Foster and Mike Mooney, a throwing error and a walk to Matt den Dekker loaded the bases for Daniel Pigott. The freshman right-fielder hit a ground ball to shortstop Kevin Mort, who flipped to second baseman Tim Ferguson for the first out, and Ferguson then threw the ball past the first baseman, allowing Foster and Mooney to score.
The Gators loaded the bases with one out in the third inning when Adams singled, Brandon McArthur reached on an error by Ferguson and Buddy Munroe walked. Foster hit a sacrifice fly to deep center field to score Adams. Mooney then singled to score McArthur. After a den Dekker walk, Pigott reached on a fielder’s choice, scoring Munroe for a 6-0 Florida lead.
Ole Miss scored two runs in the top of the fourth (on Miller’s 2-run homer) and fifth innings, but Florida responded with runs in its portion of those innings for an 8-4 lead. In the fourth, freshman Preston Tucker led off with a triple and scored on a groundout by Adams. Mooney doubled to start the fifth, took third on den Dekker’s sacrifice bunt and scored on a blank by reliever Nathan Baker.
Mooney, the team’s No. 9 hitter, was the star at the plate for the Gators, who outhit the Rebels 11-8. The shortstop went 3-for-4, scoring two runs and driving in one. Known for his outstanding glove at shortstop, it’s his bat that has solidified the lineup since he returned from an injury to his right foot.
“I’ve always had to work hard for my offense to come around,” Mooney said. “Defense always came easy. I knew in high school that if I wanted to play at the next level and stay in the lineup, I would have to work hard on my offense.”
Tucker was the only other Florida player with multiple hits (two).
Locke was masterful in the first three innings. He allowed only two runners in the first three innings while striking out three.
The Rebels began to fight back in the middle innings. Miller’s 2-run home run in the fourth inning gave the Rebel hitters confidence, and a Logan Power sacrifice fly and Matt Smith RBI single brought Ole Miss back into striking distance.
That’s when the Gators made some adjustments to their pitching philosophy.
“They did a nice job in those middle innings,” O’Sullivan said. “They made some nice adjustments. We had to change our approach. They stopped swinging at some changeups, so we had to use the inner part of the plate.”
Locke completed 7.2 innings, allowing eight hits and four runs. He walked only one batter and was helped by his defense that played errorless ball. The Gators are 9-1 when their defense doesn’t commit an error.
“I wanted to do anything that would take pressure off our bullpen,” Locke said. “They carried us at the beginning of the year. It’s time for our starting pitchers to do our jobs.”
Locke went eight innings at Auburn last weekend to pick up a victory, throwing 126 pitches. In his 7.2 innings Saturday, he threw 112.
“I actually felt more loose at the end,” Locke said. “Those last couple innings felt the best. I was really getting into a groove.”
Anthony DeSciafani worked the final 1.1 innings, allowing no hits and striking out one.
Saturday’s attendance of 5,103 was the best crowd of the season. Fans stood four deep down the right-field line trying to get a peak at the action. O’Sullivan believes there is no doubt the crowd played a role in the Gators’ victory.
“It certainly makes a difference when you’ve got 18-20 year olds playing,” O’Sullivan said. “I’m hoping we get just as good of a crowd tomorrow because it definitely makes a difference.”
So does grabbing a big lead early, as any Florida starting pitcher will tell you.