Scott Moss earns first win after a two year journey

Written by Austin Reier: 

It’s a short jog from the dugout to the pitcher’s mound, maybe just a few bounds for a 6-5 left-hander from Deltona, but for redshirt sophomore Scott Moss, it’s taken two years to make that jaunt.

Moss is in his third year at Florida, and has made just seven appearances over that time. It has been an uphill climb after battling an elbow injury dating back to his high school days, but on Tuesday, Moss recorded his first win as a starting pitcher in a Gator uniform.

“It’s surreal to me right now,” Moss said after his first win, “I’ve worked hard to get here.”

Matching a career high three innings, Moss tossed 40 pitches and struck out four batters. In just two starts, Moss has surrendered one hit and one earned run, while striking out 10.

Instead of coming out of the bullpen, Moss was preparing all week to start against Jacksonville University, while this is rare for him, the spot was not too big as he showed with his confident pitching on Tuesday.

With all that comes with being a starting pitcher at a program like Florida, Moss says that rhythm is what makes him successful as a starting pitcher.

“When you’re a starter, you can get into a grove, get into what you want to do,” he said.

The Gators’ bats were hot as they pushed seven runs across the plate on 12 hits to down the Dolphins 7-2 and extend their home winning streak to a program high 28 games. Moss, as all great pitches do, gave credit to his offense in assisting him on the win.

“As a pitcher you want to see runs come through, and it makes your job a heck of a lot easier,” he said.

After a win over the Dolphins, the Gators eye a chance to have another statement series as they welcome the No. 5 Mississippi State Bulldogs to McKethan Stadium this weekend.

While the Gators are riding that 28 game winning streak, head coach Kevin O’Sullivan is focused on taking it one game at a time, “We are playing a really good team in Mississippi State this weekend and we need to get our players ready.”

1 COMMENT