Florida and Auburn may have combined for 21 hits in their series opener on Friday night, but with a total of 17 players left on base, the two teams only combined for six runs. The game was tied at two entering the ninth inning, and it appeared extras were a possibility. But Florida put together three hits in the frame, and that was enough to retake the lead and secure a 4-2 win, avoiding what would have been a bad loss on the road.
Franco Aleman took the mound for yet another Friday start against the Tigers (16-19, 2-14 SEC), and though he allowed six hits in his five innings, he didn’t give up any runs and struck out five batters. Five of those hits came in the first three innings, and while Aleman was employing a bend-but-don’t-break strategy, Auburn’s Jack Owens wasn’t bending much at all.
After giving up two hits in the first, he got through the Gators’ order cleanly in the second and third. It wasn’t until the fourth that he ran into real problems, allowing a one-out single to Kirby McMullen. That brought Jud Fabian to the plate, who sent went over the field in left-center to put UF (27-11, 10-6 SEC) up 2-0.
Owen managed to bounce back, pitching through the seventh while only allowing two more hits. Aleman, meanwhile, gave up a hit in the fourth but got through the fifth without allowing anyone to reach base. But after a walk to lead off the sixth, he was pulled in favor of Christian Scott.
Scott was good in the sixth, forcing three straight outs (though he did allow the baserunner to advance on a wild pitch). However, the seventh inning wasn’t as smooth. He gave up a leadoff double, and though he put the next two batters out, he couldn’t get out of the inning there. Ryan Bliss hit a game-tying two-run homer, and both teams were knotted up once more.
Florida left a runner in scoring position on base against Auburn reliever Trace Bright in the eighth, but while Scott allowed a hit in the bottom of the inning, nothing came of it for AU.
With one out in the ninth inning, Bright walked Kendrick Calilao, who was subbed for a pinch-runner in Brock Edge. Colby Halter came to the plate and hit a triple just over the head of Auburn’s center fielder, scoring Edge on the go-ahead run. For good measure, the Gators added a second insurance run off a single from Josh Rivera that scored Halter.
Jack Leftwich, who seems to have lost the Day 2 starter role he maintained throughout the beginning of the season, came in to close in the ninth inning, and he was very sharp. He put away the Tigers’ lineup in order to seal a win for Florida and secure his first save of the year. Scott earned his third win of the season for his efforts.
The Gators will be back in action against Auburn for Game 2 on Saturday when they try to take the series. That game was originally scheduled to start at noon EDT but has been rescheduled for 7 p.m., with Tommy Mace expected to take the mound for UF.
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