Florida’s game against No. 6 Tennessee on Saturday night joins a long list of disappointing outings for the Gators this season. They led for much of it and even had a shutout brewing through five innings, but a monster sixth inning from the Vols put those hopes to rest. They came back from down three runs to take a 5-4 win, clinching a victory in the home series over UF.
Franco Aleman started on the mound in place of usual Saturday starter Jack Leftwich, and he was electric at the beginning of the game. He allowed a hit in the first inning, but none in the following four frames. Tennessee’s starter Will Heflin started out solid, as well, allowing just one hit in the first three innings.
But things came off the rails for Heflin in the fourth. He gave up a homer to Sterlin Thompson, and later in the inning, Jordan Carrion hit a two-RBI single to put Florida up 3-0. That ended Heflin’s day as he was replaced by Mark McGlaughlin, who didn’t allow any hits over the next 2 2/3 innings.
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Still, Aleman carried the shutout into the sixth inning, but coach Kevin O’Sullivan decided to pull him after walking two batters with full counts. Leftwich came in to pitch in relief, but his outing would be heavily abbreviated. He gave up two four-pitch walks to start, bringing a run home in the process, and he was quickly pulled after just those eight pitches, much to his visible frustration.
Trey Van Der Weide entered, and he forced a double play on his fourth at-bat, but it brought a run home. After RBI singles and doubles on the next two at-bats, the Volunteers had taken the lead. They still weren’t done though, as another single added a fifth run.
The Gators’ offense went cold after that. It couldn’t mount challenges in the seventh and eighth innings, and though they had something brewing in the ninth after an RBI single from Kirby McMullen, they stranded the tying runner on base. Florida lost by one run despite more than doubling the Vols’ hit total.
Though the series is already lost, UF will play for pride (and NCAA Tournament positioning) in Game 3 on Sunday when it will try to avoid a sweep. First pitch for that game is set for 1 p.m. EDT.
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