What looked like it would be a low-scoring affair erupted in the fifth and sixth innings into an all-out beatdown. Florida’s baseball team managed 13 runs between the two frames, and it won its second game against Samford, clinching the weekend series with an 18-2 victory.
Jack Leftwich took to the mound following a blistering performance from Tommy Mace in the victory on Friday, and he was sharp as well. He didn’t allow any hits in the first four innings, though he did walk three batters which didn’t result in anything for the Bulldogs.
Samford starter Jesse McCord, on the other hand, had a rough start. Jacob Young led off with a double in the first, and an RBI groundout from Nate Hickey brought him home after he advanced to third off a failed fielder’s choice. A Jordan Butler single in the next at-bat brought another run home, and later in the inning, an RBI single from Mac Guscette scored Butler, giving the Gators a 3-0 lead after one.
McCord calmed down after that, getting out of the second, third and fourth without surrendering another hit or any more runs. That’s when Leftwich began to lose it a bit. He gave up a home run in the fifth and another one in the sixth, the only hits he allowed all game. He was pulled after that following 5.2 innings pitched with six strikeouts.
In the meantime, the Gators managed to add one run in the bottom of the fifth after a fielding error that brought Hickey home after he hit a triple the previous at-bat.
Christian Scott took over for Leftwich in the sixth, and he got Florida out of the inning without allowing any more runs. Samford pulled McCord for Blake Bortak going into the bottom of the inning, and that proved to be a mistake. He managed to get two outs with just one on base, but a single from Jordan Carrion that allowed him to reach third after an error scored a run. Bortak was pulled for Charles Crosby after just 18 pitches, and he didn’t do much better. After two walks and a steal, the bases were loaded for Hickey.
He absolutely crushed one to left-center field for a grand slam, breaking the game wide open for Florida, whose lead was extended to 9-2 by the end of the inning. Things didn’t get any better for Samford in the seventh.
Gene Hurst entered the game and allowed two RBI singles with one out. With the bases loaded, he then walked a batter home and brought another one in the next at-bat with a hit-by-pitch. The Bulldogs tried to make another pitching change for Jacob Cravey, but the answer to Florida’s onslaught continued to elude them.
Kris Armstrong hit an RBI single, and a walk on the next at-bat scored a second run. An RBI single from Sterlin Thompson and sac-fly from Guscette finally capped off Florida’s production in the inning at eight runs, which it scored on eight consecutive at-bats.
For good measure, UF tacked on one more for good measure in the eighth off another RBI from Armstrong, and the Gators managed to close the game out with Carrion on the mound, who started the game at second base.
Though the series is already locked up for Florida, it will go for the sweep against Samford in the finale on Sunday, with first pitch set for 1 p.m. EST at Florida Ballpark.
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