A symphony of defensive mistakes against a struggling Jacksonville team cost Florida a victory in the opener of its weekend series, dropping the Friday night game against the Dolphins 10-9.
An offensive explosion from both teams in the ninth inning that resulted in eight total runs didn’t actually impact the result of the game, as JU (4-8) held on for a big-time road victory over the Gators (11-4).
Despite UF’s defensive struggles, starting pitcher Tommy Mace can mostly be spared of the blame for the loss. He pitched five solid innings in which he struck out seven and allowed just two runs on three hits. Mace let just two runners reach base in the first four innings, and those came off an error and a fielder’s choice.
Jacksonville starter Tyler Santana was shaky, but he managed to avoid runs. He let two on in the first through a walk and a hit-by-pitch, and he walked two more batters in the second and third, as well. He didn’t allow a hit until the fourth inning, when Jordan Butler singled and advanced to second on a fielding error. A triple from Sterling Thompson the next at-bat scored Butler, and then a sac-fly from Kris Armstrong scored Thompson to put Florida up 2-0.
Mace began to struggle a bit in the fifth, allowing a walk and three singles, with the latter bringing in two runs to tie the game. Mace managed to get out of the inning without allowing further damage (which would end his night), but Florida’s lead was gone.
The Gators managed to grab it back in the bottom of the sixth when Armstrong crushed a two-run homer, but Florida’s defense lost control of the game in the seventh inning. Reliever Trey Van Der Weide put two on after an error at third base and a single, setting up a sac-fly to cut the lead to just one. He was pulled for Christian Scott, who immediately surrendered the lead off a pair of doubles that resulted in two runs — his first runs allowed this season.
JU pushed its lead to two runs off a sac-fly in the eighth, but that was negated by a solo homer from Kirby McMullen at the bottom of the inning. Florida entered the top of the ninth down just one, but it turned out to be a disastrous half-inning.
David Luethje entered, and he gave up three singles to lead off the inning after a couple of misplayed bunts. He walked a run home with the bases loaded, and he was pulled for Chase Centala. He immediately allowed a sac-fly to stretch the lead to three, and another fielding error (one of four on the evening for UF) loaded the bases again. A double scored two more runs and stretched the Dolphin lead to 10-5.
Florida’s lineup battled in the ninth after Josh Rivera and Jud Fabian crushed a pair of two-run homers to bring the Gators back within one run. Butler singled with two outs, and Kendrick Calilao approached the plate as the winning run. He couldn’t do anything, though, and he skied a ball to left field that was easily caught, ending the effort.
Jud đź’Ł pic.twitter.com/rPG3nAtTGI
— Ian Smith (@FlaSmitty) March 13, 2021
It hasn’t been the start to the season that UF hoped it would have, but a home loss to Jacksonville with its ace on the mound represents the low point. The Gators have no choice but to try to bounce back in Game 2 on Saturday night, which is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. EST.
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