Florida falls after taking first two games of SEC series against Alabama

Florida couldn’t finish off the sweep of Alabama in the second half of a doubleheader on Friday, but the Gators are still 2-1 to start SEC play.

Florida couldn’t make magic happen twice in one day and fell to the Alabama Crimson Tide, 6-3, in the second game of a doubleheader to close out the first SEC series of the year.

The good news is the Gators secured a series victory earlier in the day, but this would have been a 10th-straight victory for the club. The trio of Grayson Hitt, Zane Probst and Kade Woods kept Florida relatively quiet, and the Tide played with a lead for the entire night.

Hitt outdueled Florida starter [autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag], who lasted six innings and gave up four runs in total (three earned). Waldrep’s command wasn’t great. He walked four and threw a wild pitch with a man on third that somehow went unpunished. He only struck out seven this week, which is low by Wadrep’s standards.

Florida had plenty of chances to score. The Gators had a baserunner in each of the first five innings and killed their own rally in the seventh with a bad baserunning blunder by [autotag]Michael Robertson[/autotag]. Three of UF’s seven hits on the night came during that inning, but only one run crossed the plate.

Probst wasn’t the best, but Woods was dominant against Florida in the last three innings. He struck out all seven batters he faced and left the fans at Condron Family Ballpark with a bitter taste in their mouths despite an overall successful weekend.

[autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] hit his 10th home run of the season in the loss, which is a career-high for him. He has the second-most homers of any Gator this season behind [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag], who went 0 for 11 this series.

[autotag]Luke Heyman[/autotag] got a bloop single when he pinch-hit for [autotag]Dale Thomas[/autotag], who started in left today for [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag]. It’s good to see Heyman back even if his hamstring is still sore, but Langford is the big missing piece right now in the lineup.

[autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] had a two-hit day and is starting to see the ball much better after another 0-for-10 streak. Robertson is also hitting better despite his baserunning mishap.

[autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] pitched the final three innings for Florida and gave up just two runs on a home run from Alabama’s Caden Rose. He finished the night with seven strikeouts.

It was a tough way to end what was a really good weekend for Florida on the diamond, and it’s hard not to wonder how the series would have been different without the weather forcing a doubleheader.

Still, the Gators are 18-4 overall and 2-1 in SEC play. They shouldn’t be moving down any rankings after a performance like this.

Top Performers

Rivera: 2-4, HR (10); 2 RBI

Robertson: 2-3, RBI, BB

Halter: 2-3

Waldrep: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 7 K

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