The Gators secured a massive series win over the SEC’s top team in Ole Miss last weekend, but they very nearly followed it up with a disappointing midweek loss. In their second game of the year against Stetson, Florida led 6-2 heading into the eighth inning. But the Hatters refused to go away, and UF barely escaped with a 7-6 win.
Garrett Milchin took the mound for the first time since his disastrous outing against FSU on March 16, and though it started shakily with him hitting his first batter, he forced a groundout double-play and fly out on the next two at-bats to get out of the first. Florida’s lineup shelled Stetson starter Jonathan Gonzalez, who took his first loss of the season, in the bottom of the first.
Jacob Young and Nate Hickey started out the frame with singles, and Kirby McMullen brought Young home on a sac-fly. Sterlin Thompson, who was 3-for-4, singled on the next at-bat to put two on with one out, but the threat came to an end when Jud Fabian hit into a double play.
The Hatters tied the game back up in the second inning when Brandon Hylton cracked a homer off Milchin, though he put away the next three batters with relative ease. Milchin retired the side in order in the third, but he let another pitch get away from him in the fourth when Hernen Sardinas took the lead for Stetson with its second home run of the game.
The Hatter lead wouldn’t last long, though. After singles from Thompson and Fabian in the bottom of the inning, Jordan Butler hit an RBI single to tie the game up at two runs apiece. The very next at-bat, Kris Armstrong hit the fourth consecutive single to retake the lead, and Gonzalez’s evening finally came to an end. But that wasn’t the end of UF’s offensive explosion, as Josh Rivera hit a double down the left-field line. Armstrong was thrown out at home, but Butler scored with ease to make the Florida lead 4-2.
Milchin got through the fifth inning cleanly before he was pulled, as well. He allowed just two hits with four strikeouts in five innings, but both hits were home runs. Meanwhile, the Gators continued to build their lead. Sterlin Thompson hit an RBI double in the bottom of the fifth, followed by a sac-fly from Fabian. Ryan Cabarcas pitched through the sixth and seventh innings, and though he allowed two hits, he didn’t give up any further runs.
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UF entered the eighth inning up 6-2 and appeared to be cruising to a win. But Brandon Sproat entered at the top of the inning, and he didn’t fare very well. He allowed a single and a double, and then a fielding error (one of four on the night for the Gators) allowed two runs to score, one of them earned. Florida did get some insurance, though, in the form of a homer from Rivera to push the lead to 7-4.
UF was just three outs away from a win, but after another error, Sproat allowed a two-run homer to bring the game within one run. Coach Kevin O’Sullivan took him out of the game and placed it in the hands of Franco Aleman, who has seen closing duty throughout the season. He gave up one hit, but he avoided any further runs as he finished out the one-run win, earning his second save on the season in the process.
Florida has another midweek game on Wednesday night before its weekend series at Tennessee. Florida A&M returns to Florida Ballpark after getting swept in a series by the Gators during the first weekend of March. First pitch for the fourth contest between the two teams is set for 6 p.m. EDT.
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