Florida very nearly gave Miami a taste of its own medicine on Sunday, as it mounted a comeback similar to the one the Hurricanes pulled off in Game 2 on Saturday. But UF couldn’t cap it off, and UM survived to earn an 8-6 victory in the rubber match to take the series.
With the win, No. 21 Miami (2-1) ends a six-series losing streak to Florida (1-2). The No. 1-ranked Gators, meanwhile, walk away with nothing aside from one win in three tries and a humbling experience after an offseason being heralded as the best team in the country.
Most of UF’s problems in this game can be attributed to the mound. Its Day 3 starter, Hunter Barco, came on strong early in his freshman season last year before it was canceled. His first outing in 2021 left a lot to be desired, though.
He opened the game by hitting Miami’s leadoff batter Jordan Lala with a pitch, and things only went downhill from there. He allowed a single from Yohandy Morales later in the inning which was followed with a two-RBI double from Adrian Del Castillo. UM added a third run in the inning off a fielding error.
Barco ran into more trouble in the second, walking Tony Jenkins who was able to score off another error. In the third, Raymond Gil led off with a homer to left-center, and the Hurricanes found themselves up 5-0 through three.
Their starting pitcher, Victor Mederos, was much more consistent. After giving up a double to Jacob Young to lead off the bottom of the first, Mederos didn’t surrender another hit until the fourth inning. But by that point, Miami had extended its lead.
A one-out triple in the fourth from Morales brought Lala, who reached base on a walk from Barco, home, and Barco was pulled after hitting the next batter. Christian Del Castillo hit a two-RBI single later in the inning off Hunter Mink, giving UM an 8-0 lead.
Florida’s bats began to heat up, though. Nathan Hickey, Kirby McMullen and Jordan Butler hit three straight singles in the bottom of the fourth off Mederos, with the latter scoring a run. The trio each singled again in the fifth, with Butler notching another RBI to cut Miami’s lead to 8-2, after which Mederos was pulled for Anthony Arguelles.
Arguelles got out of the fifth but struggled in the sixth. Brandon Sproat replaced Mink on the mound at the top of the sixth and avoided any more Miami runs. In the bottom of the inning, Arguelles gave up a single from Mac Guscette and walked Colby Halter. A single from Young brought Guscette home, and Halter scored after advancing on a balk.
The Gators replaced Sproat with Christian Scott in the middle of the seventh and again avoided further damage in the inning. At the bottom of the frame, JP Gates, who replaced Arguelles after the balk, was pulled after a fielding error and a subsequent double from Sterlin Thompson scored another run. Miami’s new pitcher, Spencer Bodanza, couldn’t get out of the inning cleanly, allowing an RBI single from Halter. Florida cut Miami’s lead to two runs, but it stranded two men on base.
UF’s best opportunity came in the eighth, when a pair of singles off Miami’s Ben Wanger brought the go-ahead run to the plate with runners at the corners and one out. But Thompson hit a line-drive directly into the hands of the first baseman, who easily tagged Josh Rivera out on the double play and ended the threat.
With Carson Palmquist on the mound in the ninth inning, Florida hit three straight pop-outs to end the game as Miami earned a stunning series victory.
The Gators will be back on the field for a midweek home-and-home series against UNF, with the first leg scheduled to start at 6:05 p.m. EST in Jacksonville.
[lawrence-related id=36149,36023,35788,35383,34406]
[listicle id=36086]