Florida bounced back from a loss to FAU on Wednesday to sweep a Friday doubleheader against Florida A&M. Game 2, which was originally scheduled for Saturday, was moved to Friday night, and the Gators managed to take the series against the Rattlers in the extended action.With Tommy Mace and Jack Leftwich on the mound, UF got two excellent performances from its top pitchers. In the first game, Mace pitched seven innings, allowing four hits and two runs while striking out five. He earned his third win of the season in the process.He had a lot of run support, which started in the first inning. The Gators got two hits, and a single from Kirby McMullen gave them an early 1-0 lead. The Rattlers managed to knot it back up in the top of the second from an RBI single.
But Florida answered in the bottom of the inning. It retook the lead on a Jacob Young single, though it stranded three on base in the inning and could only grab a 2-1 lead. UF didn’t get anything else going until the fourth, when a wild pitch from FAMU starter Kyle Coleman allowed Colby Halter to score.
Coleman was pulled for Ben Krizen in the fifth, but things didn’t go any smoother, as he allowed a two-RBI single from Cory Acton. A sac-fly from McMullen in the sixth gave UF its third run off Krizen. Mace made one of his few mistakes at the top of the inning, though, giving up a one-run homer. The Gators led 6-2 after six.
Florida managed to get some nice insurance off the bat of Acton, who crushed a grand slam to put it up 10-2. Franco Aleman got some nice redemption after several rough outings to start the year, closing out the final two innings of the victory.
NEXT: Leftwich’s fantastic performance