Tag: Jacksonville Dolphins

Florida’s bullpen has been one of its biggest weaknesses all season, especially in midweek games. These struggles reared their head in a midweek game at Jacksonville on Tuesday night, but after a big offensive game in which the Gators out-hit the Dolphins 12-5, it escaped with a slim 8-7 win.

Freshman pitcher Timmy Manning started the game for the Gators, and he ran into trouble in the first inning. He gave up a single to the leadoff batter, and after another single and a walk, the bases were loaded with just one out. He then gave up his third hit of the inning, a three-RBI double that put UF in an early hole.

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Florida quickly attempted to cut into that lead, as Jud Fabian led off the second with a single, and a two-run homer from Sterlin Thompson cut the Dolphins’ lead to one. The Gators captured the lead in the third inning off a two-RBI single from Colby Halter to make the score 4-3. Another RBI single from Cory Acton later in the inning stretched the lead to two runs.

Manning was replaced after 2 2/3 innings by Ben Specht, who allowed a walk and a hit-by-pitch in the fourth. His night then came to an end in favor of Brandon Sproat, who immediately gave up a two-RBI double that tied the game.

Still, UF managed to respond. Halter and Acton led off the fifth with doubles, which brought a run across, and it added another when a double from Nate Hickey scored Acton. But in a back-and-forth game, the Dolphins refused to go away quietly.

Sproat walked two batters to start the bottom of the fifth, and coach Kevin O’Sullivan subbed in David Luethje on the mound. But Luethje walked two more batters, the latter scored a run to cut the lead to 7-6. Trey Van Der Weide entered to try to save the lead, and he started off with a fielder’s choice that resulted in a throwout at home. But he followed it up with a hit-by-pitch, bringing the tying run across.

After a quiet sixth inning, UF put two on after a Jacob Young walk and a single from Hickey. A sacrifice groundout from Kirby McMullen retook the lead, though the inning ended with the Gators only up one run.

Van Der Weide got through the seventh cleanly, as did Ryan Cabarcas in the eighth. JU had one more chance in the ninth inning, and though it started out with two outs from Cabarcas, he walked the third batter, putting the winning run at the plate. O’Sullivan decided to replace him with Jordan Carrion, who threw just one pitch to close out the game with a groundout.

With a dicey midweek win in the books, Florida can focus on its upcoming SEC series at Auburn, who is just 2-13 in SEC play. Game 1 is set for Friday night at 7 p.m. EDT.

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Florida’s weekend series against Jacksonville didn’t exactly go as planned with the team suffering a loss in the opener on Friday. But the No. 5 Gators bounced back with a 9-0 shutout on Saturday, and in the decisive Sunday matchup, their pitching came through.

UF (13-4) took the series win with a 5-2 win over Jacksonville (4-10) in which the Dolphins stranded seven batters. Hunter Barco took the mound for Florida, and though he allowed six hits in his 6.1 innings of work, he only gave up two runs and struck out seven batters in the process.

Meanwhile, Jacksonville’s Mason Adams ran into immediate trouble. Jacob Young led off with a double for the Gators in the first, and singles on back-to-back at-bats from Nate Hickey and Kirby McMullen scored two runs, though one of them was unearned as Hickey reached second on a fielding error.

Adams started to find his groove, though. He allowed just two batters to reach base over the next three innings — giving up a double to Kendrick Calilao in the second and hitting Hickey with a pitch in the third.

Barco started out strong, allowing just one hit in the first two innings, but Jacksonville managed to get something going in the third. With the bases loaded, Dakota Julylia hit an RBI single. A sac-fly on the next at-bat tied the game at two runs, though Barco managed to get out of the inning without surrendering more runs.

After each pitcher made relatively quick work of the opposing lineup in the fourth, Jacksonville left two runners on base in the top of the fifth. UF managed to retake the lead in the bottom half of the inning when a Hickey fly-out scored Mac Guscette, and a homer from McMullen on the next at-bat put the Gators back on top 4-2.

Florida managed to gain an insurance run in the eighth when Jordan Butler hit the team’s second homer of the game. Franco Aleman entered the game for Barco in the seventh inning, and he had one of his best performances of the season. He struck out three and gave up just one hit in 2.2 innings, and he earned his second save of the season.

The series against Jacksonville was Florida’s final non-conference series of the season and the end of their 13-game homestand. SEC play begins next weekend with a three-game series against Texas A&M in Gainesville. Before then, the Gators will get their first crack against Florida State on Tuesday night in Tallahassee.

It’s been a bit of a down year for the Seminoles, who are 5-6 to start the year (including a loss to UNF). FSU beat Florida in the final game before the 2020 season was canceled, ending UF’s undefeated start and an 11-game losing streak to the Gators. Florida will try to avenge that loss on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. EDT.

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The Gators had a nice bounce-back on Saturday night after a comedy of errors led to them losing their first Friday game since the 2019 season against Jacksonville. In Game 2 against the Dolphins, Florida’s defense shut out the JU lineup, securing a 9-0 win.

UF’s pitching was strong all night, but the play of starter Jack Leftwich for the Gators (12-4) was particularly noteworthy. In six innings of work, he allowed just two hits and no runs while striking out seven JU (4-9) batters. He exited the game in the seventh inning with what appeared to be a leg injury of some sort, and Florida will hope he’s alright moving forward. According to Gators Territory’s Nick De La Torre, he was suffering from a cramp.

Jack Leftwich was cramping in the 7th when he was taken out.

— Nick de la Torre (@delatorre) March 14, 2021

With Leftwich pitching well, the UF lineup took advantage. Josh Rivera started the scoring in the second with a solo home run after also hitting one in his final at-bat on Friday. Nate Hickey joined in the party in the third, with a two-run homer that pushed the Gators’ lead to 3-0.

JU’s Mike Cassala kept Florida from adding to its lead over the next three innings, but he was pulled at the start of the seventh for Adrian Garrastazu, who let Colby Halter add a run off a wild pitch.

Sam Brunnig entered for Jacksonville in the eighth inning with the bases loaded, and before even throwing his first pitch, he brought a run home on a balk. Jud Fabian followed it up with a two-RBI single, and Kirby McMullen added two more on a homer, pushing Florida’s lead up to nine runs.

After Jordan Carrion didn’t allow any hits in his two innings of work, Brandon Sproat entered the game to close it out in the ninth. He retired the Dolphins batters in order to close out the game for the Gators.

UF will look to take the series in the rubber match on Sunday afternoon. First pitch for Game 3 against JU is set for 1 p.m. EST at Florida Ballpark.

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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 💣 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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