Nick Pogue, Khris Armstrong, Joshua Rivera lift Gators over Mizzou to take series

Starter Nick Pogue and batters Khris Armstrong and Joshua Rivera lifted Florida baseball to a 4-3 victory over Missouri on Sunday.

Starter [autotag]Nick Pogue[/autotag], first baseman [autotag]Khris Armstrong[/autotag] and shortstop [autotag]Joshua Rivera[/autotag] lifted Florida baseball to a 4-3 game and series victory over the Missouri Tigers on Sunday in Columbia, Missouri. Pogue quieted the Tigers’ offense for 6 2/3 innings while only allowing five hits and three earned runs. Armstrong went 3-for-4 with two RBIs while Rivera finished 1-for-4 with a two-run home run.

After three scoreless innings, Missouri struck first in the bottom of the fourth via back-to-back jacks from third baseman Luke Mann and left fielder Trevor Austin.

The Gators responded quickly in the top of the fifth via Rivera’s two-run blast to left field. They then grabbed the lead 4-2  in the next inning when Armstrong singled with the bases loaded, driving in designated hitter [autotag]Jac Cagilanone[/autotag] and second baseman [autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag].

The Tigers earned a run back in the bottom of the seventh when their right fielder Ross Lovich singled with runners on first and second, which also signaled the end of Pogue’s outing. Head coach [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] called on reliever [autotag]Blake Purnell[/autotag] who got the final out of the inning to end the threat.

Florida would hang on in the eighth and ninth innings to secure the 4-3 victory and grab the last contest of the weekend for the series win.

The Gators head into the final week of their regular season and are back in action on Tuesday at Condron Ballpark versus No. 21 Florida State.

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Explosive fifth inning boosts Florida baseball past LSU in series opener

The fifth inning was a difference-maker again for the Gators.

The fifth frame has been the friendliest out of all nine for Florida baseball’s lineup this season and was so again on Friday night versus LSU. The Gators used the four runs they scored in the inning to knock off the Tigers at Florida Ballpark, 7-2.

Florida second baseman [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] and catcher [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] smacked two solo shots in the first and fourth innings, respectively, to give their team the early lead.

Then came the fifth inning when Florida’s bats caught fire once again as it has done throughout most of the season. Center fielder [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] grounded out to shortstop to score designated hitter [autotag]Khris Armstrong[/autotag]. Right fielder [autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag] then singled to send third baseman [autotag]Deric Fabian[/autotag] home. Left fielder [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] followed, blasting a two-run shot to left field to give the Gators a 6-0 advantage.

Their large outburst increased their season total to 32 in the middle inning. The team as a whole has recorded 164 runs, so 20% of their production has come in that fifth frame.

Coach Kevin O’Sullivan’s team piled on one more run in the sixth, and LSU posted two late runs in the eighth and ninth innings to get to the final score of 7-2.

The Gators’ ace [autotag]Hunter Barco[/autotag] excelled as per usual. He went seven innings, only allowing two hits and zero runs while walking three and hitting two Tigers and striking out eight. The only inning that Barco had trouble was when he walked back-to-back hitters in the fourth, but he escaped a batter later when LSU hit into an inning-ending double play.

Florida’s hitters tallied an efficient seven runs on seven hits and only left six runners on base, while also demonstrating patience in the batter’s box by drawing seven walks. Langford led the way individually, going 1-for-3 with two RBIs.

Florida will try to take the series versus LSU Saturday at 6:30 p.m. EDT and can be seen on SEC Network+.

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