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The Florida Gators smashed two two-run home runs in the bottom of the ninth inning and it still wasn't enough to win Friday night.
The Jacksonville Dolphins (4-8) matched Florida inning for inning and exploded for four runs in their half of the ninth inning to come in and steal game one of a three-game series at Florida Ballpark, 10-9.
"The story of the game is we made four errors, which is really uncharacteristic," Kevin O'Sullivan said after the game. "We'd been playing really sound defense. We messed up a couple of bunt plays there in that one inning, and then we went to the bullpen probably too early."
Tommy Mace and Tyler Santana started the game off in a dominant fashion. Neither pitcher allowed a hit through three innings. It was Florida that would get to the Jacksonville pitcher first.
The Gators opened the scoring in the bottom of the fourth inning. Jordan Butler singled to right field and advanced to second on a fielding error. It was the first hit for either team in the game. Sterlin Thompson drove him home with a triple to left and scored one batter later on Kris Armstrong's sacrifice fly to right field.
But JU, in what became a theme of the game, would answer.
The Dolphins figured Tommy Mace out in the fifth. Dakota Julylia broke up Mace's no-hitter with a single through the right side. Mace got a flyout but then walked the next batter, Trace Burchard, and eight-hole hitter Jackson Grabsky singled to right, giving Jacksonville runners on the corners with just one out. Mace walked nine hitter Jesus Pacheco to load the bases. Fifth-year senior Ruben Someillan singled home two to tie the game before Mace could get out of the inning.
"Our pitchers, every time we scored tonight, three different times we turn around and give up runs," O'Sullivan said. "We scored two in the fourth and gave up two in the top of the fifth. We scored two and then gave up three. We scored one and then gave up four in the top of the ninth. It was really hard to get any momentum tonight in our dugout because we didn't put up a zero after we scored."
Credit to the Gators for fighting back in the ninth inning but there are mistakes and then there are themes. Under Kevin O'Sullivan, the Gators have been known for pitching and defense. Throuigh 15 games the Gators have committed 25 errors, including four tonight that led to four unearned runs. The first month of the season is used to figure out who you can trust and who will be in the lineup. There are only two more games before Florida plays FSU and then hosts Texas A&M to start the SEC schedule and Flordia doesn't seem to have found the answers they've been looking for since February.
