Pitching is what propelled the UF baseball team to five straight wins heading into their series with Ole Miss. On Friday night though, pitching ended up being the demise of the Gators.
Florida starter Tommy Mace struggled to keep the Rebels off the base paths early in the game, surrendering 12 hits in only three and a third inning. The 18th-ranked Rebels were able to capitalize, building an early lead and not looking back en route to a 12-4 win over the 21st-ranked Gators.
In total, Ole Miss (21-10, 6-4 SEC) amassed 13 base hits and seven runs in the first four innings and shelled the Florida pitchers early and often. The Rebels finished with 17 base hits.
Mace allowed three hits in the first inning and another two in the second, but the Florida starter was able to get out of both innings without allowing any runs.
The Gators (21-11, 4-6 SEC) struck first though, plating a pair of runs in the top of the third. After a Jacob Young sacrifice-fly to center field put Jud Fabian on third and Brady Smith on second, Brady McConnell made it 2-0 by slapping a single to right-field.
However, Ole Miss snatched the lead from the Gators immediately.
Grae Kessinger led off the inning with a single off Mace to put a runner on. A batter later, Tyler Keenan tied the game by crushing a two-run home run to left-field, giving him his ninth of the season.
Thomas Dillard made it 3-2 almost instantly, following Keenan’s homer with one of his own and 10th of the year.
An inning later, the Rebels chased Mace from the game. After allowing three straight singles to Ryan Olenak, Grae Kessinger and Keenan that made it 4-2, head coach Kevin O’Sullivan replaced Mace with Jordan Butler.
Ole Miss feasted on the Gator relief pitcher. Butler walked Dillard to begin his outing and then allowed a run when Smith let a passed ball go by him, scoring Kessinger and making it 5-2.
Cooper Johnson then made it 7-2, smacking a two-run single to left field that brought home Keenan and Dillard.
Ole Miss starting pitcher Will Ethridge was pulled from the game in the fourth inning after a blister on his throwing hand opened up.
Florida got back two runs in the top of the fifth. Smith made it 7-3 with a solo-home run to left-center field off Rebel relief pitcher Tyler Myers.
Two batters later, McConnell drove in his third run of the night, blasting his own solo-home run to dead-center field. It was McConnell's sixth home run of the year and 26th RBI of the season.
Both teams would trade goose eggs in the sixth before Ole Miss added a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh.
After Chase Cockrell led off the inning with an infield single, pitcher David Luethje was pulled in favor of Nick Blasucci. It was the only hit Luethje allowed on the night.
Command issues plagued Blasucci in the inning. Pinch runner Josh Hall eventually came around to score on a wild pitch that made it 8-4. Dillard then drove in another run, hitting a sacrifice fly to center field that brought home Anthony Servideo, making it 9-4.
Three more runs would score for the Rebels in the bottom of the eighth as Johnson smashed a three-run home run to left field to make it 12-4. Johnson finished the night with five RBIs.
McConnell was the lone Gator with a productive night at the plate, going 3-4 with three RBIs.
Wil Dalton and Smith had the other two base hits on the night for Florida.
Florida will now play a double-header on Saturday with bad weather expected for Sunday.
First pitch Saturday will be at 1:00 p.m., with game two starting 45 minutes after the conclusion of game one.
Stay tuned to GatorsTerritory.
