Following an opening weekend series loss, Kevin O'Sullivan challenged his pitching staff.

Friday night ace Tommy Mace got the message loud and clear.

The junior pitcher set a new career-high with 11 strikeouts over six scoreless innings on Friday leading the Gators to an 8-4 win over Samford.

"He was really sharp," O'Sullivan said of Mace after the game. "He really commanded the outer half of the plate. His misses were small. He pitched. I thought he was outstanding."

Mace retired the first seven batters he faced, including three strikeouts before getting into his only jam of the night in the third inning.Taylor Garris and Max Pinto singled back-to-back with one out but Mace responded by striking out the next two batters he faced.

Florida got on the board in the bottom half of the second when freshman Jordan Carrion singled to right field, plating Kris Armstrong and Colby Halter. The RBIs werre the first of Carrion's career at Florida.

Jud Fabian tacked on another run with his third home run in two games, a laser that found a home on the left-field berm.

Florida put three more runs on the board in the next frame with a Sterlin Thompson single, Kris Armstrong triple, Colby Halter single, and Jacob Young double. Young's double extended his hitting streak to 24 games, tying Jonathan India for the longest hitting streak in the Kevin O'Sullivan era and second-longest in Florida history (Tim Olson - 31).

Thompson continues to hit the ball well. The freshman from just down the road in Ocala came to Florida as an infielder but the Gators' didn't have a place for him there. He was hitting too well in the fall and spring to keep on the bench, so the coaching staff approached him about moving to the outfield. The position may be new, but he's still hitting baseballs. Thompson is 6-16 (.375) with 3 RBI, a double, triple, and two walks. He certainly doesn't look like a freshman and his mindset in the box is also advanced for his age.

"I'm just trying to swing at really good pitches that I can do damage with," Thompson said. "So far this season I've been pretty good at the plate hitting wise just trying to find a pitch I can do damage with. That's the main thing."

One negative from the game and something that is becoming a trend early on this season are late-inning bullpen miscues.

Brandon Sproat took over for Mace in the seventh inning and gave up a home run to the second batter he faced. Sproat got out of that frame but ran into more trouble in the eighth. Blake Bortak led the eighth off with a single, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by catcher Mac Guscette. Sproat got two strikeouts but a wild pitch allowed Bortak to score and make the game 8-2, chasing Sproat from the game. Hunter Mink came in and got a strikeout to move on but he too found trouble late, allowing two more runs to score in the ninth inning.

"We gotta stopping giving up runs late in the game," O'Sullivan said. "We had a six-run lead and we're walking guys that are coming off the bench. We need to attack. These things can't happen. It's just disappointing that we weren't able to finish on a clean note."

The Gators have won three in a row and will send Jack Leftwich to the mound on Saturday at 4:00 looking to take the series.