Florida has found its go-to closer: Bobby Poyner.
This season, the senior has struck out 38 batters while walking just three. And on Saturday, the lefty provided UF the lift it needed to edge past a conference rival on the road.
No. 8 Florida (30-10, 11-6 Southeastern Conference) defeated Mississippi State (22-18, 6-11 SEC) 2-1 on Saturday, clinching its fourth SEC series of the season and first on the road.
In his second week as UF’s Saturday starter, Dane Dunning allowed just four hits and one run in 5.1 innings. The Gators needed only three pitchers to finish off the Bulldogs as Dunning, Poyner and Aaron Rhodes gave up just five hits while striking out three batters.
“I thought Dane had a really good start. He made some big pitches early,” coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “If we can keep these guys going in the direction that they’re going, I feel good about it.”
UF scored its first run in the fourth inning when Peter Alonso sent Josh Tobias home with a single. MSU answered in the bottom half of the inning after Wes Rea also hit an RBI single, the Bulldogs’ only score of the game.
Florida then took the lead in the seventh after a Ryan Larson bunt sent home Alonso from third.
Alonso had one of his best games since returning from an ankle injury two weeks ago, going 3-for-4 while accounting for both of UF’s runs.
Florida also tallied a .306 batting average while holding Mississippi State to just .167 hitting, the lowest an opponent has hit against UF since April 3.
“The biggest challenge for us coming into this weekend was to play on the road,” O’Sullivan said. “….To hold on like we did with a one-run lead, I think it says a lot about our character.”
Game 3 will be played on Sunday at 3 p.m. on ESPNU.
A radio broadcast contributed to this report.
Follow Ian Cohen on Twitter @icohenb
UF's Bobby Poyner throws a slider during Florida's 14-3 win against the South Carolina Gamecocks on April 11, 2015 at McKethan Stadium.
