GAME OVER
Mullaney gets a reprieve. He appears to hit Holt, but the umpire calls the 3-0 pitch a strike. Holt grounds out to short on the next pitch. The next batter, Stidham, pops up to second base. Mullaney is one out away, and it looks like he'll have no trouble getting it.
Buster Posey grounds out to shortstop to end the game. A great quality win for the Gators tonight.
Check Wednesday's Alligator for full coverage and an article from Karl Hyppolite.
END EIGHTH
Pigott draws a leadoff walk, and up comes the man responsible for the only home run in the game. What does he do? Bunt, then stand just in front of home plate instead of running to first. The catcher can't throw through him, so he just tags Bamberg out and Pigott advances to second.
Townsend is next at the plate and has a chance to give the Gators some breathing room with a runner in scoring position. And he does. A single just over the head of FSU's shortstop plates Pigott, extending UF's lead to four again. Munroe follows that with a single. FSU's shortstop was running toward second base and Munroe hit it just to his right. If the shortstop wasn't running to second, he would have made the play easily. Instead, it's first and third with one out and the top of the lineup at the plate.
The Seminoles are changing pitchers, putting in Ryan Vigue.
Barnes gets a little bloop single over the second baseman's head, scoring Townsend. This game looks pretty sealed now. If the Seminoles haven't scored more than one run all night, they're probably not going to be able to get five in the ninth inning.
Munroe doesn't help UF's cause, getting caught in a rundown between second and third base. Wow. Barnes gets caught in a rundown right after Munroe does. What a sequence of events. We head to the ninth inning with UF three outs away from victory.
MID EIGHTH
Franklin doesn't get off to a good start in the eighth, giving up a single to Buster Posey on a 3-2 count. Delmonico returns to the plate and strikes out yet again. He's not having a great night, going 0 for 4.
Guinn comes up and delivers the first run for FSU with a double deep in left-center field. The ball was hit on a two-strike count, and Franklin must wish he could take back a fastball in the heart of the plate.
Franklin rebounds with a groundout to second base, but Guinn moves to third on the throw to first. The tension in McKethan Stadium is much higher than it's been all night. Franklin proceeds to walk pinch hitter Ohmed Danesh, putting the tying run at the plate. Munroe walks out to Franklin and tries to relax him.
Tapley steps to the plate for the fourth time tonight and gets a full count. With the count full, Franklin plunks Tapley, loading the bases for the third straight inning.
With that, UF puts in Kyle Mullaney. Franklin's night is done. Mullaney gets the Gators out of the jam with a sky-high pop up to shortstop. The wind is back in full force, knocking over cups and empty bottles in the press box.
END SEVENTH
Barnes gets on base with a leadoff walk from FSU's new pitcher Trenton Jarvis. Jarvis strikes out den Dekker, but then Cole Figueroa gets on base with a single. The shortstop tried to make a throw to second from the seat of his pants, but instead tossed the ball into right field. Barnes advanced to third on the throw and Figueroa stayed at first.
With that, the 'Noles change pitchers again, bringing in Jimmy Marshall.
Josh Adams comes to the plate and leaves swinging after three pitches. Marshall looks like a great pitcher, and the scouts' radar guns come out. Brandon McArthur ends the chance to put more runs on the board, flying out to left field.
Clint Franklin comes in to pitch the Seminoles' half of the eighth.
MID SEVENTH
Edmondson walks his first opponent in the seventh, the second time he's walked the first batter he faced. He quickly gets the next Seminole to fly out to left field. The wind has died down in the stadium greatly, but that ball didn't have enough behind it to leave the park anyway.
Tapley doubles to the right-center field gap and Munroe comes to the mound calm Edmondson down. It's runners on second and third with one out. A double play would be very hard to come by in this situation, so Edmonson hopes to get a strikeout.
Intstead, he gets a ground out to third base, which also works, holding the runner at third while getting the inning's second out.
Edmondson then walks his third batter of the night to load the bases. His night is over, and lefty Tony Davis comes in to get the last out.
Davis does his job, striking out Stidham. It's looking good for the Gators. Even though they've been struggling the last few innings with pitching, they always seem to get out of these jams unscathed.
END SIXTH
A quick inning for the Gators. Two groundouts sandwiched around a deep fly out send UF back onto the field and bring the Seminoles into their dugout. Not much to write abotu here, other than Buddy Munroe's music was played and I loved it.
MID SIXTH
Locke gives up a single to center field at the sixth inning's onset. Den Dekker looked like he was thinking about diving forward for the ball but thought better of it and just let it drop in for one base instead of bouncing over his head for more.
After getting a head to a 2-2 count, Locke walks Holt to give the Seminoles what is probably their best chance of the night to score. Josh Edmondson is warmed up in the bullpen and he'll likely be seeing the moudn shortly.
A fly ball to right field finds Pigott's glove and he nearly doubles up the runner at second base. Locke's night is done, and he comes out to a standing ovation from the home crowd. Edmondson makes his way to the mound.
Edmondson comes in and walks the first batter he faces, though another umpire might have said he struck out Buster Posey with his fifth pitch-a ball that was barely outside. The umpire hasn't been giving either side the outside corner all night, though. It's bases loaded an two outs. Edmondson would love a double play here.
He makes up for the walk with a strikeout of Delmonico. He didn't move the bat from his shoulders on the pitch, and he hears mock crying and more shouts of "Daddy's girl" from the crowd as he walks away. Also heard: "Daddy, that wasn't fair!"
Edmondson gets Guinn to ground out right back to him. Buddy Munroe points to first base as a suggestion of where to throw the ball, but Edmondson underhands it back to Munroe to get the force at home.
END FIFTH
Barnes does what a leadoff man should do, getting a single to begin the UF fifth. He takes huge leads at first, and you know he's going to try to steal when he gets the chance. Den Dekker follows with a infield single, giving UF two on and no outs.
Cole Figueroa hits an awkward grounder to first base, and the first baseman can't handle it. The ball bounces off his glove and Figueroa reaches on an error. The bases are loaded and the fans are at a full boil right now, ready to spill out of the pot with a single ping of the bat.
The Seminoles' coach again trots out to the mound, walking slower than I've ever seen any coach walk to the mound. He doesn't replace anyone, but instead gives his pitcher a nice pep talk with the rest of the infield there for encouragement.
Josh Adams takes four straight balls and walks home a run. That's another RBI for him, and he didn't have to lift the bat off his shoulders. Brandon McArthur follows with an RBI-groundout, scoring den Dekker from third and moving Figueroa to the same base. The crowd loves it. Well, at least the Gators fans in the crowd. Any Seminoles fans would find now a good opportunity to go to the concession stands.
Brandon McArthur goes to steal second and Figueroa leaves third in hopes of scoring on the throw home. FSU's second baseman alertly throws to third, catching Figueroa away from the bag. McArthur makes it to second, but Figueroa is out and Pigott has two strikes on him. Pigott flies out to center, but the Gators tack on two more to build a four-run lead.
MID FIFTH
The long delay doesn't seemed to hurt Locke, as he's still pretty locked in during the fifth inning. Guinn flies out to center field and then Locke strikes out Jack Posey.
McGee gets only the third hit of the night for the Seminoles, a laser that nearly takes Locke's head off. The crowd goes from a boil to a simmer, quietly clapping when Locke throws his first strike to Stapley. Stapley grounds a ball to third base, and Townsend can't quite handle it. He decides to throw to second base to get the lead runner out, but McGee beats the throw. FSU has two runners on with two outs.
O'Sullivan comes to the mound to talk to Locke, but Locke isn't the problem right now. If Townsend makes that play, UF is out of the inning.
We won't have to see what FSU's hitter does, as Locke throws a dirt ball, but Munroe scoops it up and throws Tapley out on his attempt to get to second base. The threat is over and UF escapes yet again. Three hits for Locke through five innings? Not too shabby.
END FOURTH
Josh Adams gets a hold of one big time, but it goes a few feet too far left. It's nothing but a long strike. FSU isn't giving him much to hit, throwing three balls in the dirt before walking him - scratch that, the fourth ball for some reason doesn't count. It doesn't matter anyway, as Adams singles, upping his batting average and getting on base anyway.
Brandon McArthur follows Adams' funny performance with a single up the middle. It looked like an awkward swing from McArthur, but the ball had enough speed to make it through the middle. The Gators get two on with no outs, and the crowd's murmurs are getting louder.
Pigott shows bunt to O'Dell, but the pitcher seems more concerned with Adams at second base than Pigott. O'Dell gives him three balls and a strike, then Pigott lines right to third base, getting out. The third baseman makes an error on the throw back to second base, and Adams advances to third. McArthur stays on third, and we have the first error of the night.
FSU puts a righty in the bullpen and Mike Martin goes to the mound, bringing the entire infield with him. Martin leaves O'Dell in possibly because the pitcher in the pen isn't quite warmed up yet.
Bamberg steps in again with one home run already to his name. O'Dell stays away from him, giving him two balls outside to start the at-bat. A third and fourth ball outside turn the at-bat into just a plate appearance. Martin returns to the mound and pulls O'Dell.
The Gators have bases loaded with one out and Geoff Parker comes into the game.
Jon Townsend hits a slow grounder to first base, scoring Josh Adams but causing Bamberg to be thrown out at second base. UF takes a 2-0 lead with two outs.
Buddy Munroe strikes out after taking a few great cuts at the ball, ending the Gators' extremely long inning. Locke was staying warm on the third base side of the field while the UF offense was on. We'll see if the long delay between innings harmed his rhythm.
MID FOURTH
Locke issues his first walk to Stidham to begin the fourth inning. O'Sullivan can't be happy, as he always stresses the problem with leadoff walks and leadoff runners in general.
Two pitches later, the problem is relieved. Buster Posey grounds into a 4-6-3 double play, and the bases are empty with two outs. Locke smiles as he walks back to the mound.
The fans assault Tony Delmonico, calling him a "Daddy's Girl." His father is a volunteer assistant coach with FSU after being Tennessee's head coach for years. The insults may have gotten to him (but probably didn't), as he flies to right field to end the inning.
END THIRD
Buddy Munroe is the first Gator to bat in the third inning and really crushes the ball to left-center field. Still, the wind keeps it from leaving and FSU's left fielder makes a great running catch to prevent the double. The center fielder loses a glove in the process when he runs into the left fielder.
Avery Barnes strikes out looking after getting a full count. It was a good at-bat, with a few close pitches and foul balls, but O'Dell got the best of Barnes in the end.
After starting his at-bat with three consecutive balls, Matt den Dekker takes two strikes in a row and then fouls off a pitch. He went from almost a certain walk to a full count very quickly. After the foul, den Dekker gets a double down the left field line, his fifth of the season. He now has a 12-game hitting streak. Rally music starts to play and the crowd wakes up.
The Pouncey twins stop by to say hello to Coach Meyer while Figueroa comes to the plate. He makes great contact with the second pitch he sees, but it goes right to FSU's center fielder. A two-out double fails to produce any offense for UF.
MID THIRD
Stephen Locke is on cruise control right now, getting FSU's Stuart Tipley to fly out to right field with the first at-bat of the third inning. Luke Smierciak follows with a base hit in between first and second. It is only the 'Noles second of the game.
The wind is blowing even harder now, but maybe it's just the helicopter flying overhead, making it hard to hear the fans chanting "Hel-i-cop-ter" and then clapping five times. They'll fit anything into those four syllables.
After Locke throws to first base over and over and over again to check on Smierciak, he gets Tyler Holt to ground into an interesting double play. The grounder goes right to McArthur at first, who steps on the base for one out, then throws to Figueroa at second and tagging Smierciak out. The fans explode again, as the Noles can't put any runs on the board.
END SECOND
Brandon McArthur pops out to second base to start the Gators' half of the second inning. Jonathan Pigott comes to the plate next coming off a 3-for-12 performance against Auburn this past weekend. After hitting a ground ball that was just barely foul, Pigott strikes out for the second out.
Bamberg steps into the batters box for the first time in a long time hitting .091 on the year. Bamberg surprises all of us by coming through big time, hitting a home run over the left field bleachers. It is his second hit of the year, and it really energizes this crowd. FSU coach Mark Martin comes out to the mound to talk to O'Dell, and the fans give him a hearty "Left, Right, Left Right" as he leaves the diamond.
Jon Townsend can't live up to Bamberg, instead popping out to shortstop. But UF takes the early lead, something I'm sure they're happy about.
MID SECOND
Adams makes up for his inning-ending out with a great play on a short ground ball at second base. He has to run in, make the grab with his hand and throw to first to beat out FSU's Tony Delmonico.
FSU's next batter, Dennis Guinn, hits the ball a long, long way, but a bit too high for the wind not to bother it. Den Dekker makes the play in left-center field, and the ball might have been a home run if the wind wasn't keeping it in. The wind is blowing right in the face of the batters, much to the pitchers' liking.
Seminole Jack Posey gets the first hit of the night for FSU, drilling a ball just past Figueroa at short. The sophomore actually got his glove on the ball, but it was moving too fast for him to get a good hold of it.
We have an Urban Meyer sighting- he shows up just in time to see Locke strike out FSU's Mike McGee. Meyer may be here to scout Riley Cooper - thanks to Brandon Zimmerman for that joke.
END FIRST
Avery Barnes starts things off right for the Gators, singling through the right side of the field. FSU's first baseman didn't even try to make a stab at the ball. If he went for it, Barnes might have been safe anyway just because he's that fast.
Matt den Dekker grounds out to first base, but Barnes makes it safely to second base. The first baseman only had that one play to make on a ball that was bouncing high in the air. If he tried to throw to second in time to get Barnes, they would both be on base right now.
Cole Figueroa gets a good piece of the ball in his at-bat, but it hangs in the air too long and FSU's left fielder is able to get under it for the out. Barnes looked unsure of what to do, but he moves to third base with a steal on the next pitch. This is a good time to mention that Barnes now has a 10-game hitting streak and just stole his ninth base of the year.
Josh Adams almost hits a home run, but the ball stops moving just short of the warning track. The Gators don't get anyone home, but do put some early pressure on FSU in the first inning.
MID FIRST
A decent crowd has shown up for this game, including a good share of FSU fans. They come just in time to see Locke start the game with a first-pitch strike. The Gators fans applaud. Locke finishes FSU's Tyler Holt on the fourth pitch, changing speeds and getting Holt swinging. Again, the orange and blue applaud in the stands.
FSU's second batter, Jason Stidham, lines out to second base. I've never seen a batting stance as open as Stidham's was, his front foot out of the batter's box. He must pull a lot of balls with that stance.
Locke gets FSU's Buster Posey to ground out to shorstop and the stadium erupts. I've never seen it so full here, and even the outfield seats are pretty well filled.
PRE-GAME
Well folks, this should be the best home game of the year. If you're a baseball fan and you're missing this in-state rivalry between the Gators and the Seminoles, you'll be missing a good one. The game starts in half an hour.
Lineup changes for the Gators: Dustin Bamberg is the designated hitter and will be batting seventh. And that's all. Buddy Munroe is catching again tonight and Josh Adams is still batting cleanup, as he should be. With the weekend he had, UF coach Kevin O'Sullivan might have tried to find a way to have Adams bat nine times.
FSU comes into this game as the No. 3 team in the country, so the game should be great not just from a rivalry perspective but also for quality baseball. FSU will start Bo O'Dell (1-0, 3.60 ERA) against UF's Stephen Locke (1-0, 4.30 ERA). This is the first of three games between the rivals this season, with the second coming in two weeks in Jacksonville and the third in four weeks in Tallahassee.
Alright, the game will start in about half an hour. I'll see you then.
