For nine innings on Sautrday afternoon, Georgia could not pick the Locke of the UF pitching staff.
Snapping his career-high by two, Gators starter Stephen Locke threw a complete game against the Bulldogs.
His arm wasn't even tired afterward.
"Not really," he said. "I just, toward the end of the game, was hitting my spots and locating. … It's nice (to throw a complete game). It takes a lot of pressure off of the bullpen."
With the defense playing well behind him and the offense putting up solid numbers early, Locke and the Gators (26-16, 11-9 Southeastern Conference) earned a 7-2 win against No. 10 Georgia (29-13-1, 15-4-1 SEC) - their first home victory over the Bulldogs since April 27, 2002.
Locke relied heavily on his defense. He threw only two strikeouts, but got six outs on three double plays turned by the infielders.
"I couldn't ask for much more," Locke said.
And after only giving up two runs to a Georgia team that put up seven on Friday, coach Kevin O'Sullivan was certainly pleased with three quick outs right at the start.
"Probably the biggest key was getting off to a good start in the first inning," O'Sullivan said. "He set the tone and kept them off balance. He threw strikes and didn't walk anybody."
It didn't hurt that catcher Teddy Foster has been catching Locke for four years.
"I thought Teddy deserved as much credit as Stephen today," O'Sullivan said.
The Gators got their offense going in the second inning. Center fielder Matt den Dekker singled, then stole second and third base and was brought home by a Jon Townsend groundout.
Den Dekker had three steals on the afternoon.
"I just got some good jumps, some good reads," Den Dekker said. "We saw his tendencies,"
UF's biggest inning offensively was the fourth. Townsend got his second and third RBIs of the day, taking an outside fastball for a double and scoring Josh Adams and Cole Figueroa. A passed ball scored den Dekker from third, and then Bryson Barber followed with a double of his own, bringing Townsend across the plate.
It was almost as if the teams switched role from Friday to Saturday. On Friday, UF struggled to score off dominant Georgia pitching. But on Saturday, Georgia couldn't touch Locke and the Gators lit up the Bulldogs' staff.
Georgia's only runs came off the 20th home run from the nation's leading home-run hitter, Gordon Beckham, in the eighth inning and three straight singles in the fifth inning.
Undefeated Patrick Keating (7-0) starts for UF on Sunday in the rubber game of the series.
