McKethan Stadium was silenced as North Florida's Andy Warren hit what looked to be a game-tying sacrifice fly in the eighth inning.
Jonathan Pigott would have none of it.
After making the routine catch, Pigott reared back and threw the ball to Teddy Foster at home plate with the precision of an Olympic archer.
He nailed it. Dead center.
"God blessed me with a pretty good arm," Pigott said.
Foster twisted his body, tagged Preston Hale at the plate and preserved the Gators' slim 3-2 lead.
"It was a perfect throw," Foster said. "I didn't have to move. I caught it, turned, and he was right there. I just had to make sure I held on to the ball, and it was pretty easy when they put it right to you."
In a game where every run counted, it was the run that didn't score that allowed UF to come out on top.
"In retrospect, that's as big as you get," Foster said. "When the out was made, it was a huge momentum swing. Granted, that was late in the game. Momentum comes to our side."
The Gators (23-10, 8-4 Southeastern Conference) took the second game in as many days from the Ospreys (18-15, 9-9 Atlantic Sun Conference), holding on for a 3-2 victory Wednesday night.
The Gators scored their second and third runs in the second inning on a single from first baseman Clayton Pisani and a sacrifice fly from Avery Barnes.
But the Gators' offense was anything but spectacular. The 3-4-5 hitters - Cole Figueroa, Josh Adams and Matt den Dekker - were a combined 0 for 11 with a walk. Add that to Jonathan Pigott's 0-for-2 night with two walks and you have a team that was lucky to score three runs.
"Their pitchers were better than our hitters tonight," UF coach Kevin O'Sullivan said. "We've got some work to do offensively. … Adams and Cole can't carry the load all the time. Some of these other guys are going to have to step up."
UF totaled six hits - all singles - in the game.
UF starter Stephen Locke went three strong innings, allowing only four hits and one run. After the first inning, he settled down and retired five of the six batters he faced, the sixth going down on a pick-off.
Travis Lawler (2-0) came in to relieve him in the fourth and had a very successful 3 2/3 innings. He downed three Ospreys on strikeouts and gave up only three hits.
For a team with bullpen issues in the last few weeks, the excellent relief work from Lawler, Tony Davis and Clint Franklin helped boost morale.
"You can't have great stuff every outing," Lawler said. "We've just got to help each other out when we fall, pick each other up."
Though UF won both mid-week games against UNF, it was not nearly that easy. The Ospreys actually outhit the Gators 22-21 in the series.
"North Florida's not going to be ranked No. 1 in the country any time soon, but they're a hell of a team," Foster said.
