GAME OVER
Fields gets a three-pitch strikeout of Townsend, then gets a three-pitch strikeout of Barber, then ends the game with a five-pitch strikeout of Tignor. Whoof. This kid is good. The Gators can't let Georgia get a lead tomorrow or Sunday.
MID NINTH
Massanari singles to start the ninth, and Franklin then gets a double play. Allen lined out right to Pisani, who calmly walked back to first base and tagged it for the double play. The runner on first stood no chance.
Den Dekker ends the inning, catching a fly ball from Lewis. Three outs left for UF.
END EIGHTH
Holder's night is finally done. He went seven innings, allowed eight hits, struck out four and gave up no walks. He only threw 75 pitches in those seven innings, a crazy average of under 11 pitches per inning.
Replacing him is Alex McRee. McRee gets a quick out on Pigott, then walks Barnes. That's the first UF batter who has been given a free pass all night.
Make that two in a row. After one quick out, McRee walks Barnes and den Dekker, putting the tying run at the plate. And if there's one Gator you don't want hitting in this situation, it's Cole Figueroa. Figueroa, of course, is hitting.
Figueroa gets a bloop single just in between the Georgia shortstop, second baseman and center fielder. It's bases loaded, and McRee's night is over. In comes ace closer Joshua Fields, who has not given up a single earned run all season. But a single swing of the bat could give UF the lead.
Adams gives the whole press box a scare by hitting a foul ball just above us, and then he looks as the a curve ball goes past him for a strikeout. Fields looks nasty so far, as that curve ball looked wild but somehow dropped into the strike zone.
Pisasni gets his first at-bat of the night, and takes two quick balls. The third pitch he swings right through, as Field's speed is too much for him. The fourth pitch brings the same result - a strike that Pisani misses completely. The fifth is a high strike out of the zone, but Pisani can't lay off it and the Gators' chances to win this game look to be over. They have one more inning.
MID EIGHTH
Lawler allows a leadoff hit to Peisel, so UF brings in lefty Tony Davis. Davis does his job and then some, getting Olson to ground into a double play. That's the Gators' 50th of the year, and Clint Franklin will come in to replace Davis.
As his first act as pitcher, Franklin walks Beckham. He's been on base all five times he was at the plate tonight - three hits, a walk and a hit-by-pitch. That has to help his on-base percentage, which was already at a crazy .533. Franklin then gets Poythress to fly out to right field, ending the inning.
END SEVENTH
Holder strikes out Figueroa, then gets Adams to ground out to third for two fast outs.
Brandon McArthur then hits a double to left-center field. That continues his 12-game hitting streak, and O'Sullivan pulls him in favor of Clayton Pisani.
That looks like a great move, as Jon Townsend hits a single up the middle with the next pitch, adding a run to UF's tally.
On the pitch immediately after that, Bryson Barber finally ignites McKethan Stadium with a home run off the scoreboard in right field. This crowd actually has something to cheer about here, and it has all come with two outs.
Hampton Tignor strikes out to end the inning, but UF is within striking distance. Pisani will be playing first for UF for the rest of the game.
MID SEVENTH
Travis Lawler comes in to pitch for UF. Bullock's night is done after he threw 112 pitches. That's a lot of pitches for a UF pitcher, but Bullock certainly didn't do everything he wanted to with this one. Then again, the top of this Georgia lineup is deadly. Most pitchers in the country would have trouble with it. Hampton Tignor has also come in to catch, replacing Buddy Munroe.
Allen flies out to left-center field to start off the inning. Barnes and den Dekker nearly collide trying to catch the balll, but Barnes doesn't give up on the play and holds on to the ball.
Lewis is up next for Georgia, and he hits a single just past the outstretched arm of Townsend. Cerione follows with a groundout to second base, but the ball was hit such that Adams couldn't get a double play off. He makes the safe play at first, and Lewis goes to second.
Lawler gets Demerio out, ending the inning. He pitched a pretty solid seventh, only allowing one hit.
END SIXTH
Pigott grounds out to the pitcher to start the sixth, then Barnes singles up the middle. On the next pitch, den Dekker hits into a 4-6-3 double play, ending any chance of scoring a run for the Gators. That entire half-inning took about two minutes.
MID SIXTH
Peisel finally gets his first hit of the night to start the fifth inning, doubling to right field. That's a his team-high 16th double of the year. Munroe comes out to talk to Bullock, calming him down. The pitcher throws a quick ball, then two straight strikes to go ahead 1-2 on Olson. The fourth pitch is a ball, but the fifth Olson hits right to Townsend for the easy ground out.
Beckham makes it a 3-for-3 night, doubling past Barnes in left field and bringing home Peisel. That's the Bulldog's seventh run on the night, and Bullock can't be staying out there much longer. This game is killing his ERA, on top of the Gators' SEC hopes.
Poythress strikes out, giving Bullock a career-high seven. That's what I'm talking about when I've called it an up-and-down night for him. Seven strikeouts and seven runs allowed. Weird.
Massanari gets out for the second time in a row as den Dekker makes a sliding catch in center field, ending the inning.
END FIFTH
Nothing doing for the Gators in the fifth inning, as Townsend bunts to the pitcher for an easy out, Barber flies out to deep left field, and Munroe hits into a groundout at second. Holder is still cruising.
MID FIFTH
Again with the up-and-down Bullock. Bullock beings the fifth by getting Allen to fly out to center field, but then Lewis singles up the middle. Then Bullock goes back to being a shut-down pitcher, inducing a high pop-up to third base from Cerione.
Demperio is next in the batters' box, and he grounds out to third base. More importantly in that at-bat, a fan made a fantastic catch off a bounce on a foul ball. He is actually an employee here, I guess, because he's holding the speed gun for the Gators. He made the catch with one hand, and he looks very pleased with himself.
END FOURTH
Avery Barnes starts the fourth inning for the Gators positively, doubling down the left field line and giving UF its first runner in scoring position all night.
Den Dekker hits a hard ground ball to first base, but Poythress plays it well and steps on the bag for the force out. Barnes moves to third, and the Gators should definitely get at least one run here in the fourth.
As I type that, Cole Figueroa singles to left field, scoring Barnes and getting the Gators on the scoreboard. Adams makes it two hits in a row, singling just past the diving glove of Beckham at short, and its two runners on with one out for UF.
McArthur can't keep things going for the Gators, ending the inning by grounding into a 6-4-3 double play. The sun is still up and we're already done with four innings. This could be a quick one.
MID FOURTH
Bullock has absolutely no consistency right now. Despite the fact that he's given up six runs, he's also tallied five strikeouts. After striking out Olson to start the inning, he plunks Beckham and then gets Poythess to pop out to second base harmlessly. I'm confused. We're seeing a different Billy Bullock with every batter.
Which Bullock will we get with Massanari coming to the plate? The great one. Bullock gets Massanari to chase a pitch way outside the strike zone for the third strike, ending the inning without giving up a run.
END THIRD
Bryson Barber ends both Holder's perfect game and no-hit bids, bunting a single to the third-base side. I'm surprised he beat out the throw, but the Gators are certainly thankful. They need something to get their offense going.
As soon as something may have been going for UF, it ends. Buddy Munroe grounds into a double play, shortstop to first base. The ball was hit just slow enough for Beckham to get to it, then step on second and make the throw to first for the easy out.
Jonathan Pigott takes four straight pitches and goes down looking. No runs, one hit, no errors and no one left on for the Gators.
MID THIRD
Olson begins the third inning for Georgia with a home run to right field. The ball hooked to the right, just staying fair. Fans in the stands booed the call, but none of them had a better view than the first-base umpire, who pointed his finger in the air and spun it around, signaling a homer.
Beckham follows with a hard-hit double to right-center field, and both Olson and Beckham are now 2 for 2.
After a single from Poythress, Massanari makes it 6-0 with a home run. That can't feel good for Bullock, but the Georgia crowd loves it.
Bullock finally gets his first out of the inning with a strikeout, then allows a single, double and a walk to load the bases. Peisel, however, keeps up his 0-for-3 night by grounding into an inning-ending double play. Jon Townsend made a great pick at third, then steps on the bag and throws to first to complete the double play.
END SECOND
Josh Adams is up first for the Gators in the second inning, and he pops up to foul territory on the first pitch. Georgia' second baseman, Demperio, however, drops the ball in the shade and Adams gets new life. He doesn't take advantage, however, and grounds out to his opponent at second base.
Brandon McArthur comes up for his first at-bat in Gainesville since April 1, and fouls off three straight pitches. He takes two more balls, then smacks the ball to right-center field. Georgia had him played well, however, and their center fielder, Cerione, makes the ball just shy of the warning track. Still, he made good contact and was a tough out for Holder.
Townsend grounds out to second base right away, ending the inning and bringing the Gators out on the field.
MID SECOND
Bullock gets a high fly ball to left field from Matt Cerione, and the pitcher has a quick out. He started out the first inning with an out as well, so this doesn't really mean anything. The Bulldogs' No. 9 hitter, Michael Demperio, is patient and gets a full count. But on the sixth pitch, he can't hold off on a low strike and swings and misses. That's two fast outs for Bullock and three strikeouts in the game.
Peisel comes to the plate for the second time tonight, and he has just as much success as he did then - none. The third baseman flies out to Pigott in right, and this inning is over.
END FIRST
Avery Barnes starts the Gators off with a ground out to Holder on the mound, and den Dekker follows with a grounder to second base to give the Bulldogs two quick outs - exactly what Bullock didn't get in the top half.
Figueroa goes down 0-2 before he can even get settled in the batter's box, and the fans groan when he strikes out on the fourth pitch. That was a very fast inning, and the decent-sized contingency of Bulldogs fans to my left stands as Holder walks into the dugout.
MID FIRST
Georgia's leadoff man, Ryan Peisel, comes up to the plate and gets a full count. On the sixth pitch from Bullock, Peisel takes an outside strike for the K. Peisel started trotting down to first base, as he thought it was ball four.
Next up is Matt Olson, the Bulldogs' right fielder. He takes the first pitch from Bullock and lines it right past his face for a single up the middle. Bullock got lucky that it didn't hit him in the head.
The dangerous Gordon Beckham - hitting .422 with 19 home runs - shows why he is one of the best players in the country and hits a ball in between Figueroa and Townsend through the left side. That gives the Bulldogs two on and one out.
Bullock starts pitching to Rich Poythress and throws three straight balls. Munroe comes out to discuss things with Bullock, and Bullock promptly throws a ball to walk Poythress. Bases loaded, one out. Can the Gators get a double play that has helped them so often this season?
The answer, for the moment, is no. Bullock gives up a single to shallow right field to Bryce Massanari, and the Bulldogs get their first run of the game. UF cannot let Georgia get any more runs here. The best team in the SEC knows what to do with a lead.
O'Sullivan comes out of the dugout to talk to Bullock after he throws a first-pitch ball to Lyle Allen. Allen takes the next pitch and hits a sac fly to shallow right field, scoring Beckham from third and sending Poythress to third base. Bullock gets his second out.
Bullock then strikes out Joey Lewis on three pitches, looking, to end the inning. The Gators are already in a hole, however, and Trevor Holder will get his chance to keep them there.
PRE-GAME
The Gators (25-15, 10-8 SEC) host No. 10 Georgia (28-12-1, 14-3-1 SEC) this evening, with righty Billy Bullock (3-2, 3.50 ERA) getting the start for UF against the Bulldogs' Trevor Holder (5-2, 2.15 ERA). The Gators have the usual first four batters in their lineup, then have Brandon McArthur hitting in the five spot, followed by Jon Townsend, Bryson Barber as the designated hitter and Buddy Munroe as the catcher. The Gators' right fielder, Jonathan Pigott, is hitting ninth.
The game is set to start in five minutes, and I'll get back to you after the first inning.
