When Kyle Mullaney, who came into the game with a 6.75 ERA, is the pitching star of the night, things don't look good for your team.
But when the opposing pitcher commits a costly error that leads to three runs in the third inning and then you explode for six more in the sixth, things tend to work themselves out.
Things worked out for the Gators - barely - Wednesday night as they held on 11-10 against Bethune-Cookman to keep their all-time record against the Wildcats perfect at 21-0.
UF was on cruise control after jumping out to a 5-0 lead after the fifth, but then when Mullaney left the game the Gators (29-18) needed five more pitchers to close it out and all five gave up at least one run.
UF went into the final inning with a comfortable 11-5 lead, but then between relievers J.K. LaCoste and Josh Edmondson they allowed in one run and Edmondson gave up a grand slam to Osvaldo Torres to close it to 11-10. Edmondson finally calmed down then and got the two last outs of the contest.
But that certainly wasn't the way UF was hoping to cap what was an offensive onslaught. When asked what he thought after the Torres grand slam, UF coach Kevin O'Sullivan gave a small chuckle and said he was "getting a little nervous."
Even Mullaney wasn't pleased with his performance, and he was by far the best pitcher on the mound for both teams Wednesday.
"I need to throw more first-pitch strikes" said Mullaney (1-4), who earned his first win of the season by going five scoreless innings with three hits, three strikeouts and three walks. "I wasn't very good at that tonight, and that's been a problem all year…There's really no excuse."
There's also no excuse for some of the fielding errors the Wildcats (33-20) made in the third inning. Starter Chris Chapman stood a couple of feet away from the mound bent over, head faced down and hands on his knees after he had just collected a ground ball and threw it out of the reach of third baseman Aaron Patterson. That play led to the Gators' first run, and they would score at least one run for the next three innings.
"We practice that so much and so often that it really aggravates me," BCC manager Mervyl Melendez said. "For a pitcher not to be able to hit the big third baseman he doesn't have to actually hit a spot. He has to put in anywhere close to him. I can't understand why a pitcher can't make a play like that."
