The Gators have created an unorthodox formula for winning baseball games: Rocky starting pitching plus strong long-relief outings plus explosive late-game hitting equals success.
UF (27-14) did little to shake up that formula in a 12-3 road win against Florida Gulf Coast (22-15) on Tuesday in Fort Myers.
Junior Jeff Barfield (2-1, 3.64 ERA), who has been one of the Gators' most reliable starters this season, took the ball in the first inning against the Eagles and struggled early. Barfield didn't allow a hit through the first two innings, but he gave up 3 runs on a home run by FGCU leadoff hitter Josh Upchurch in the third inning.
"The 3 runs in the third, we've been doing that, and that's been hurting us the last few weeks," UF coach Kevin O'Sullivan said.
The longball put the Eagles ahead 3-2, and Barfield was pulled in favor of junior Billy Bullock at the start of fourth inning.
The hard-throwing right hander went on to pitch three scoreless innings of one-hit baseball, striking out four while giving his offense time to take back the lead.
"We went in to this game trying to use the best guys we had," O'Sullivan said. "That's why we went to Billy in the middle there."
The Gators tied the game at 3-3 in the fourth inning, and in the fifth inning, they blew the game wide open.
Catcher Buddy Munroe untied the contest with a one-out solo home run, and six batters later, freshman Preston Tucker added a 3-run bomb - his ninth of the season - to put the Gators ahead 9-3.
UF put 3 more runs on the board in the eighth inning behind a 2-run single from Munroe and a little help from the FGCU defense.
The Gators recorded 18 hits on their way to a 12-run showing, but 9 of those runs were unearned because the Eagles committed five errors.
Throughout the season, UF's offense has been carried primarily by its No. 1 through 5 hitters, but the bottom of the order was the key against the Eagles.
The Gators' starting No. 6 through 9 batters - Munroe, Teddy Foster, Jonathan Pigott and Mike Mooney - went 10 for 17, scored 6 runs and drove in 4 more.
"When you're going good offensively, you're getting contributions from everyone from top to bottom," O'Sullivan said. "When you can get multiple hits from your nine-hole hitter, it helps everybody in the lineup."
After Sunday's loss to Mississippi, O'Sullivan said he thought his team was playing so well that they shouldn't lose two games in a row anymore.
The win against an FGCU team that came in riding a seven-game win streak proved exactly that.
UF will try to win two in a row tonight at 6:30 when South Florida comes to McKethan Stadium.
O'Sullivan said he isn't sure who will get the start, but whoever it is will be on a pitch count.
A radio broadcast contributed to this report.
