Late last August, while most college freshmen were acclimating themselves to dorms, bars and financial hardship, Karsten Whitson was turning down $2.1 million to play for the top-ranked Gators.
On Sunday, the ninth overall pick by the San Diego Padres in the 2010 MLB Draft threw a gem in his collegiate debut, pitching No. 1 Florida (3-0) to a 5-0 win and series sweep over South Florida (0-3).
“This is the reason I came to school,” Whitson said. “To throw on this Gator uniform and just come out here and pitch.”
The heralded freshman lived up to the hype, throwing five shutout innings with nine strikeouts and only a single hit. His fastball was clocked consistently at 94-95 mph, and his slider had tremendous movement, fooling several Bulls hitters.
“Karsten was outstanding,” UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “It’s hard. He’s 18 years old, and there’s a lot of expectations. But I thought he handled it great all week and did a very nice job today.”
After a two-out single in the first inning, Whitson retired 11 consecutive batters, including five straight strikeouts, before a one-out walk in the fifth.
“If you get ahead and you pound the strike zone and get guys in 0-2, 1-2 counts, you kind of smell the blood,” he said. “You got to just go ahead and just finish them off.”
The Gators got on the board early Sunday when shortstop Nolan Fontana, who scored five runs on nine hits during the series, roped a double down the right-field line to lead off the bottom of the first.
After Josh Adams failed to advance the runner, Preston Tucker — who hit the Gators’ first home run of the season in Friday night’s 7-2 win — singled up the middle, scoring Fontana to give UF a 1-0 advantage.
In the fourth inning, Florida gave Whitson some breathing room, plating two runs on a Mike Zunino homer and a Daniel Pigott RBI single.
But the day was all about the flame-thrower. Even after tossing six consecutive balls, prompting a brief meeting on the mound with O’Sullivan, Whitson collected himself, and his next pitch was a darting two-seamer, jamming a Bulls hitter into an inning-ending double play.
“It was just one of those days that was kind of good to get this out of the way,” Whitson said. “Get the nerves and everything out of the way. I was able to throw strikes and have my teammates work behind me.”
Florida’s defense was solid in all three games, especially in the 4-1 victory Saturday afternoon, when center fielder Bryson Smith gunned down a runner at the plate and Fontana made a diving stab with the bases loaded.
“You walk two guys and make one error on the weekend, you’re going to be in good shape,” O’Sullivan said.
For the series, 11 UF pitchers combined to throw 27 innings, allowing just three runs while punching out 31 Bulls.
“I was pleased with the way we came out today,” O’Sullivan said. “The last game of the series is the most difficult one, and I thought it all started on the mound again.”
ETC.: Florida’s attendance for the three-game series was 14,003, a record for a season-opening weekend. … Brian Johnson, Hudson Randall and Whitson, UF’s weekend starters, combined to throw 17 innings with 21 strikeouts and one walk. … For the second consecutive year, Florida opened the season with a series sweep of USF. …Tommy Toledo picked up his first career save on Saturday. …Sunday, freshman Daniel Gibson pitched a scoreless ninth inning, touching 93-94 mph in his collegiate debut.
