While vicious storms up the east coast brought cooler temperatures down south, Preston Tucker was on fire Sunday in Athens, Ga.
The Gators’ slugger mashed two home runs, including the go-ahead shot in the seventh, propelling No. 4 Florida (28-9, 11-4 Southeastern Conference) to a 14-7 blowout and series win over Georgia (19-18, 9-6 SEC).
“The bats just came alive,” Tucker said. “I was looking for a pitch I could drive, and I got what I was looking for, and I handled it.”
The versatile lefty’s two-run shot in the seventh inning snuck over the right-field fence, and the Gators regained their lost momentum after blowing a five-run lead.
For the second consecutive game, UF’s bullpen suffered a demoralizing meltdown. But, unlike Saturday, Tucker and Co. rallied with the bats as the Gators plated eight runs in the final three innings.
“We wanted to get a few runs for them (the bullpen), and hopefully they could shut it down at the end,” Tucker said. “They did a great job.”
Leading 6-3 in the sixth, UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan pulled freshman starter Karsten Whitson and inserted Alex Panteliodis. The unusual decision to give the junior his first relief appearance since March 1 backfired as the lefty failed to record an out, allowing four straight hits and leaving with the bases loaded.
Steven “Paco” Rodriguez, who recorded the save in UF’s 5-4 win Friday, replaced him. But the left-hander struggled with command, walking in a run and surrendering the tying score on an RBI single.
Greg Larson was summoned, and the right-hander stopped the bleeding. The junior was the unsung hero for Florida on Sunday, throwing 3.2 scoreless innings while scattering five hits.
In the eighth, Tucker added some insurance with a monster grand slam to right.
“He left a changeup waist-high,” Tucker said. “I turned on it, and good things happened.”
The five-run explosion in the inning gave the Gators’ reeling bullpen some much-needed breathing room.
Florida’s heralded pitching depth struggled over the weekend, as its pen allowed 11 runs and 18 hits in 8.2 innings.
On Saturday, after a strong start by Brian Johnson, who collected his second homer of the year with a two-run shot Sunday, the bullpen collapsed, giving up six runs with the game tied in the eighth en route to a 7-2 loss.
“That happens from time to time,” Tucker said. “We have one of the best bullpens there is out there. [Sunday] just showed we can pick each other up. Sometimes the hitting has struggled and the pitchers have put up a zero, or the pitchers have had a rough inning, and we get a run the very next inning.”
