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Thursday, March 28, 2024
NEWS  |  CAMPUS

Pigott’s homer lifts Gators over ‘Dawgs

<p>Florida outfielder Daniel Pigott pumps his fist as he rounds second base following his three-run home run in the sixth inning of Sunday’s win.</p>

Florida outfielder Daniel Pigott pumps his fist as he rounds second base following his three-run home run in the sixth inning of Sunday’s win.

Florida had just fallen behind 3-2 and was in need of a big sixth inning. Daniel Pigott ripped an 0-1 fastball that sent Georgia right fielder Kevin Ruiz crashing into the outfield wall and landing with an empty glove.

Pigott’s fifth home run of the year plated Preston Tucker and Mike Zunino, giving the No. 5 Gators (31-9, 11-7 Southeastern Conference) a 6-3 lead, the game’s eventual final score.

“We needed that,” Pigott said. “The momentum had shifted their way. We really needed to get back and answer them and we did.”

It was an old-fashioned, Sunday afternoon bullpen duel. Junior Hudson Randall started for the Gators for the first time in more than three weeks, and freshman Luke Crumley got his first career start for the Bulldogs (24-17, 8-10 SEC). Both were pulled after three innings with pitch counts in the 40s.

Florida led 1-0 when both managers started going to the bullpen. The lone run was a Mike Zunino leadoff homer in the second. For the next three innings, things were dicey.

Brett DeLoach hit a double off of Randall before UF’s starter exited the game. Sophomore left-hander Daniel Gibson then faced three batters and gave up two RBI doubles.

The Gators bounced back thanks to Pigott, who finished the game 3 for 3 and the series 7 for 12. His RBI double in the fourth scored designated hitter Brian Johnson.

“He has days like this where he sees the ball really good,” UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan said.

Greg Larson, Steven “Paco” Rodriguez and Austin “Mud Dog” Maddox saved the day once again. The trio threw a combined 11.2 innings Friday night but bounced back to kill five frames on Sunday.

Larson threw 2.1 innings of one-run and one-hit ball. Rodriguez and Maddox worked the game’s final 2.2 innings, allowing no hits and striking out four. Rodriguez struck out the side in the eighth – all looking.

“After [Saturday’s] loss, me and Mud were like, ‘We’ve got to go out there and give them a show,’” Rodriguez said. “We basically did that.”

Squeezed in all of this was a brief outing for sophomore Karsten Whitson, his second career relief appearance. Whitson faced five batters but was pulled after allowing two hits on 20 pitches. Rodriguez cleaned up the jam.

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Georgia’s bullpen struggled. Jay Swinford and Bryan Benzor followed Crumley to the mound. Florida got just one run off Swinford in two innings but feasted on Benzor. The junior right-hander faced five batters, recorded one out and surrendered four earned runs.

“Any time you get a chance to have a big inning, you’ve got to take advantage of it,” Pigott said.

It was Florida’s second consecutive SEC series win after dropping back-to-back series to Ole Miss and LSU.

Friday night’s game was a 16-inning marathon that fell just four minutes shy of five hours. UF won 3-2 when Vickash Ramjit scored the game-winning run after Nolan Fontana struck out swinging on a ball in the dirt but reached first base on an errant throw by catcher Brandon Stephens.

The Bulldogs held the Gators hitless for the final five innings of Saturday’s game, winning 5-3.

Florida is now two games behind Kentucky in the SEC. The Wildcats took two of three from LSU this weekend.

Florida outfielder Daniel Pigott pumps his fist as he rounds second base following his three-run home run in the sixth inning of Sunday’s win.

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