Friday night started as a showcase of an elite Southeastern Conference pitcher. It ended with the coronation of another.
Gators freshman right-hander Jay Carmichael gave his team a start fit for a pitcher beyond his years. A start like one from junior Vanderbilt left-hander Kevin Ziomek, who entered the Friday night contest with five victories and a strikeout rate of 11.7 per nine innings.
Carmichael carried Florida (11-12, 2-2 SEC) in a 7-1 Friday night road upset of No. 2 Vanderbilt (19-4, 3-1 SEC) fit for March Madness.
Ziomek experienced uncharacteristic control issues. Catcher Taylor Gushue broke the game open with a towering three-run home run to left in the sixth to put Florida up 4-1, a commanding lead with a starting pitcher like Carmichael who at one point retired nine straight batters. Two relievers kept the Commodores in check after Carmichael left the game when he allowed a leadoff hit in the sixth.
Freshman left-hander Danny Young retired four of five batters he faced when he replaced Carmichael. Right-hander Ryan Harris pitched 2.1 scoreless innings. They held Vanderbilt to three hits. Carmichael earned his first win as a starter this season and the second win for a Florida starter all year.
“There is no time to really grow up here. I’ve heard that a lot this year that we’re young and all that type of thing,” coach Kevin O’Sullivan told the Gator IMG Sports Network. “We may be inexperienced, but they’re good enough players to play here whether they are freshmen, sophomores, juniors or seniors.”
Florida braved the chilly Nashville weather at Hawkins Field and an early onslaught from Ziomek. The junior asserted his dominance by retiring 12 of his first 13 batters. He kept the Gators guessing by tossing four pitches for strikes. He threw fastballs in curveball counts and changeups in fastball counts. No more perfect example than his pitch sequence to Justin Shafer in the fourth inning. Ziomek started with a changeup down the middle, then an inside curveball and an outside fastball to Shafer who flied out to right.
The only difference in this latest Ziomek start was the lack of a strikeout until the 27th batter he faced.
Ziomek ran into trouble in the fifth when he surrendered back-to-back walks to lead off the inning. He ended up with four in the frame. Vanderbilt, led the SEC in walks with 93 coming into the game. Zack Powers drove in Vickash Ramjit with a single down the left-field line.
Vanderbilt plated its only run in the fourth. Cleanup hitter Connor Harrell hit a two-out single up the middle for the first hit of the night. Carmichael walked Mike Yastrzemski after Harrell stole second. Vince Conde drove in Harrell with a single to right after falling behind 0-2. All three at-bats went to two-strike counts.
That marked the only hiccup of an otherwise complete game from Florida. The Gators had nine hits. The bullpen combined for four scoreless innings. Nine of 13 batters reached base with runners in scoring position. Florida added a run in the seventh on a groundball from Shafer and two more in the eighth because of two Vanderbilt errors. For one night, Florida looked like the team in control.
The Gators arrived at Nashville hoping for a series-opening win. A frustrating start to the season has made each game have potential postseason ramifications. A young team rose to the occasion Friday night and one of its youngest pitchers received a well-deserved win.
Crawford tries clinching series: Junior right-hander Jonathon Crawford (0-3, 4.94) takes the mound for game 2 in Nashville. Vanderbilt counters with sophomore right-hander Tyler Beede (5-0, 0.84). First pitch is set for 7 p.m.
A radio broadcast contributed to this report
Contact Adam Pincus at apincus@alligator.org.
Freshman Jay Carmichael warms up between innings during UF’s 8-2 loss to Florida Gulf Coast on Feb. 22. Carmichael walked four and hit two batters in Florida's 4-3 loss to Ole Miss on Friday.
