Jonathon Crawford walked off the mound after a start that began with promise but ended with frustration. He left the bases loaded in the seventh. Crawford threw his glove in the dugout for good reason.
After tossing six solid innings, the junior right-hander issued a leadoff walk, hit a batter and walked the No. 9 hitter. Kentucky squared to sacrifice bunt his last two batters, but Crawford couldn’t find the plate.
The tossed glove summed up a game in which Florida jumped out to an early lead only to have its pitching implode late. Kentucky scored five runs in the seventh. Three belonged to Crawford. His final stat line doesn’t do him justice—five earned runs in six-plus innings. The junior looked like the Crawford of old; a dominating right-hander with a mid-90s fastball, a 12-6 curveball and an effective changeup. Even when Crawford missed, his pitches were low in the zone.
“I wasn’t here last year, but as far as this game is concerned, he really pitched well. He was dealing,” freshman outfielder Harrison Bader said. “Obviously, a tough one inning, but he’ll put it behind him. He did a really great job.”
Coach Kevin O’Sullivan liked how Crawford threw in a bullpen session on Wednesday. The junior, off to an inconsistent start, felt ready to take another step forward heading into Saturday’s game.
He posted a shutout for the first five innings. Crawford started throwing more changeups in the fourth; a pitch he worked on in the offseason. Kentucky managed two hits and four baserunners through the first five.
Crawford walked Zac Zellers to lead off the sixth, which led to a run off a triple by A.J. Reed. Kentucky added another on a groundout to first by J.T. Riddle. Still, a 3-2 lead after six was more than Florida could ask for. The Gators looked primed for their first Saturday series-clinching win.
Then Crawford lost control. O’Sullivan pulled him with the bases loaded for left-hander Bobby Poyner, who surrendered a two-run single to his first batter, Austin Cousino. Mike Vinson and Corey Stump finished the inning. Five runners reached on either a walk or hit by pitch.
Despite the rough finish, second baseman Josh Tobias called the outing the best Crawford threw all year. O’Sullivan thought the right-hander went after Kentucky.
“I don’t know what his velocity was, but he looked like he was more aggressive today,” O’Sullivan said. “It’s just unfortunate he couldn’t quite throw strikes there in the seventh.”
Bader busts out: Florida had one objective this week—hit the ball hard. It seems simple, but the Gators have had trouble doing anything with the bat. A disconcerting combination for a team that likes to swing early in counts.
O’Sullivan used practices on Monday and Thursday to focus on getting more out of each swing. Bader must’ve been paying attention. He’s 4 for 8 with a double and a triple against the Wildcats. The freshman added three hits and reached base in all five plate appearances on Saturday. He’s hitting .355 since shortstop Richie Martin suffered a fractured right index finger on March 3.
Bader and Tobias are the only Gators with extra-base hits in two games against Kentucky.
“He has been working on getting the ball down and not hitting it in the air so much, because he can run a lot,” Tobias said. “If he hits the ball on a line or on the ground, he is going to be safe most of the time.”
Gators try clinching in finale: Freshman right-hander Eric Hanhold (0-1, 6.39) will make his fourth start this season Sunday afternoon at 12. Kentucky counters with left-hander Corey Littrell (2-0, 3.42). Florida goes for its third series win.
“We are going to come tomorrow. We are going to fight and stay positive,” Bader said. “The game is behind us. We are going to win. That’s all it is.”
Contact Adam Pincus at apincus@alligator.org.
Infielder Zack Powers (5) speaks to assistant coach Craig Bell on third base during Florida’s 7-4 loss to Florida Gulf Coast on Feb. 24 at McKethan Stadium. Powers is 1 for 8 in the series against No. 10 Kentucky.
