The buzz generated from three home runs and seven runs disappeared for a moment. Florida left-hander Danny Young lay face down on the saturated mound clay with his glove off to the side Friday night.
He’d reached his longest outing of his career at 5.2 innings, but almost lost his season when Tennessee left fielder Vincent Jackson drilled a line drive off the freshman’s face. The ball ricocheted to third baseman Josh Tobias, who completed the throw over to first.
Coach Kevin O’Sullivan ran out from the dugout with trainer Pat Hassell, who helped Young up and apply a Gatorade towel to his face as the freshman walked off the field under his own power. First baseman Vickash Ramjit carried his glove to the dugout.
Young left with a cut on his lip and received stitches at Shands Hospital. His stellar night ended early after holding the Volunteers scoreless and stranding seven runners on an efficient 55 pitches.
“We’ve seen it to many times to be honest with you,” O’Sullivan said of the injury. “I haven’t talked to the doctor, but hopefully we dodged a bullet there. (We were) fortunate and lucky.”
Young started in place of right-hander Jonathon Crawford, who rolled his left ankle jumping for a ball during batting practice on Thursday. Crawford, who could’ve pitched in Game 1, will throw on Saturday against Tennessee at 7 p.m.
The Gators (24-19, 11-8 Southeastern Conference) have won 10 of 11 despite a starting rotation in seemingly constant flux. Crawford has only three quality starts this season.
Adversity has followed the rotation from the get-go. Right-hander Karsten Whitson underwent shoulder surgery before the season started. Crawford had an inconsistent start to 2013. Freshman right-hander Jay Carmichael, who emerged as the Friday night starter, hasn’t pitched since April 13 with an arm injury that has flummoxed the Florida medical staff.
Relievers Daniel Gibson, Ryan Harris and Johnny Magliozzi have combined for the bulk of the bullpen appearances. Seven pitchers tossed 12.2 scoreless innings in relief against Missouri last Saturday.
O’Sullivan called the bullpen the strength of the pitching staff when he addressed the media Tuesday afternoon. The bullpen had a lighter load when the Gators opened the series against the Volunteers. The trio of Gibson, Harris and Magliozzi never saw the field as three freshmen followed Young.
Young battled on the mound by working through a Tennessee small-ball approach that led to three infield hits and a triple in the fourth that trickled down the third-base line after bouncing over Josh Tobias’s head. A base runner reached at least second base in four of six innings he appeared in.
He’s struggled since earning a win in 5.1 shutout frames against Mississippi on March 31. His last three starts haven’t lasted past the fourth inning. That wasn’t the case on Friday.
Applause rippled throughout McKethan Stadium as Young headed to the dugout. While O’Sullivan expects Young to be sore and swollen Saturday, every indication says he’ll be OK, the coach said.
“I knew it hit him, but I didn’t know where,” catcher Taylor Gushue said. “You never want to see anybody get hit like that, but from what I know he is doing OK. Other than that, it was pretty gruesome.”
Contact Adam Pincus at apincus@alligator.org.
Freshman pitcher Danny Young warms up on the mound before Florida’s 4-0 victory against Ole Miss on March 31 at McKethan Stadium. Young picked up the loss in the Gators' 18-6 loss to the Tigers on Saturday.
