Georgia came into the final three-game set of the season against Florida without winning a series against a Southeastern Conference opponent in 2013.
The Bulldogs (21-32, 7-20 SEC) changed that Saturday, defeating the Gators (29-27, 14-16 SEC) 9-2 at Foley Field in Athens, Ga.
“Certainly not the way we wanted to end the regular season,” coach Kevin O’Sullivan said.
Florida started freshman Eric Hanhold, and the right-hander got into trouble early.
After getting the first out of the second inning, Hanhold surrendered two singles and two doubles, and Georgia jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Hanhold recovered to finish the inning, but left-hander Danny Young replaced him to start the third.
However, the Gators’ pitching troubles did not end with Hanhold.
Young pitched a scoreless third but gave up a leadoff homer to center fielder Justin Bryan, and O’Sullivan replaced him with sophomore Ryan Harris.
Harris allowed a score on a single by shortstop Kyle Farmer but retired six of the next eight batters he faced. He allowed a single to open the seventh, and O’Sullivan brought in junior Daniel Gibson.
Then, Georgia’s offense had its most productive inning of the series.
With Gibson on the mound, sophomore Jared Walsh opened the game up and extended the lead to 7-2 with a two-run homer to left field. Catcher Brett DeLoach followed Walsh with a homer of his own, and first baseman Daniel Nichols doubled to center field to end Gibson’s outing.
O’Sullivan brought in freshman Jay Carmichael – the fifth pitcher of the day – to limit the damage, and Carmichael escaped the inning, but not before the Bulldogs had jumped out to a 9-2 advantage.
“We weren’t very effective,” O’Sullivan said. “But credit Georgia’s hitters, they swung the bat really good.”
While the Bulldogs’ bats were explosive, the Gators’ struggled. Florida scored runs on back-to-back singles by shortstop Richie Martin and second baseman Casey Turgeon in the third but couldn’t add any more despite several chances in later innings.
“We’ve been fighting like heck to get a big hit,” O’Sullivan said. “I know guys start pressing a bit.”
Despite the loss, Florida still clinched a spot in the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala. The tournament begins on Tuesday, as eighth-seeded Florida takes on No. 9 seed Texas A&M (30-25, 13-16 SEC).
“It’ not the way we want to end the regular season – you know, come up here and lose two out of three,” O’Sullivan said. “But we are moving on to Hoover.”
A radio broadcast contributed to this report.
Contact Adam Lichtenstein at alichtenstein@alligator.org.
Junior pitcher Daniel Gibson winds up for a pitch during Florida’s 14-5 win against South Carolina on Saturday at McKethan Stadium. Gibson allowed two home runs during the seventh inning in Florida's 9-2 loss to Georgia on Saturday.
