Nick Horvath trotted in from center field.
He exchanged gloves and took the mound.
The junior left-handed reliever needed just one out in the top of the ninth to send UCF, knocking on the door down 4-3 with two runners on, back to Orlando and earn Florida a midweek victory.
“You gotta go right at him right from the get-go,” Horvath said.
On a full count, Horvath flung an 88-mph fastball toward Austin Griffin.
Griffin whiffed.
It was a familiar sight in No. 2 Florida’s 4-3 victory over UCF on Tuesday night at McKethan Stadium.
Just two innings prior, Horvath found himself in a similar jam.
He fell behind 3-0 before working a full count to UCF’s Kam Gellinger while the Knights threatened with the bases loaded and two outs down 3-2 in the seventh.
Gellinger tapped out to shortstop, ending yet another UCF chance at the hands of Horvath.
“That kid’s nuts,” UF catcher Mark Kolozsvary said. “He can do everything on the field.”
While Florida (7-1) was out-hit 10-4, it still found a way to score runs thanks to the bottom of the lineup.
In the third, nine-hole hitter Blake Reese mashed a double to the centerfield wall that scored Kolozsvary. Then Reese scurried home on an error by UCF shortstop Brennan Bozeman to give UF a 2-0 lead.
An inning later, Reese struck again.
The sophomore centerfielder blooped a single to shallow center that plated Keenan Bell from second in the fourth, giving Florida a three-run lead.
The Knights fought back, however, in the sixth and seventh.
After allowing two singles in the sixth, UF reliever Kirby McMullen was lifted in favor of Andrew Baker. The freshman limited the damage to one run — a product of a fielder’s choice to Jonathan India. UCF then tacked on it’s second run via a fielder’s choice as well.
Florida’s deciding run came off the bat of none other than Kolozsvary.
The junior blasted a solo homer to left center in the seventh, a shot that netted UF a 4-2 advantage and gave Kolozsvary a tie for the team lead in homers with two.
Kolozsvary and Reese combined to go 3-for-5 with three RBIs and three runs while the rest of the lineup went 1-for-24.
UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan wasn’t surprised by the pair’s production.
“I said it, I think, before the season started. I think our lineup is good at the bottom half,” he said, “and that’s why I was so encouraged about the offense and where it could be.”
Another encouraging sign for O’Sullivan on Tuesday night was the freshmen pitchers he was able to work in.
Nate Brown, McMullen, Baker and Garrett Milchin combined to hold the Knights to two runs through 6.1 innings. McMullen and Milchin each made their first career appearances.
Florida and UCF will meet again in Orlando tonight at 6:30 p.m. O’Sullivan said he expects to start sophomore right-hander Michael Byrne against the Knights.
Contact Patrick Pinak at ppinak@alligator.org or follow him on Twitter @pinakk12.
UF junior Nick Horvath throws a pitch during Florida's 5-4 win against William & Mary on Feb. 17, 2017, at McKethan Stadium.
