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<p>UF pitcher Alex Faedo throws a pitch during Florida's 5-4 win against William &amp; Mary on Feb. 17, 2017, at McKethan Stadium.&nbsp;</p>

UF pitcher Alex Faedo throws a pitch during Florida's 5-4 win against William & Mary on Feb. 17, 2017, at McKethan Stadium. 

As Florida shortstop Dalton Guthrie walked in front of his team’s dugout Thursday night, Alex Faedo grabbed his attention.

“You wanna go eat?” UF’s ace asked.

“I don’t know because my grandparents are here,” Faedo’s roommate responded.

Then, as Guthrie approached a circle of reporters following UF’s 1-0 win over South Carolina at McKethan Stadium — one in which Faedo tossed 8.2 scoreless innings but came up short in reaching his first career nine-inning complete game —, Guthrie jokingly revealed why he wouldn’t join Faedo for postgame grub.

“I’m not a big fan of eight and two thirds,” he said with a smile on his face.

While Faedo ultimately failed to earn the elusive milestone, he was still dominant in a series-opening win for Florida (26-12, 9-7 Southeastern Conference).

The right-hander yielded just three hits, walked four and struck out nine Gamecocks on a career-high 125-pitch performance. Had it not been for a two-out walk to Alex Destino in the ninth, Faedo would’ve been on the mound for the final out.

Instead, reliever Michael Byrne entered and picked up his seventh save by inducing Madison Stokes to fly out.

“Sully does know best and he hasn’t messed up on that,” Faedo said of being pulled. “I wasn’t mad at Sully or any of that. I was just mad at myself for not getting Destino out at the end.”

Thursday wasn’t the first time Faedo has drifted into complete game territory.

Against Miami in February, he notched 8.2 innings as well only to be yanked after an error and a walk. His only technical complete game came in the form of seven innings in a 12-2 win over Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament last year.

“I’m not worried about that,” Faedo said. “I just wanna give our team the best chance to win.”

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That he did in an important win versus USC (23-14, 8-8 SEC), a team on UF’s heels in conference standings.

Florida’s lone source of offense came in the fifth.

After Christian Hicks lofted a double off the left field wall, Keenan Bell bounced a single up the middle. Bell finished with two of UF’s five hits, four of which came against one of the top arms in the SEC in Clarke Schmidt.

Though Schmidt exited early in the sixth with what a South Carolina official called “right forearm tightness,” Faedo outpitched the Gamecocks ace to that point.

“He was outstanding,” O’Sullivan said. “And he had to be against Clarke.”

Outstanding was enough to lower Faedo’s season ERA to 2.18. Enough to earn his sixth win. Enough to stifle the Gamecocks on Thursday night.

But was it good enough to convince Guthrie to eat with him? Faedo seems to think so.

“Oh no, he’s going to dinner,” Faedo said. “He’s paying too.”

@pinakk12

ppinak@alligator.org

UF pitcher Alex Faedo throws a pitch during Florida's 5-4 win against William & Mary on Feb. 17, 2017, at McKethan Stadium. 

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