Pitted against one of the best hitting teams in the country, Frank Rubio’s name was called upon.
The senior reliever’s season up to Tuesday night hadn’t gone quite as planned. Rubio was initially given the closer role early in the year but has struggled of late, allowing five hits and three runs in his last three outings while getting just two total outs.
Rubio didn’t even touch the field in UF’s series last weekend at Vanderbilt, a time in which he worked on his mechanics with assistant coach Brad Weitzel.
But in Florida’s (25-12) 2-1 win against North Florida, a team that entered Tuesday ranked seventh in the nation with 423 hits, Rubio may have regained head coach Kevin O’Sullivan’s trust.
The Miami Shores native held the Ospreys scoreless over a career-high tying four relief innings. He yielded just two hits and struck out three, earning his first win of the season.
“Rubio was awesome,” O’Sullivan said. “He’s probably the reason we won the game.”
Despite it being a midweek non-conference contest, O’Sullivan knew the importance of winning the game if Florida hopes to host a super regional in the NCAA Tournament.
That’s why after freshman Nate Brown started on the mound and was knocked around for six hits and a run through three frames, O’Sullivan turned to one of his two seniors. He didn’t care that Rubio had faltered a bit in his last few appearances.
“Sometimes you’ve just gotta press the reset button and start over,” he said. “You can’t keep dwelling on the past.”
While Rubio stifled the Ospreys (26-14), Florida’s offense didn’t muster much run support a game after scoring 20 runs against Vanderbilt on Saturday.
Junior JJ Schwarz tied the game at one on an RBI double in the left center gap in the fourth, which went for one of UF’s six hits.
And in the fifth inning after Keenan Bell reached on an error, shortstop Dalton Guthrie lined a single to right field to drive in the eventual game-winning run. The junior finished with two hits, marking his third two-hit performance in his last four games.
“I thought I was gonna get thrown out as soon as I hit it,” he said of the base hit. “But glad I hit a ball hard somewhere and gave us the lead.”
Relievers Garrett Milchin and Michael Byrne tossed clean innings in the eighth and ninth, respectively, and Byrne picked up his team-leading sixth save in the process.
Now the Gators turn their attention to South Carolina, which comes to Gainesville for a three-game set beginning Thursday night.
While every Southeastern Conference series carries weight at this point, this series is especially important as the Gamecocks enter tied with Florida (8-7 SEC) for second place in conference standings.
“Its definitely big,” Guthrie said. “They’re a good team. We’re gonna have to scrap and find any way we can to score against their guys.”
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Frank Rubio pitches during Florida's 10-4 loss to Mississippi State on April 9, 2016, at McKethan Stadium.
