At least a few of the 3,133 Gators fans at McKethan Stadium Tuesday night probably didn’t see it coming. After Florida (34-9, 14-4 SEC) won its series against No. 14 Kentucky with relative ease over the weekend, they probably believed the Gators were due for a nice, easy midweek win against Mercer.
They were wrong.
As UF shortstop Deacon Liput weakly chopped a ball back to Bears pitcher Robert Broom in the bottom of the ninth for the final out, McKethan Stadium hardly made a sound.
That is, except for the hooting and hollering emanating from Mercer's dugout that spilled onto the field following the Bears’ 6-4 win over the No. 1 team in the nation.
Broom played the role of hero for Mercer (29-14), pitching the final six innings of the game while striking out 12 batters.
Right-hander Hunter McMullen started the game on the mound for Florida, and it became evident early on that it wouldn’t be his night.
He issued three consecutive first-inning bases on balls, including back-to-back four-pitch walks and a bases-loaded freebie for the first run of the game.
Compounding the obvious command issues for McMullen was a wild pitch in between them all.
Fellow freshman Connor Churchill relieved McMullen after the latter lasted just 2.1 innings, but it could hardly be called a relief.
Churchill gave up two runs on four hits through 0.2 innings, getting yanked in the fourth after sandwiching a throwing error on a pick-off attempt between a pair of singles.
All four of the Gators’ runs came in the first inning, with two coming from right fielder Wil Dalton’s team-leading 16th homer of the season.
After suffering just its second losing streak of the season, Florida will look to rebound Thursday when it begins a series with Auburn.
Follow Morgan McMullen on Twitter @MorganMcMuffin and contact him at mmcmullen@alligator.org.
Junior college transfer Wil Dalton launched his team-leading 16th home run of the season in Florida's 6-4 loss on Tuesday.
