A hit batter and a ground-rule double in the opening inning spelled trouble for the Gators early Tuesday morning.
Starting pitcher Tommy Mace looked as if he was headed for stormy waters early until a mound meeting with head coach Kevin O’Sullivan righted the ship, and No. 6 seed Florida coasted to a 4-1 win over No.11 Kentucky.
Despite the rough start, Mace showed why he is the Gators leading man on the mound.
Mace pitched on only four days rest following a series where Florida was swept by the SEC regular season champion Arkansas Razorbacks. He escaped the opening threat with three straight strikeouts and tallied five more throughout his five innings of work.
The momentum of Mace’s pitching translated directly into the bat of Jacob Young.
He strode to the plate and sent the first throw from Kentucky pitcher Sean Harney deep over the left-field wall to give Florida an early lead.
Sterlin Thompson kept the energy up in the first with an RBI single that brought in Nathan Hickey to tack on another run.
Florida held their 2-0 lead until the fifth.
Mace gave up the Wildcat’s lone run of the game on a double down the left field line from right-fielder John Rhodes. Austin Schultz sprinted across home plate comfortably to cut the lead to a single run.
Florida got more offense going in the bottom of the inning. With the bases loaded, Cory Acton knocked in Kendrick Calilao with a single. Kentucky yielded to their bullpen but allowed another run as a fielder’s choice on a Mac Guscette ground ball brought Thompson home.
Both teams struggled to capitalize for the majority of the game. Kentucky left 14 runners stranded on base and Florida stranded 12 themselves.
Trey Van Der Weide took over pitching duties in the sixth before Jack Leftwich closed the last two frames. The two arms held Kentucky to four scoreless innings.
The Gators will be back on the field at the same time Wednesday as they take on No. 3 Mississippi State.
The Gators’ battle with the Bulldogs is scheduled for a 10:30 a.m. first pitch. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network and can be heard on 98.1 FM/850AM.
Contact Joseph Henry at jhenry@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @Josephhenry2424
Joseph Henry is a fourth-year sports journalism major and is the Alligator's sports editor. He previously worked as senior news director, assistant sports editor, men's basketball beat reporter, volleyball beat reporter and golf beat reporter. He enjoys sitting down to watch a movie as often as possible, collecting vinyl and drinking Dr. Pepper.
