The midweek magic was lost in Condron Ballpark Tuesday as the Florida Gatorsfell to the South Florida Bulls. Florida dropped its first midweek game at home 7-1.
Pitching was the biggest difference in the game. The Bulls (25-21) held the Gators’ (33-17) offense in check while Florida’s bullpen failed to find consistency on the mound.
It was a defensive game to start, and neither team was able to get its offense going.
In his first action since March 19 against Florida A&M, sophomore right-hander Matthew Jenkins started on the mound for the Gators and recorded seven strikeouts in 2.2 innings.
“That’s one of the bright moments of the game to get [Jenkins] back out there,” Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said.
O’Sullivan replaced Jenkins with redshirt freshman right-hander Caden McDonald in the third inning. McDonald struggled in the fourth inning and allowed three straight hits to put the Bulls on the board first.
Florida’s skipper quickly pulled McDonald in favor of redshirt freshman right-hander Christian Rodriguez, who ended South Florida’s run.
Freshman infielder Brendan Lawson set the tone to start the fourth inning for the Gators with a double to right center field. Lawson stole third base, and a USF throwing error allowed him to score and tie the game 1-1.
But that would be the first and last run the Gators scored.
Another Florida pitching change started during the fifth inning when sophomore right-hander Alex Philpott came in to replace Rodriguez.
Philpott didn’t last long and surrendered three straight hits, including a double. That allowed USF designated hitter Rafael Betancourt to score for the second time and put the Bulls up 2-1 in the sixth. Sophomore right-hander Luke McNeillie switched with Philpott on the mound.
However, Florida’s pitching continued to struggle and surrendered four runs in the sixth.
Betancourt and junior catcher Lance Trippel each singled. Senior right fielder Marcus Brodil followed with a double to right field, allowing Betancourt to score for the second time.
Sophomore second baseman Carlos Jacome and senior first baseman Sebastian Greico also singled, allowing Brodil and junior infielder Matt Rose to score and give the Bulls a 5-1 advantage. McNeillie was replaced by redshirt junior right-hander Billy Barlow.
Barlow put up a valiant effort in his short stint with a strikeout and two ground-outs. He was later replaced by freshman right-hander Carson Montsdeoca to start the eighth.
Monstdeoca didn’t last long and freshman right-hander Blaine Rowland stepped in after putting two Bulls in scoring position.
South Florida took advantage. Junior center fielder Ryan Pruitt singled to right center, allowing Rose and Lohry to score and extend its lead to 7-1 at the top of the eighth.
Junior right-hander Landen Yorek got the job done for South Florida as the starter. He earned the win, allowing one run with two strikeouts in four innings. Senior left-hander Brandon Keyster took over and tallied 1.2 innings before sophomore right-hander Adan Longoria took the mound in the sixth. Keyster and Longoria combined for six strikeouts and three groundouts to close the game.
“It was just one of those nights,” O’Sullivan said post-game.
The Gators will head to Arlington, Texas, on Friday to kick off their series against the No. 1 Texas Longhorns. First pitch is set for 7:30 p.m.
Contact Adrian Carmona at abcarmona04@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @abcarmona04
