It was a bittersweet afternoon in Gainesville, as Saturday’s series finale marked what could be the last game at Condron Ballpark for four Gators.
Shortstop Bobby Boser, right fielder Ty Evans, left-handed pitcher Pierce Coppola and right-handed pitcher Billy Barlow were honored before the game for senior day.
The seniors drove No. 23 Florida (37-19, 15-15) in their 9-3 series finale victory over the No. 18 Alabama Crimson Tide (40-15, 16-15), closing out the regular season.
After starting out 1-11 in SEC play, the Gators now sit at a .500 conference record with momentum to potentially host an NCAA regional.
It was a memorable sendoff for Evans and Boser, who both hit home runs in the win.
“Senior day is always a little bittersweet,” head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “You want to see them get recognized, and rightfully so, but there’s a part of you that gets bummed.”
For the second straight outing, Florida recorded the first scores with two runs in the first inning.
Boser and junior catcher Brody Donay both homered to right field to quickly earn a 2-0 advantage for UF.
“To be able to do that on senior night means a lot,” said Boser. “Leading it off for our guys on this day, that’s pretty special to me.”
The Crimson Tide responded in the second frame when a throwing error committed by junior infielder Blake Cyr allowed junior catcher Richie Bonomolo Jr. to advance three bases and put Alabama on the scoreboard.
The Gators scored again in the third when Evans crushed a ball to center field to make it a 3-1 ballgame. Florida scored again in the fourth after sophomore infielder Landon Stripling singled to left center field to drive in junior infielder Ashton Wilson.
The Crimson Tide cut the lead to two runs in the fifth. Junior right-fielder Bryce Fowler doubled to left center field, scoring senior second baseman Brennan Norton. However, a fly out from senior first baseman Will Hodo ended the inning for Alabama with bases loaded.
The Crimson Tide’s offense had no answers for freshman right-handed starter Aidan King.
King started off hot with two strikeouts and a groundout in the first frame. That set the tone for his outing, as he finished with eight strikeouts, four flyouts and six groundouts in 6.1 innings pitched to earn the win.
“I obviously didn’t want to go out, but it was good,” said King regarding his performance. “It was a good way to end the regular season.”
King was backed by his offense, which continued to go on spurts during the later innings of the contest.
Florida went on a scoring frenzy in the fifth, recording five runs.
Sophomore center fielder Hayden Yost hit a groundout to first base, scoring Donay. Then, with runners on second and third, Stripling reached, and Cyr scored on a throwing error from third base to make it 6-2.
Later on in the inning, with the bases loaded, Boser singled to right field, scoring Wilson and Stripling. Sophomore designated hitter Blake Brookins then stole home plate off of a throwing error to give Florida a seven run advantage.
King surrendered one more earned run in the seventh inning on a sacrifice fly but received a standing ovation for his efforts as he exited the field. Florida sophomore reliever Luke McNeillie took the mound in the seventh.
McNeillie pitched 2.2 scoreless frames and allowed just one runner to reach base. He punched out one batter and tossed just 25 total pitches.
For Alabama, sophomore lefty Zane Adams struggled as the starting pitcher. He allowed four runs and six hits with only four strikeouts.
He was replaced by sophomore right-hander Austin Morris in the fifth inning.
The Crimson Tide rotated two more pitchers in the fifth frame, but it could not make up for the miscues on the mound. After Morris’ surrendered run, freshman lefty Connor Lehman came in.
The southpaw allowed a run and hit a batter before being promptly replaced by senior righty Aeden Finateri. He finished with two strikeouts and one surrendered hit before junior right-hander Hagan Banks took his place.
Banks lasted until the eighth frame before junior lefty Beau Bryans checked in to finish the game.
“We put ourselves in discussion to host,” said O’Sullivan. “I can’t say enough about this group.”
The Gators will be back in action for the SEC tournament starting Tuesday.
Contact Adrian Carmona at acarmona@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @abcarmona04
