The conditions heading into Saturday’s rubber match between Ole Miss and No. 21 Florida were vastly different from the day prior. With clear skies and no weather delays, the Gators had the perfect opportunity to win their second straight SEC series in front of home fans.
It looked that way until the ninth inning when UF ran into pitching trouble.
With four different pitchers used in the final frame, the Rebels’ offense proved to be too much for the Gators.
Ultimately, Florida (24-9, 7-5 SEC) fell to Ole Miss (22-11, 5-7 SEC) 5-2 Saturday night at Condron Family Ballpark to lose the series.
“Bottom line, we just didn’t get it done,” Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “But I don’t want to take anything away from Russ, because he threw the ball outstanding tonight.”
Starting pitcher Russell Sandefer struck out four batters in the first two innings. The junior continued his valiant play as he only allowed two hits in seven innings. Most importantly, he set his own career record with 11 strikeouts.
“I always believe talk is cheap, and you got to go out there and do it,” Sandefer said.
Joshua Whritenour was solid in the eighth inning with two strikeouts. However, the freshman allowed two runs in the ninth thanks to a homer from Judd Utermark.
The Gators were forced to use three more pitchers to conclude the inning. Luke McNeillie allowed three runs thanks to a flyout to center field from Brayden Randle and a single from Hayden Federico.
Even with five runs, Ole Miss posted a .161 batting average as a result of Sandefer’s solid pitching. It also had zero runners in scoring position throughout the first seven innings.
On the offensive side for Florida, its opening run came in the third inning thanks to a triple to right field from Jacob Kendall. The freshman eventually scored off a wild pitch from Cade Townsend.
Landon Stripling scored off a triple from Kolt Myers in the seventh inning to give the Gators a two-run cushion.
UF’s finished with a .212 batting average, which is its fourth game below .300.
Even with the pitching meltdown, the Gators’ fielding couldn’t be overlooked as it went perfect with zero errors and a 1.000 fielding percentage. First baseman Stripling was instrumental in that category as he accumulated seven putouts.
Pitcher Walker Hooks secured the series win for Ole Miss, allowing one hit and posting three strikeouts.
“Everything is a domino effect,” O’Sullivan said. “When one guy doesn’t do his job, then you got to make a decision.”
The Gators will travel to Tallahassee for a one-game stint against the Seminoles (24-7) on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Contact Colby Kistner at ckistner@alligator.org. Follow him on X @colbykistner22.
Colby is a junior sports journalism student in his first semester with the Alligator covering golf. He has experience covering Buchholz and Santa Fe High School sports. He also worked in UF's innovation center where he wrote and created radio content for WRUF. He is an avid hockey fan with his teams being the Seattle Kraken and Florida Panthers. He is looking to minor in business administration.
