Graham Lawson didn’t even look up.
Once the ball exploded off Jonathan India’s bat, the South Carolina reliever didn’t need to watch its flight pattern to know it was headed over the wall. USC’s hopes for a comeback were nearly extinguished when it landed. Almost, but not quite.
Florida (17-3, 1-0 SEC) tasked closer Michael Byrne with finishing off the Gamecocks (12-6, 0-1 SEC), and while he allowed a couple baserunners in the game’s final frame, he induced a double play to close out UF’s 7-3 win in Friday’s conference opener.
Florida starter Brady Singer set the tone for Byrne by allowing one earned run in six innings to pick up his fifth win. He struck out seven hitters on 102 pitches. But his night didn’t begin promisingly.
He opened the game by drilling Carolina’s second hitter, TJ Hopkins. Hopkins then stole second base, and LT Tolbert drove him in with a single up the middle. From there, though, Singer only allowed one more hit on the night.
His relief didn’t fare as well. At least not at first.
Freshman Jack Leftwich got the ball in the bottom of the seventh and allowed a homer to Carolina’s Chris Cullen, but O’Sullivan was confident in his young right hander who settled down and got out of the inning post-homer. He sent Leftwich back out for the eighth.
But when South Carolina shortstop Madison Stokes doubled to lead off the inning, O’Sullivan had seen enough. The Gators held a 5-2 lead, so he called on Byrne.
Byrne entered the game without allowing an earned run in his 12.1 innings this season, and he continued his perfection on Friday.
He did allow Stokes to score on a single, but that run was credited to Leftwich.
Florida’s offense, meanwhile, didn’t really have one hero or focal point. Instead, several players smacked clutch hits, starting with second baseman Blake Reese.
He came up with runners on second and third, one out in the fourth inning. His team still trailed by one. Reese roped a single up the middle to re-secure the lead. Later, he turned the game-ending double play that ensured it was never relinquished.
Nelson Maldonado also had a pair of RBIs on a sixth-inning double down the left field line. His was Florida’s only extra base hit aside from India’s home run. Shortstop Deacon Liput drove in Florida’s remaining run on a fifth-inning single.
Florida managed seven singles and seven walks en route to its seven runs.
The series resumes tomorrow afternoon in Columbia at 4. Jackson Kowar will pitch for the Gators.
Follow Ethan Bauer on Twitter @ebaueri and contact him at ebauer@alligator.org.
Junior right-hander Brady Singer allowed one run on two hits and struck out seven batters through six innings in Florida's win Friday night.
