A warm February afternoon in Gainesville featured some chilly bats.
Sophomore Jack Leftwich, UF’s Sunday starter, made light work of LBSU’s lineup, only allowing five hits and one earned run through six innings.
The Dirtbags got to the Orlando native early, however.
Aidan Malm homered out to deep left-center to give Long Beach State a 1-0 lead in the second inning.
Leftwich settled in nicely after that, not allowing another run to help lead UF to a 3-1 victory at McKethan Stadium.
Leftwich showcased a calm demeanor in his first start of 2019 to go along with impressive control. He struck out five batters while not giving up a single walk on the day.
“I felt really good right away today,” Leftwich said. “I was just trying to attack and keep everything consistent.”
Relief pitcher Hunter Ruth — returning from Tommy John surgery — made his first appearance as a Gator, replacing Leftwich in the top of the seventh.
He pitched two scoreless innings, retiring six of the seven batters he faced.
UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan was asked about his redshirt freshman’s first appearance after the game.
“It was really good to get Hunter (Ruth) out there,” O’Sullivan said. “I thought his stuff was darting...He’s going to be a huge piece moving forward, for sure.”
At the plate, Florida’s bats mustered just enough juice to support the pitching staff, scoring three runs on six hits.
The Gators primarily got to LBSU freshman starter Alfredo Ruiz in the third and fourth innings.
UF loaded the bases with two outs to give freshman Jud Fabian an opportunity to get the team on the board.
Fabian stayed patient at the plate, getting the count to 3-2 before forcing a walk to allow sophomore shortstop Brady McConnell to trot in from third base.
The next at-bat, freshman Roberto Pena — making his first start as a Gator — hit a line drive to LBSU third baseman Tanner Carlson that he couldn’t gather, allowing designated hitter Nelson Maldonado to score from third.
The fourth inning featured doubles from both catcher Santino Miozzi and McConnell.
McConnell’s shot down the left-field line scored Miozzi, giving the Gators a 3-1 lead.
He went 3 for 4 on the day, adding two singles to go along with his RBI double.
“Obviously it’s exciting to me,” McConnell said, referring to his five-hit series this weekend. “I’m just glad we’re winning ball games, that’s what’s most important. If it’s me that’s helping, then cool.”
The Gators sent out closer Nolan Crisp once again to secure his second save in as many tries.
The freshman gave up a leadoff double in the ninth but retired three-straight LBSU batters afterwards to complete the sweep for Florida.
The youth of this team was a worry of O’Sullivan’s going into the season, but they showed an ability to stay composed on Sunday.
“You look out there late in the game, and you have a freshman at second, a redshirt freshman at short, you have a freshman at first, a high school senior at center, and a high school kid on the mound,” O’Sullivan said. “It wasn’t by design, but in a two-run game, they kept it together, and that was impressive.”
Follow Evan Lepak on Twitter @evanmplepak and contact him at elepak@alligator.org.
Florida coach Kevin O'Sullivan went with redshirt freshman Hunter Ruth, who returned from Tommy John surgery, in relief of Sunday starter Jack Leftwich.
