Florida baseball evens up weekend series against Miami
Florida baseball evened up the series against the Miami Hurricanes on Saturday with an 8-1 victory in Coral Gables.
The floodgates opened up in the top of the ninth, but this was a tightly contested battle for eight innings before that. Center fielder Jud Fabian hit a two-run home run in the third inning to give the Gators a 3-0 lead that would last until the bottom of the eighth. Miami strung together a few hits to bring one man around before the final frame, and then Florida responded with five runs.
Hurricanes fans began to pile out of Mark Light Stadium after Gators first baseman Kendrick Calilao hit a three-run home run. The explosion of offense late in the game might have even overshadowed what was a very strong pitching performance by the Gators.
Right-hander Brandon Sproat tied a career-high with eight strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings of scoreless pitching. He worked his way out of two jams and earned his second win of the season. Nick Ficarrotta got the final eight outs for Florida in 42 pitches. He continues to be one of the more consistent arms in the bullpen, and his solo relief effort leaves plenty of options available for tomorrow if Timmy Manning has another short start.
Florida has struggled to put up runs against Miami aside from the big inning mentioned above. The Gators rounded the bases just five times in 17 innings against Miami this season before that, so taking the series on Sunday may be easier said than done.
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