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UF Baseball: Gators Blank Rattlers in Midweek Matchup

Photo by Isabella Marley

Courtesy of University Athletic Association

BY MORGAN PERRY

No. 12 Florida claims fourth victory of the season over Florida A&M

The No. 12 Florida Gators baseball team blanked Florida A&M in their Wednesday matchup, recording 10 runs on their way to the fourth Gators victory of the season versus the Rattlers.

The Gators struck quickly, scoring three runs in the first inning and adding a pair in the second to claim an early 5-0 lead.

Jud Fabian got things started for Florida, launching the ball deep over the left field fence to bring home Sterlin Thompson and Kirby McMullen.

Nathan Hickey continued his hot streak in the next inning, doubling down the right field line. Jacob Young and Cal Greenfield scored on the hit, bringing the score to a clean 5-0 heading into the third inning.

After a few defensive battles, the Gators were back on the board in the sixth inning when graduate student Kirby McMullen singled through the right side to bring Jacob Young home.

Cal Greenfield recorded a single up the middle in the bottom of the seventh to bring Jordan Carrion and Colby Halter home, extending the Gators’ lead to 8-0 and bringing Nathan Hickey to the plate with no outs and the bases loaded.

Nathan Hickey called game for the Gators, dropping the ball into short left field to bring Cal Greenfield home for Florida’s tenth and final run. The game was called at this point after the coaching staffs mutually agreed to a 10-after-seven rule due to the weekend’s schedule for both teams.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT:  The Gators bullpen – who pitched out of a bases loaded situation twice during the game.

STANDOUT STAT: 2 – The amount of hits allowed by the Florida bullpen over nine innings of competition. This ties the lowest amount of hits allowed by the Gators in the 2021 season, alongside the March 13th game against Jacksonville where the Dolphins were held to two hits offensively.

FROM COACH KEVIN O’SULLIVAN

On Timmy Manning…
“It wasn’t just him. I think we had eight walks with two outs tonight after five innings. It’s just a matter of closing out innings. It’s probably more of a mental block than anything else. You kind of got a glimpse of how good his stuff is. His fastball was really good, his breaking ball was really good. He threw some quality change-ups. For whatever reason, he hit a little bit of a mental block with two outs. Like I said, he wasn’t the only one. Chase (Centala) fell into the same situation and then obviously, David (Luethje), too. It was kind of an odd game. You have two hits, walk 10, and hit a batter and don’t give up any runs. That’s not going to happen very often, I guess that’s why they call it baseball.”

NEXT TIME OUT: The Gators will head to Knoxville, Tenn. to take on No. 6 Tennessee in a three-day weekend series slated to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET on Friday, April 9, and airing on SEC Network+.

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