In the biggest series of the season, UF’s ace lasted just 3.1 innings.
Coach Kevin O’Sullivan pulled Alex Panteliodis with the bases loaded and one out in a 3-1 game against South Carolina Thursday night. Senior Jeff Barfield emerged from the bullpen and, with 8,188 Gamecocks fans screaming and an artificial rooster crowing, the reliever bailed the Gators out with consecutive strikeouts.
“That was probably the difference in the game,” O’Sullivan said. “I’ve known South Carolina for a while, and when they get going at home, you have to do some damage control.”
Barfield and two other UF relievers protected the Gators’ lead for the next five innings as No. 4 Florida scored an opening-game win against No. 6 South Carolina (42-12, 20-8 Southeastern Conference) in what has become the regular-season conference championship series.
If the Gators (39-12, 21-7 SEC) can win one of their next two games, they will win their first SEC regular-season championship since 2005.
Fans have waited for this matchup for about a month, and the first round of the three-game series did not disappoint. Neither team committed an error and hurlers on both sides reached back in big moments to extinguish rallies.
“That might have been the best game I’ve been involved in all season,” O’Sullivan said. “The pitchers did great.”
After he killed a potentially big fourth inning, Barfield threw two more innings. The senior allowed two hits and struck out two more Gamecocks.
His only mistake was hanging a curveball to DH Jeffery Jones, who blasted the pitch for a solo home run that narrowed UF’s lead to 3-2.
“Barfield did a heck of a job tonight,” O’Sullivan said.
O’Sullivan called on closer Kevin Chapman earlier than usual Thursday. Chapman, who leads the Gators with a 1.19 ERA, entered in the eighth and struck out two in a pair of hitless innings.
Left fielder Tyler Thompson, who has UF’s highest strike-out rate, was an unlikely catalyst for the offense. Thompson led off the third inning with a solo homer to right field.
“I don’t want any player who is struggling to put their head down,” O’Sullivan said. “I tell them, ‘hey, we’re going to need you later.’ I think that helps them bounce back.”
The Gators added another run in the third when sophomore Daniel Pigott scored on a single by Preston Tucker. UF scored the deciding third run the next inning after senior Matt den Dekker and DH Brian Johnson started the frame with a pair of hits.
But Florida was stifled from that point on by South Carolina senior Blake Cooper, who retired 11 of the next 12 batters he faced after Johnson’s hit. But with the strong performance by UF’s bullpen, three runs allowed was enough to saddle Cooper with his first loss, dropping him to 10-1 on the season.
The teams will square off Friday at 7 with UF looking to clinch the conference title. Freshman Hudson Randall will take the mound for the Gators.
“We need to enjoy tonight,” O’Sullivan said. “But when we wake up tomorrow, we got to put this thing behind us. This series is far from over.”
A radio broadcast contributed to this report.
