Matt den Dekker jolted the Gators offense, and he barely needed his bat.
With two outs and runners on second and third in the seventh inning against Mississippi State, den Dekker bunted down the first baseline. Bulldogs second baseman Sam Frost tried to cover first, but he fell to the grass when den Dekker sprinted through him for a single.
Den Dekker's speed was the difference in the game as freshman Kamm Washington scored to give the Gators a 2-1 lead. Den Dekker's base running led to two more UF runs in the inning, and the No. 6 Gators (15-3, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) held on to beat the Bulldogs 5-4.
"That play is a really difficult play to defend," O'Sullivan said of den Dekker's bunt. "He puts it in a really good spot. If he gets it by the pitcher, it's a footrace with the second baseman or the first baseman. He's probably going to win most of those races."
After his single, den Dekker found himself in a rundown while trying to steal second. The senior snuck underneath a throw to safely reach base, and sophomore Tyler Thompson sprinted home during the pickle.
"When you win by one run, that play is important," den Dekker said.
Den Dekker himself scored along with second baseman Josh Adams when Preston Tucker smoked a curveball down the third baseline for a double.
Before the seventh, Tucker's hitting was the only sign of life from the Gators. The first baseman cranked a high 2-2 fastball into the trees behind the left-field bleachers to tie the game at one.
Tucker, who led UF with 15 homers last season, did not have any round-trippers through 14 games. But the sophomore has made up for lost time, hitting four home runs in the last four games.
Outside that mistake, MSU starter Chris Stratton was able to fool UF hitters. The Gators chased pitches out of the zone and managed only 4 hits off Stratton in six innings.
"A couple times through the lineup, we struggled," Tucker said. "But I think we got the hang of it the third time through."
Den Dekker's good base running in the seventh provided redemption for the center fielder. In the fifth inning, with runners on second and third, den Dekker hit a grounder to first base. MSU first baseman Connor Powers threw home to nab junior Bryson Smith.
After Smith was tagged out, den Dekker got caught trying to advance to second.
UF starter Brian Johnson was just as effective as Stratton, allowing one run on five hits in 6 1/3 innings. The Gators' Saturday starter was coming off two bad outings - a combined seven earned runs in 8 1/3 innings - and continued his slump early.
Johnson fell behind to seven of the first eight batters he faced - the lone exception being Bulldogs leadoff hitter Nick Vickerson, who laid down a bunt on the game's first pitch. But after giving up a run in the third, Johnson retired 12 of the last 14 batters he faced.
"I just got comfortable," Johnson said of his improvement throughout the game. "My last couple outings didn't go as well as I'd liked, but I settled down as the game went on."
The Bulldogs rallied in the ninth against Gators reliever Kevin Chapman, who had been unflappable until Saturday. Mississippi State scored two in the frame and had the tying run at second, but Chapman induced a pop-out from Bulldogs right fielder Luke Adkins to end the game.
Entering the game, Chapman had not allowed a run in 16 2/3 innings - a streak dating back to last season.
The Gators will look to sweep the Bulldogs when the two teams meet Sunday at 1 p.m.
"Last year, we got swept our first SEC series (against Arkansas), and that really put us in a bind," Tucker said. "We were really down in the dumps. This was a big confidence booster."
