A gem, two more quality starts and a hidden-ball trick later, top-ranked Florida exited the weekend with a series sweep over Boston College.
Before setting their sights on a pivotal early season matchup against No. 10 Florida State in Tampa on Tuesday, the No. 1 Gators (7-0) finished off the Eagles (2-4) with a 7-2 win behind the arms of Karsten Whitson and Nick Maronde, among others.
Whitson made the second start of his young career Sunday, and while his stat line was less impressive than his collegiate debut, the freshman flame-thrower tossed 5.1 solid innings and added more changeups to his repertoire.
“I was really pleased with his outing,” coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “We called a bunch of changeups today to force him to throw that third pitch. I didn’t want to make it too difficult on him for this first start, but he’s going to need that changeup as he goes along.”
Florida’s starters pitched well all series, as Brian Johnson tossed a gem Thursday. The sophomore nearly threw six no-hit innings — including retiring a school-record 27 straight batters dating back to his opening-day start — in UF’s 4-0 victory.
On Friday, Hudson Randall pitched five quality innings, and the Gators blew open the game after two freshmen, Zack Powers and Daniel Gibson, fooled the Eagles with a backyard play.
Engineered by a hidden-ball trick, the Gators escaped further damage in a tied seventh inning, grabbing the momentum and responding with six unanswered runs en route to a 9-3 victory.
Florida’s steady starting pitching continued Sunday, as Whitson consistently touched 93-94 mph, striking out five, walking one and allowing one run.
The righty escaped several jams on the afternoon, including one in the fourth inning, when he allowed back-to-back singles and failed to cover first on a fielder’s choice with the Gators up 5-0.
Visibly frustrated, the young pitcher earned a visit from Florida’s skipper.
“He didn’t cover first, and that’s obviously a no-no,” O’Sullivan said. “But I just wanted to go out there and make sure he put that behind him. I didn’t want it to spiral out of control.”
Following O’Sullivan’s words of encouragement, Whitson regrouped and struck out BC’s Andrew Lawrence to end the threat.
“That was a brain fart by me,” Whitson said. “I was kind of a little pissed about that, but I just calmed down and made sure I got that next hitter out no matter what.”
The Gators got on the board early in the series finale, scoring four runs in the second inning, two off a Nolan Fontana triple.
Catcher Mike Zunino matched a career high with three hits, including a double into the left-center-field wall to lead off the second inning. The sophomore knocked a two-run homer in the eighth, practically in the same spot as his double, just 20 feet farther.
Etc.: Maronde relieved Whitson with one out in the sixth, striking out both batters he faced. …For the second time in a week, Austin Maddox pitched the ninth for UF. … After going 5 for 8 with a homer and three RBIs in the first two games of the series, Preston Tucker went 0 for 4 in the finale Sunday, seeing just five pitches. … Josh Adams’ six-game hitting streak also ended in the series finale.
