Boston College used all three of its weekend starters Thursday night. All Florida needed was Brian Johnson.
Johnson (2-0) was nearly perfect in six innings of work as the Gators (5-0) rolled to a 4-0 win over the Eagles (2-2) in the series opener.
“Brian was outstanding,” coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “He was just outstanding tonight.”
The Gators’ left-handed starter retired the first 17 batters he faced before giving up a line-drive single to Boston College center fielder Tom Bourdon with two outs in the sixth inning.
Like he did all night, Johnson got ahead of Bourdon in the count, throwing strikes on the first two pitches of the at-bat. Bourdon then hit a fly ball in foul territory down the third-base line, where freshman third baseman Zack Powers made an attempted diving catch, but came up empty-handed.
Bourdon lined Johnson’s next pitch, a slider, just over Powers’ head for the Eagles’ first hit of the game.
It was the only one Johnson would give up on the evening.
He got out of the sixth inning by inducing a ground ball from the next BC batter. Johnson returned in the seventh, but O’Sullivan pulled the lefty after he walked the first batter he faced on four straight pitches.
Johnson gave up one hit and one walk while striking out five batters en route to UF’s fifth straight win to start the season. He threw 70 pitches, 48 of which went for strikes.
The lefty said he approached his second start much like his first: trying to get ahead in the count early. He did just that, throwing first-pitch strikes to 18 of the 20 batters he faced Thursday.
“He’s been mixing really good and doesn’t miss his spots often,” O’Sullivan said.
Johnson has been almost unhittable in 12 innings of work this season. Opposing hitters are batting .081 against the lefty, as he has given up just three hits in 37 at-bats. He has allowed just one other batter to reach base — his seventh-inning walk to BC’s Marc Perdios.
Before giving up the hit to Bourdon, Johnson set a school record by retiring 27 consecutive batters dating back to last Friday’s season opener against USF.
Behind Johnson’s second straight strong outing, the Gators’ offense didn’t need to produce much. But that didn’t prevent Johnson from helping his own cause.
The lefty scored the first run of the game in the second inning, when catcher Mike Zunino hit his first double of the season down the left-field line. In the fourth, Johnson singled to left-center field to score right fielder Preston Tucker from second.
The Gators plated another run in the sixth and one in the eighth.
“We know that if we can push a run or two across every inning or two, that Johnson is going to go and shut them down,” Tucker said.
Left-handed reliever Steven “Paco” Rodriguez tossed the final three innings to record his first save of the season.
The team’s face off again today at 5 p.m. Right-handed pitcher Hudson Randall (1-0) is scheduled to take the mound for the Gators.
