For the first 16 innings of Florida’s weekend series against Ole Miss, the Rebels frustrated the Gators’ bats, limiting them to just three hits Friday night and two runs through seven innings Saturday afternoon.
But it was the series’ 17th inning that finally encouraged No. 1 Florida in Oxford, Miss.
No. 1 Florida (24-3, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) exploded for six runs in the eighth frame Saturday en route to a 9-4 win against Ole Miss (19-8, 4-4 SEC).
“It was a frustrating first 17 innings in this series,” Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “You gotta tip your cap to Ole Miss’ pitchers, and also to our hitters. We hung in there and a lot of guys had a hand in this one.”
Trailing 3-2 entering the eighth, the Gators’ first seven batters of the inning reached base. After Austin Maddox singled and Nolan Fontana doubled, freshman Casey Turgeon tied the game on an RBI single that capped off his 3-for-5 day at the plate.
The very next pitch, Vickash Ramjit gave Florida the lead for good with a three-run home run over the bullpen in left field. It was Ramjit’s third home run since conference play began, which is the most in the SEC during that time.
The Gators tacked on two more in the inning thanks to a pair of RBI from Preston Tucker and Taylor Gushue as Florida sent 10 men to the plate in the frame.
Prior to the eighth inning, though, things didn’t look as promising.
After struggling offensively Friday night, and with several players off rhythm at the plate during the past week, O’Sullivan shuffled the lineup Saturday. He moved Fontana, who entered the game 3 for his last 26, to sixth in the order and brought Pigott into the leadoff spot, marking the first time Fontana has not hit at the top of the order this season.
“We wanted to mix things up a little bit and maybe put some guys in some new spots in the lineup to see if we got it going,” O’Sullivan said. “We’ve been struggling offensively. … We weren’t swinging the bat very well.”
Although Florida plated a run in the first on a Brian Johnson RBI double, the Gators struggled to manufacture more offense, stranding eight men on base through seven innings. The only other run came on a Gushue RBI double in the fifth after Ole Miss took a 2-1 lead on a Will Allen two-run homer in the fourth. The double snapped a streak of 15 straight at-bats without a hit for Gushue.
After Florida tied it up, Ole Miss answered right back with a run of its own in the bottom of the fifth to give the Rebels a 3-2 lead they held until the Gators erupted at the plate in the eighth.
Freshman Johnny Magliozzi improved to 4-0 on the season, earning the win after getting Florida out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the seventh.
Maddox pitched the final two innings to give O’Sullivan his 200th win at Florida. Maddox’s only blemish was a solo home run to Matt Snyder in the ninth before the Gators closer recorded the final two outs.
“It was a frustrating day,” O’Sullivan said. “It was a frustrating day [Friday] and it was a frustrating day [Saturday], but the fact of the matter is we hung in there and showed some character.”
Etc: After surrendering a leadoff walk in the fifth, Johnson left the game grimacing. O’Sullivan said the Gators’ two-way player tweaked his back while rounding first during his RBI double in the first inning. O’Sullivan did not speculate as to how long, if at all, he expects Johnson to be sidelined. … The series concludes Sunday at 1 p.m. with righty Jonathon Crawford (2-1, 3.95 ERA) taking the mound for Florida.
A radio broadcast contributed to this report.
Contact Tom Green at tgreen@alligator.org.
Mississippi's Tanner Mathis (12) watches as the ball clears the fence on a three-run home run hit by Florida's Vickash Ramjit during a college baseball game in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday, March 31, 2012. (AP Photo/Oxford Eagle, Bruce Newman)
