Down 3-0 early on the road against top-ranked FSU, Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan was worried that the Seminoles would keep piling on the runs.
So naturally, Florida’s skipper went to his trusted relievers.
When O’Sullivan made the call, an unlikely candidate emerged from the outfield bullpen at Dick Howser Stadium: freshman Ryan Harris.
“You can only go to the well so many times with the same guys over and over,” O’Sullivan said. “Somebody has to step up.”
On Tuesday night, that somebody was Harris.
After junior lefty Brian Johnson, a staple in Florida’s weekend rotation, put the Gators in an early 3-0 hole, Harris entered in the fourth to clean up the mess.
The little-used pitcher out of Jupiter made the most of the opportunity against the nation’s top team, completely shutting down the Seminoles’ lineup over the course of three innings in the Gators’ 6-3 win.
The righty entered the game with just six innings pitched on the season, and only one outing that lasted longer than one frame — a two-inning relief appearance against Florida Atlantic on March 6.
That didn’t matter against the Seminoles, though, as Harris looked liked a grizzled veteran against an FSU offense that entered the contest averaging 7.1 runs per game and looked to be well on pace for that and more against Florida.
Harris tossed three perfect innings of relief to earn his first career win. The three innings were as many as he pitched in his last five appearances combined.
“In order to win midweek games, there’s always a guy that comes out of the ‘pen and eats up some innings for you and does a really good job,” O’Sullivan said. “Luckily for us, it was Ryan.”
After Florida State’s bats jumped ahead early against Johnson, Harris mowed them down. The 6-foot-2 right-hander kept the Seminoles off balance with a steady dose of sinking fastballs low and inside that frequently made contact with the handles of FSU’s bats.
Harris (1-0, 2.25 ERA) induced eight ground-ball outs during his outing — including four to third baseman Cody Dent — and didn’t allow a ball to leave the infield between the fourth and sixth innings.
“(I was) just getting out there and throwing it down the middle, letting my field do the work,” Harris said. “They did a great job.”
During his trip through the Seminoles’ order, Harris threw a career-high 37 pitches, including 21 strikes, while striking out Jose Brizuela to end the sixth inning. He was also the only Florida pitcher to retire FSU junior second baseman Devon Travis, who finished 3 for 4 at the plate and a triple shy of the cycle.
Harris’ three perfect innings kept FSU in check while UF’s offense came back and took the lead. His outing also highlighted a six-inning shutout effort by Florida’s stout bullpen.
“It was big for Ryan to come in and put up zeroes … it was huge,” catcher Mike Zunino said. “It stopped momentum. We were able to piece together a couple of at-bats and get some back. He continued to do what he was doing and got it to our big dogs in the end.”
Contact Tom Green at tgreen@alligator.org.
Freshman right-hander Ryan Harris entered in the fourth inning and pitched three frames against the No. 1 Seminoles without allowing a run.
