Taylor Gushue slapped first base coach Don Norris’s hand after smacking a two-run single into right field. Florida, starving for the big hit, needed its catcher to come through in the eighth down a run.
A weight lifted off the sophomore’s shoulders and the growing burden placed upon a slumping offense disappeared.
With the bases loaded and no outs, Gushue delivered on a high and outside fastball from Miami left-hander A.J. Salcines. Florida (4-7) added two more runs off wild pitches in the inning en route to a 6-4 victory to even its series against Miami (10-1) on Saturday night at McKethan Stadium. The win snapped a six-game losing streak.
“I don’t know what I was thinking. I was relaxed. I wasn’t trying to do too much,” Gushue said. “That’s the biggest thing to do in that situation. You can’t try to do too much. Just try to put a good swing on the ball and that’s what happened.”
The situation looked familiar to Gushue. He watched from the dugout as Florida squandered the same opportunity in the ninth against Florida Gulf Coast on Sunday at home.
Florida batted .155 with runners in scoring position during the losing streak.
“We’d been looking for a guy to step up and have a big at-bat all year long,” coach Kevin O’Sullivan said.
The hit ignited a Florida offense that took advantage of two wild pitches from Miami right-hander Adam Sargent. It gave Florida the insurance it needed to lock up its first win since Feb. 19.
For once, Florida could take a breath.
Johnny Magliozzi picked up the win in relief. He spelled Ryan Harris who tossed 3.1 innings following starter Tucker Simpson. Harris entered the game with a 3-1 deficit. He retired 10 of his 12 batters in his best appearance all season.
Simpson punched out a Gators season high six batters in 4.1 innings of work. The freshman threw 92 pitches and allowed two earned runs.
Miami opened the scoring in the fourth on an RBI single by freshman Brandon Lopez. Gushue countered with a sacrifice fly to center in the bottom half. The Hurricanes plated two runs off Simpson in the fifth on a throwing error by third baseman Zack Powers during an attempted sacrifice bunt.
Casey Turgeon brought the Gators within one in the sixth with a solo home run into the bullpen in right-center.
Magliozzi and Gushue chest-bumped once Brad Fieger flied out to center for the final out. Florida huddled in the dugout after relishing the win on the field. Players yelled and jumped with a newfound energy. This wasn’t a squad searching for answers. For a night, it finally got the result it wanted.
“When you break, what is it…a six-game losing streak? Things tend to change in the dugout,” Gushue said. “You get a little more pep in your step and things get to be a little more exciting.”
UF announces starter for finale: Right-hander Eric Hanhold will make his second career start on Sunday, O’Sullivan said. Hanhold went three innings in the series finale against Florida Gulf Coast. He followed two-straight drubbings from the Eagles. Now, he’ll pitch after a comeback victory.
“Everybody has been kind of pressing a little bit. Winning is contagious and so is losing,” O’Sullivan said. “Hopefully the pregame meal tastes a little bit better tomorrow than it has been for everybody.”
Florida has won 12 of its last 13 games against Miami. A Florida loss on Sunday would be the first time Miami took a series since it swept Florida in Coral Gables from Feb. 27-March 1, 2009.
Turgeon breaks out: His home run marked the first extra-base hit for the sophomore since going deep against Duke on Feb. 16. That’s a span of 43 at-bats.
“I’d been hitting the ball well,” Turgeon said. “They’ve just been getting caught.”
Florida had just two base runners advance to second before Turgeon homered to leadoff the sixth on Saturday.
Contact Adam Pincus at apincus@alligator.org.
Sophomore catcher Taylor Gushue swings during Florida’s 7-3 victory against Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 17, 2012 at McKethan Stadium. Gushue went 2 for 3 at the plate on Saturday. His two-run single in the eighth inning helped Florida even its series against Miami.
