Florida split its two games against Ole Miss on Saturday, as the Gators struggled to hit in the first game but caught fire in the second.
After hitting .100 on Friday, No. 2 Florida (20-5, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) fell 5-2 to the Rebels (13-10, 3-3 SEC) in the first game, tallying a .222 batting average.
UF was held scoreless until the fourth inning when Mike Rivera hit an RBI single to right field. After Christian Hicks flied out, Ryan Larson hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score JJ Schwarz. Florida only recorded three more hits for the remainder of the game.
Starter A.J Puk was responsible for all of the Rebels’ five runs, and allowed three hits and struck out six batters in 2.1 innings.
UF defeated Ole Miss 8-4 in the second game of its doubleheader as its pitching staff totaled 12 strikeouts and its batters hit .333.
Harrison Bader had one hit and two RBIs, including a single that sent home Dalton Guthrie in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead. UF scored three runs in the second inning after Rivera grounded out and Guthrie singled, sending in two runners.
After another RBI single in the third, Ole Miss answered in the fifth with an RBI double deep to left center. The Gators scored two more runs in the sixth and one run in the seventh, but gave up four more runs to the Rebels in the ninth after UF committed two errors.
“It was one of those games we needed to win, we needed to get out of here with a W,” coach Kevin O’Sullivan said in a release. “We’ll go back home —we’re .500 in the league—regroup and obviously we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Florida will continue its four game road trip against Stetson on Tuesday.
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A.J. Puk pitches during Florida's 7-2 loss to Miami on Feb. 21 at McKethan Stadium.
