With the series against Georgia on the line, Ryan Larson came in clutch on Sunday.
Heading into the sixth inning of the series finale, the sophomore had yet to record a hit, going 0-for-6 with a strikeout and a pair of walks.
But with the game tied at 4 and the bases loaded, Larson laced a pitch from UGA reliever Jared Walsh to left field for a three-run double to give No. 10 Florida the 7-4 victory.
The win gave the Gators (35-13, 15-9 Southeastern Conference) their fifth SEC series win of the season.
“After Friday night, to win the next two games it was a good weekend for us,” UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan said in a release. “We fought through a lot of adversity; we probably didn’t play our best baseball this weekend but we beat an SEC team on the road two out of three – I would take that every weekend.”
Sophomore Buddy Reed opened the scoring for the Gators on a two-out, two-RBI single in the first inning, scoring Dalton Guthrie and Peter Alonso. Florida scored two more runs in the top of the third on a passed ball and a Harrison Bader RBI groundout.
But Georgia (22-25, 7-16 SEC) was quick to strike back.
UF freshman Alex Faedo walked two batters before UGA’s Daniel Nichols ripped a ball over the right-field fence for a three-run homer and the early 3-2 lead.
“He makes one pitch there it’s probably a different outing for him,” O’Sullivan said of Faedo. “But, it’s a young mistake, he’ll learn from it and I have total confidence in him.
Faedo threw two more innings, giving up just one more hit — a solo home run to Georgia’s Stephen Wrenn — before O’Sullivan went to the bullpen.
Florida’s relievers responded by tossing six scoreless innings, surrendering just four hits over the final 18 outs.
Junior Taylor Lewis (2.2 IP, 2 H, 4 Ks) earned the win, while Danny Young (3 IP, 0 H, 1 K) earned his second save of the year.
UF returns to McKethan Stadium for a midweek game against USF before heading to Nashville, Tennessee, for a three-game series against No. 6 Vanderbilt.
The Commodores lead the SEC with a 17-7 conference record, while the Gators sit two games behind them — good for second place in the SEC East and fourth in the conference overall. LSU and Texas A&M in the SEC West both sit at 16-7 in the conference, a half-game out of first.
Follow Jordan McPherson on Twitter @J_McPherson1126
UF's Ryan Larson follows through on a swing during the Florida Gators' 7-4 win against the Alabama Crimson Tide on March 28, 2015, at McKethan Stadium in Gainesville, Florida.
