Nick Horvath didn’t take a single right-handed swing in batting practice before Friday night’s game against South Carolina.
But when the time came for his lone at-bat in the ninth inning, the switch hitter blasted his first career home run to left field off of left-hander Josh Reagan, untying a 4-4 game against South Carolina to give Florida a one-run lead.
The No. 1 Gators (37-6, 14-5 Southeastern Conference) held on to defeat the No. 6 Gamecocks 5-4 in Columbia in the series opener to hand South Carolina just its second loss in 27 games at home.
Both teams now sit tied atop the conference standings with 14-5 records in SEC play.
Horvath, who had been working with UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan and his staff on his lefty stroke before the game, already knew which way he was going to bat.
“He actually asked me before the game if he gets an at-bat tonight, do I want him left-handed,” O’Sullivan said. “I said, ‘absolutely not.’”
Horvath wasn’t the only hero, though.
Three batters before his blast, freshman Jonathan India cranked a solo home run of his own to tie the game up at 4-4.
After climbing back from an early deficit all game, India and Horvath’s homers quieted the fans at Founders Park and sent some life into the Gators’ dugout.
But O’Sullivan knew it wasn’t over yet.
“Guys were really into it and jumping around,” he said. “I told them, ‘we gotta go out and play defense too now.’”
In the bottom of the ninth, closer Shaun Anderson allowed a leadoff single to LT Tolbert but induced a groundball double play. Then after a walk, Dom Thompson-Williams skied a ball deep to left field, where UF’s Nelson Maldonado hauled it in against the wall for the final out to lock down Anderson’s 10th save.
What was supposed to be a pitching duel between Florida’s Logan Shore and South Carolina’s Clarke Schmidt turned into a slugfest for the Gamecocks.
Shore served up a two-run home run to Alex Destino in the first inning, putting the Gators in a 2-0 hole. In the bottom of the fifth, Chris Cullen mashed a solo blast to left field to boost USC’s lead to 3-0.
Shore, who had allowed two homers in 63.2 innings before Friday, allowed two in his 4.2 innings of work. The Coon Rapids, Minnesota, native gave up three earned runs on five hits while striking out five.
With Shore chased out of the game early, Florida needed timely hitting and solid relief appearances to keep it in the game.
Both were present.
Sophomore JJ Schwarz crushed a two-run home run in the top of the sixth inning to cut the Gamecocks’ lead to 3-2. But South Carolina (33-9, 14-5 SEC) quickly answered, using two doubles — one off Kirby Snead and one off Dane Dunning — to plate its fourth run.
In the seventh inning, UF pinch-hitter Jeremy Vasquez came through with an RBI single to center to score Mike Rivera from second, chopping USC’s lead down to 4-3.
Dunning worked two key frames in the seventh and eighth innings, limiting South Carolina to just one hit and no runs before Anderson closed the door in the ninth.
O’Sullivan was proud of the way his team fought the whole game.
“We hung in there and we did just enough. That’s the bottom line,” he said.
The Gators and Gamecocks will square off again in game two Saturday at 7 p.m. Junior A.J. Puk is scheduled to take the mound.
A radio broadcast contributed to this report.
Contact Patrick Pinak at ppinak@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @Pinakk12
Freshman infielder Jonathan India hits a ball during Florida's 7-4 win over Texas A&M on April 1, 2016, at McKethan Stadium.
