When he heard the metallic ping of bat meeting ball, Deacon Liput didn’t think. He ran.
The Florida second baseman sprinted from third base toward home plate while the ball dribbled about 20 feet, where William and Mary pitcher Nick Raquet scooped it up. He knew Liput was coming.
Facing home plate, the lefthander prepared to cock his arm and gun Liput down. He had to hurry.
He reached into his glove for the ball, eyes now locked on his target, desperate to unload the throw.
It slipped.
Raquet had no play on Liput, who slid home safely. The pitcher had to opt for the out at first base instead.
He jabbed his glove after letting the ball go.
On the next at-bat, UF’s Jonathan India scored on a wild pitch to give the Gators their first lead of the game. That lead was never relinquished in No. 3 Florida’s 5-4 win over the the William and Mary Tribe on Friday night at McKethan Stadium. But despite the final score, coach Kevin O’Sullivan knows the game wasn’t ideal.
“We’ll get better as the weekend goes on,” he said. “And we’ll be much better a week from now, two weeks from now. But it’s always good to get the first one.”
The story for Florida early was one of missed opportunities.
In the bottom of the third inning, for example, Blake Reese tapped a bunt down the third-base line with runners on first and second. By the time the Tribe’s pitcher reached it, his only play was on Reese at first base.
Reese beat the throw.
Dalton Guthrie was up next, stepping into the batter’s box with no outs, loaded bases and his team trailing by one.
He struck out looking.
Next was Deacon Liput, who knocked in a run with a grounder to first.
Next was India, who struck out looking, followed by catcher JJ Schwarz, who grounded into a fielder’s choice.
Despite having the bases loaded with no outs, Florida only scored once.
But Florida’s offense redeemed itself in the fifth inning when Schwarz was able to drive a ball to right-center, scoring two runs and bringing the Gators within one. From there, Liput and India did the rest.
“You always think, as a coach, that you’re gonna come back,” O’Sullivan said. “You never feel like you’re not gonna come back.”
Added India: “We have a heart in the game. We have nuts. We all play as a team together.”
On the mound, meanwhile, starter Alex Faedo sent mixed signals.
There were moments of dominance — the junior tossed seven strikeouts — but he struggled with control.
For the night, Baseball America’s top college prospect allowed four hits, four earned runs and three walks in four-and-two-thirds innings.
“Ummm,” Schwarz said, gnawing on his gum for about five seconds when asked about Faedo’s performance, “I thought he threw the ball pretty good.”
O’Sullivan was less convinced.
“Alex will obviously be much, much better,” he said. “It’s the first night, you know? For whatever reason, everybody’s overanxious.”
The bullpen, however, was dominant.
In relief of Faedo, Nick Horvath and Michael Byrne combined for four-and-a-third scoreless innings, with Byrne going the final three.
“Michael Byrne was outstanding,” O’Sullivan said. “He was probably the reason why we won the game.”
The Gators will face the Tribe again tomorrow at 4 p.m. hoping for a more consistent performance. But nevertheless, O’Sullivan was thrilled to just get one in the win column.
“The food tastes a lot better after a W than after a loss,” he said, “and obviously you wanna win the first one of the year to get going in the right direction.”
Contact Ethan Bauer at ebauer@alligator.org or follow him on Twitter @ebaueri
Mike Rivera, right, congratulates Jonathan India after he scored the eventual game-winning run during Florida's 5-4 win over William and Mary on Feb. 17, 2017, at McKethan Stadium.
