Of all the great teams and rotations Florida has had throughout the program’s years, none have accomplished what Florida did Saturday.
Not under Kevin O’Sullivan.
Not under Joe Arnold.
And not even under Dave Fuller, who won a school record 556 games as head coach.
Behind strong starting pitching yet again, the Gators (5-1) blanked the Hurricanes 2-0 at McKethan Stadium, marking the first time ever in a series that dates back to 1940 that UF has shut out UM in back-to-back games.
“It’s not easy to shutout anybody, let alone a team like Miami,” O’Sullivan said. “Yeah, it’s a heck of an accomplishment, but it’s one of those things. You’re only as good as your last game.”
Last night it was Alex Faedo.
Tonight, it was sophomore Brady Singer.
His fastball routinely in the mid-90s and touching 96 mph early in the game, Singer dominated the Hurricanes (2-3) all game.
When he did find himself in trouble, his teammates made plays for him.
In the fifth, third baseman Jonathan India started a 5-4-3 double play to escape trouble. And in the eighth after Singer was lifted following a single and a walk, outfielder Nick Horvath came in and struck out Johnny Ruiz to end the threat.
Singer finished allowing no runs through 7.2 innings, striking out 11 en route to his second win in as many starts this season.
“It’s just one of those days where everything was working,” Singer said. “I lived off the fastball tonight.”
Singer’s impressive start continued an especially obvious pattern to O’Sullivan: Tremendous starting pitching.
Through two games, Faedo and Singer have combined for 19 strikeouts in 16.1 scoreless innings against Miami.
“Those first two starts were as good of starts as we’ve had here,” O’Sullivan said. “I’m awfully excited about that.”
While the Gators haven’t nearly been as exciting at the plate, — they had just three hits in the game and have combined for three runs this series — they made their few knocks count.
Mark Kolozsvary roped a solo homer to left in the third to put Florida on the board 1-0.
Three innings later, Jonathan India blasted a solo dinger into the left field bleachers to give Florida starter Brady Singer a 2-0 lead.
Singer, not one to shy away from competition, said he actually preferred the closer game.
And through two nearly flawless starts, it’s easy to see why.
“When you got a bigger lead, that’s fun,” Singer said. “But I think it’s almost more fun when you have less of a lead.”
Contact Patrick Pinak at ppinak@alligator.org or follow him on Twitter @pinakk12
UF pitcher Brady Singer throws a pitch during Florida's 2-0 win against Miami on Feb. 25, 2017, at McKethan Stadium.
