Austin Langworthy pulled his hands in.
When the freshman left fielder saw a fastball chugging toward his hip, he flung his wrists toward the pitch and uncoiled a violent swing.
Then, for a second, he admired it.
“I didn’t miss it,” he said. “I think I got caught up in the moment a little bit.”
The ball sailed over the right field fence and the net above it before bouncing onto Stadium Road.
Langworthy’s first-inning solo home run was just the beginning of Florida’s offensive outburst in a 7-0 series-opening win against Columbia Friday night at McKethan Stadium.
The bounce back victory was just what UF (8-2) head coach Kevin O’Sullivan was looking for.
On Wednesday, his team recorded six hits and committed three errors in an 11-2 loss to UCF that he called “one of the worst games that we’ve played since we’ve been here.”
“I thought the first four innings were really good,” O’Sullivan said. “I don’t know if we had a hit after the fifth inning, which was a little disappointing.”
All nine starting Gators recorded either a hit or an RBI.
Freshman Keenan Bell led the way, knocking in two of UF’s runs — one on a third-inning single that scored Deacon Liput and the other on a fourth-inning groundout that plated Jonathan India.
Junior catcher Mike Rivera also added some insurance with a third-inning ground-rule double that India raced home on.
On the mound, ace Alex Faedo picked up right where he left off.
After holding Miami scoreless over 8.2 innings last time out, the junior stifled Columbia (0-1) for seven frames. He limited the Lions to two hits and no runs on 79 pitches while striking out nine en route to his second victory of the season.
“I felt really good,” he said. “Just tried to throw the ball down and let my defense work and get out of the game pretty quick.”
A week after he was given a one-run lead against the Hurricanes, Faedo was more than happy to work with a seven-run cushion.
“It’s a lot less stressful,” he said. “When you’re pitching with a lead you know you can just go out there and pound the zone.”
Contact Patrick Pinak at ppinak@alligator.org or follow him on Twitter @pinakk12.
UF outfielder Austin Langworthy connects with a pitch during Florida's 8-1 win over William & Mary on Feb. 18, 2017, at McKethan Stadium.
