It was frustrating. It was just so frustrating.
It was runners left on base, untimely errors and unlucky bounces for eight innings. It was striking out with the bases loaded, getting tagged out in mid-air and chipping at a lead but never quite overtaking it.
Florida’s game against Vanderbilt on Tuesday night in Nashville was all of that until the ninth inning.
Then it wasn’t.
Then it was Ryan Larson suddenly driving in the game-tying run. It was Dalton Guthrie pushing the Gators ahead. And it was Nick Horvath adding some insurance, swelling UF’s lead to the final score of 10-6 in its comeback win over the Commodores in Nashville.
“It was special,” coach Kevin O’Sullivan said in a release. “It was a special night.”
The hero for the Gators was Larson, who went 5-for-5 and pumped his team-best batting average to .370. He slugged three singles and two doubles while scoring three of UF’s runs.
“What can you say about Ryan Larson, a senior, went 5-for-5 on the night?” O’Sullivan said.
The other offensive standout for the Gators was second baseman Deacon Liput, who had three hits and set No. 16 Florida (23-11, 7-6 SEC) up for its first runs of the game in the top of the third.
Facing a 2-2 count with one out and two men on, the sophomore popped what looked like a routine fly-out to shallow right field. But as the ball hung in the air, Vanderbilt’s second baseman and right fielder increased their speeds, eventually meeting up just in time to watch the ball fall in the three-or-so feet separating them.
That loaded the bases for shortstop Dalton Guthrie, who notched an RBI on a sacrifice fly before centerfielder Austin Langworthy drove home another with a single.
JJ Schwarz then struck out, leaving the potential tying and lead-taking runs on base.
This was the common theme for the Gators on Tuesday night: Make progress, get close to taking the lead and then blow it.
It happened in the fourth inning when catcher Mark Kolozsvary stranded a pair with a flyout. It happened in the fifth inning after the Gators got a run on a bases-loaded walk but failed to drive in any of their other base runners. It happened in the sixth inning when JJ Schwarz was left staring at a called strike three with two more men on. And it happened in the eighth when Guthrie tried to score on a wild pitch but the ball bounced off the backstop right to Vandy’s catcher, who blocked the plate, tagged a soaring Guthrie and rolled the ball toward the mound before UF’s shortstop hit the ground.
Through all of that, though, UF kept chipping at Vandy’s lead. The Gators scored in the third, fifth, sixth and seventh innings, while Vanderbilt was shut out from fifth inning on.
The Gators finally broke through and overtook the Commodores with their five-run ninth.
“Offensively, what can you say?” O’Sullivan said. “We had some really competitive at-bats.”
On the mound, the Gators turned to ace Alex Faedo, who was the victim of shoddy defense. The Gators committed three errors behind Faedo, causing only two of his six runs allowed to be earned.
“I thought Alex’s stuff was good on the mound,” O’Sullivan said. “There were just a couple situations that got him in trouble.
The junior went six innings for the Gators. He struck out seven and walked one.
He was replaced by freshman Garrett Milchin, who went two scoreless innings and got the win.
Sophomore Michael Byrne also came on in the ninth to finish the game.
The Gators resume their series with Vanderbilt tomorrow at 7:30 with Brady Singer, who sports the team’s second-best ERA at 1.60, scheduled to pitch. O’Sullivan is hoping that his team will use its come-from-behind win as motivation in that game and all future games.
“This is one of those memorable wins,” O’Sullivan said, “that hopefully can really push us forward.”
Contact Ethan Bauer at ebauer@alligator.org or follow him on Twitter @ebaueri.
UF outfielder Ryan Larson walks off the field after Florid'a 2-0 win over Miami on Feb. 25, 2017, at McKethan Stadium.
