Jackson Kowar watched and hoped. He needed the bunt to roll foul. He waited for it to roll foul. But it teetered right up against the third-base line and ended up fair.
The bunt loaded the bases with no outs for Missouri, which was trying to score its first run of the game. The next batter for the Tigers was Kameron Misner, who grounded into a double play. However, one run scored.
Kowar now clung to a one-run lead. He needed one more out to preserve it. And he was facing runners on first and third after hitting a batter.
With an 0-2 count against Mizzou’s Brian Sharp, Kowar delivered, and catcher Mike Rivera popped up with an immediate fist-pump. Strike three.
That was as close as the Tigers (21-7, 4-5 SEC) got on Sunday.
Behind Kowar’s five solid innings and a dominant outing from its bullpen, No. 8 UF picked up a 2-1 win and a series sweep of Missouri in Columbia.
“It was just one of those weekends,” coach Kevin O’Sullivan said in a release.
The sweep was largely thanks to UF’s starting pitching, which tossed 21.2 innings and allowed three earned runs in the three games. That’s an ERA of 1.27.
Sunday starter Jackson Kowar may have been the worst of the three — five innings, one run allowed, five walks and four strikeouts — but O’Sullivan said the sophomore wiggled out of some tough situations, including bases loaded, no outs in the fifth inning.
“His sinker was good and he threw some quality sliders today and threw some really good changeups,” O’Sullivan said. “Bottom line, he made some pitches when he needed to.”
Kowar improved to 4-0 on the year, and he couldn’t have done so without an assist from his bullpen. Freshman southpaw Austin Langworthy tossed 1/3 of an inning, and fellow freshman Garrett Milchin lasted two scoreless.
He was replaced by sophomore Michael Byrne, who picked up his fourth save of the season.
“Michael (Byrne) came in and did a nice job,” O’Sullivan said. “The bullpen was outstanding.”
On offense, the Gators (20-9, 5-4 SEC) did their damage early.
First baseman JJ Schwarz pounced in the first inning when he pounded a homer to left, giving the Gators a lead they never relinquished.
Then, in the next inning, the Gators capitalized on a two-out opportunity. Sophomore Blake Reese walked and stole second, and left fielder Ryan Larson drove him in on UF’s next at-bat with a double.
“JJ’s been swinging the bat really good and ran into a ball in the first,” O’Sullivan said. “Larson had a 3-1 count and ran the ball into (the) left-centerfield gap, and it was enough.”
The win pushed Florida to a winning SEC record for the first time this season. It also marked UF's first sweep of an SEC opponent in 2017.
The Gators will try to keep their four-game win streak rolling on Tuesday when they host Stetson and this weekend when they host Tennessee.
“One-run games are not easy to win. Especially not on the road,” O’Sullivan said. “Any time you get a sweep on the road... it’s big for us. I think we’re really starting to come together.”
Contact Ethan Bauer at ebauer@alligator.org or follow him on Twitter @ebaueri.
UF first baseman JJ Schwarz swings during Florida's 2-0 win against Miami on Feb. 25, 2017, at McKethan Stadium.
