Kirby McMullen wanted all of the smoke as he blazed around third after his go-ahead homer in the 10th.
The Gators third baseman scorched a 1-0 pitch off Miami pitcher Alex McFarlane into the dark, rainy night at Mark Light Field to put the Gators on top 3-2 in extras, sparking what would be an eventual 7-4 win for Florida. McMullen celebrated and chirped at every green and orange ballplayer on the diamond, with all of that excitement and trash talk coming to a climax at home plate with Miami catcher Adrian Del Castillo.
The solo shot and the avalanche of runs that followed moved No. 2 Florida to an undefeated 7-0 record. No. 3 Miami fell to 4-2.
After the coaches and umpires defused the confrontation, Florida followed up its talk by ripping off four more runs in the top of the 10th to take a 7-2 lead.
RBI singles by first baseman Kris Armstrong, shortstop Josh Rivera and pitcher Ben Specht, along with a run on an error by Miami second baseman Tyler Paige, placed UF in a comfortable position to walk out of Mark Light Field with a win and a sixth-straight series win against Miami.
But the tension between the two teams, the stormy weather and Miami’s vaunted offense meant nothing would come easily for the sophomore pitcher Specht.
Miami left its deflating performance in the top of the 10th and came out swinging in the bottom of the frame.
The bottom of the 10th saw the Hurricanes send seven hitters to the plate. Miami notched three hits, a walk and also reached on an error to give Florida a proper scare, scoring two runs.
After a sacrifice fly by first baseman Alex Toral and an RBI groundout by pinch hitter Luis Tuero, Miami had Anthony Vilar up to bat as the tying run with two outs in the top of the 10th.
With runners on the corners, Specht buckled down for Florida and got Vilar to fly out harmlessly to Austin Langworthy in left field to end the game.
But all of this cardiac unrest wasn’t possible without the heroics of Florida’s most dangerous early-season hitter, Jud Fabian.
He finished 2 for 6 on the night, harnessed his clutch gene at the most pivotal time for Florida in the ninth with a two-out, game-tying double past third base and down the left-field line to score Armstrong.
Florida, which had struggled mightily to push across runs all evening entering the ninth, turned a seemingly insurmountable 2-1 deficit into a tie game and a deadly momentum swing that carried into the offensive onslaught in extras.
The main reason for the low-scoring deadlock throughout the game was elite starting pitching for the second-straight night.
Jack Leftwich got the ball for Florida, and Chris McMahon toed the rubber for Miami.
Leftwich and McMahon finished their battle with a draw. Both pitchers went six innings and allowed a run apiece.
Leftwich gave up four hits, walked five and struck out six Hurricanes. The junior right-hander’s lone run allowed came on an opposite field, wall scraping home run by Toral in the second inning.
Miami took their 1-0 lead to the fourth inning, when McMahon began to have some command issues.
McMahon put runners on the bases too often, allowing six hits and two walks over his six innings of work. He gave up his first run of the year on a sacrifice fly to Gators designated hitter Jordan Butler that scored second baseman Cory Acton.
That would be all Florida sniffed of home plate until Fabian’s double in the ninth.
For a while, it looked as if Miami would sneak away with a win after scraping together a go-ahead run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Gators pitcher Christian Scott was handed the ball to start the bottom of the frame after Miami reliever Tyler Keysor pitched a scoreless inning in the top of the frame.
Scott struggled to put away the Hurricanes’ lineup, facing six batters and allowing the go-ahead run on a 3-2 pitch to Raymond Gil, scoring Lala.
But that’s all Florida’s bullpen would surrender until it had tons of breathing room in the 10th.
Nick Pogue and Specht combined for a scoreless eighth and ninth innings, registering five strikeouts and surrendering just two hits to close out the final two innings of regulation.
Saturday’s win increased the Gators win total over the Hurricanes to 14 in 17 games.
Florida will go for the sweep of Miami on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Alex Rodriguez Park.
Follow Dylan on Twitter @dylanoshea24 and contact him at doshea@alligator.org
Jack Leftwich
