Kendrick Calilao wanted to go home.
Just before 10 p.m. Tuesday, the sophomore right fielder took the batter’s box against the Seminoles in the bottom of the 10th inning and dug his feet in.
Two pitches later, Calilao launched a changeup into night sky, fleeing to right field and into the raucous Florida crowd as both Gator players and fans collectively lost their minds over the first victory over Florida State in 735 days.
“He (Calilao) is a really good teammate, he continues to work hard and given the opportunity, he took advantage of it tonight,” head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “Good things happen to good people.”
Calilao’s heroics ended a 3-2 pitching battle and lifted Florida over their in-state rival to move to 22-11 on the year.
Florida struck first this time around. Sacrifice flies from Jordan Butler and Colby Halter plated the game’s first two runs and gave the Gators the lead.
Florida State right fielder Robby Martin tied the game when he doubled to right center before he scored on a teammate’s groundout, and the game deadlocked at two apiece.
The story of the Seminoles’ game lay not with their bats, but in their gloves. Florida State committed four errors between the second and fifth innings. The first two opened the second and positioned the initial runs.
Florida starter Garrett Milchin offered revenge and a little bit more in his sixth start of 2021.
Milchin struggled against the Seminoles in March. In just 1.2 innings, Florida State bullied him to the tune of eight hits and seven earned runs, both the highest of his collegiate career.
Milchin set more career highs Tuesday, but on the opposite end of the spectrum. He threw his longest outing as a Gator, six innings, and struck out a personal-best five batters in his best outing of the year.
“He (Milchin) did everything we could have asked from him,” O’Sullivan said. “I know he was probably motivated to get another opportunity to pitch against them.”
The game quickly evolved into a pitcher’s duel as both sides failed to break the tie.
The Gators stranded a pair of runners in both the bottom of the fifth and the seventh, but strikeouts doomed both rallies before they left the ground.
While Florida’s offense remained stagnant, the pitching answered the call as Jack Leftwich offered one of his best outings of the year.
Leftwich, a typical weekend starter for the Gators, relieved Milchin after the sixth and clamped down hard on Florida State’s bats.
Just three days after an eight-pitch performance against Tennessee that yielded two earned runs, Leftwich struck out seven of the 13 batters he faced. He let a single Seminole see the basepaths, a 10th-inning walk.
From the middle of the fourth inning onward, both teams combined for three hits and 19 strikeouts.
However, the third hit proved the difference as Calilao’s missile into the right field crowd moved the Gators to 22-11.
“I think tonight’s win followed up by Sunday’s win against Tennessee certainly should give us a lot of confidence moving forward,” O’Sullivan said. “I would expect us to hopefully get on a little bit of a run here and play like we’re capable.”
Florida welcomes Missouri to town for a home weekend series beginning Friday at 6:30 pm.
Contact Ryan Haley at rhaley@alligator.org or follow him on Twitter @ryan_dhaley
Ryan Haley, a UF journalism senior with a sports & media specialization from Jacksonville, Florida, is Summer 2022's Engagement Managing Editor. He grew up playing a bunch of different sports before settling on golf, following Rory McIlroy and all Philadelphia sports teams. He also loves all things fiction, reading, watching shows and movies and talking about whatever current story or character is in his head.
