After Florida crashed and burned in a three game series with Arkansas to end the regular season, the Gators have found a new light.
The sixth-seed Gators rolled over the third-seeded Mississippi State Bulldogs in the second round of the SEC Championship tournament Tuesday morning. The Gators bullied the Bulldogs with a 13-1 victory thanks to a solid defensive day and early fireworks display.
Florida southpaw Hunter Barco stepped on the mound and shut down the opposition for the full seven innings. He kept the Bulldogs on a tight leash after their first and only score in the first inning, the only inning in which he allowed multiple hits.
The freshman returned to the dugout with two strikeouts tossed against four hits given up. He retired 19 of the final 23 batters he faced, and didn’t allow a baserunner in three of the final six innings.
The scoring parade began early for the Gators in the second inning when left fielder Jacob Young hit a sacrifice fly to center field to put Florida back ahead. Designated hitter Kris Armstrong then cracked a line drive to right field to record a two-RBI double and push the lead to 4-1.
An inning later, both sophomores combined their efforts to put the game entirely out of reach. Young singled to center field to bring home both Florida runners in scoring position before Armstrong reeled in Young and third baseman Nathan Hickey with another two-run double.
Right fielder Sterlin Thompson led off that fateful third inning against Miss. State pitcher Brandon Smith and immediately cracked a deep shot to left field for a solo home run, his fifth of the year.
Eventually, the Bulldogs tamed the explosive Florida offense, but not before they tried out four different pitchers, including the left-handed KC Hunt. The southpaw did his best to close the wounds but ended up with two earned runs, as well as a pair of unearned scores and found himself on the wrong end of five hits.
The Gators unleashed the final daggers when they piled up four more runs in the seventh inning to clinch an overwhelming 12-run victory. First baseman Kendrick Calilao sacrificed himself to bring home Hickey and add the first insurance run before Thompson and shortstop Josh Rivera read Hunt like a book and tallied three more with a two-RBI double and an RBI single, respectively.
Armstrong, Thompson and Young combined to bat in 10 of Florida’s 13 runs Wednesday morning.
Miss State starting pitcher Brandon Smith was credited with the loss Wednesday afternoon and now stands at 4-3 on the year after recording six earned runs, eight hits, two walks and a single strikeout in just two innings.
After the rout over Mississippi State, the Gators now prepare for third-round action against either the Tennessee Volunteers or Alabama Crimson Tide Thursday afternoon. First pitch will be at 5:30 p.m. from Hoover, Alabama.
Contact Jesse Richardson at jrichardson@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @JesseRich352
