Jud Fabian was 0 for 4 when he walked to the plate in the top of the 10th inning with fellow freshman Cory Acton standing on first base.
Fabian improved to 1 for 5 on the biggest hit of the night. He launched a ball to right-center field, and Acton came around to score. Fabian tried to turn a double into a triple but was tagged out at third. It didn’t matter.
The Gators broke the 4-4 stalemate and had another freshman difference maker ready to close out the game.
Nolan Crisp earned his fifth save of the season, and the Gators followed up their midweek struggles last week with a 5-4 extra-inning victory on the road. No. 7 Florida (6-3) won its third-straight game after a three-game losing streak last week while Jacksonville (3-4) fell below .500.
Wil Dalton and coach Kevin O’Sullivan were both ejected in the third inning after Dalton argued balls and strikes with the home plate umpire. As a result, the Gators played seven innings without their coach and one of the most experienced players on the team.
Brady McConnell led off the game with a walk and Austin Langworthy followed with a single. McConnell advanced to third on the hit, setting up runners on the corners for Kendrick Calilao, who has been the Gators’ best hitter through nine games.
Calilao hit his team-leading seventh RBI of the season on a sacrifice fly to right field that allowed McConnell to score. Jordan Butler, in his first plate appearance of the season, doubled to right field to bring home Langworthy and put the Gators ahead 2-0 in the first inning.
Florida built on its lead in the second inning. Blake Reese was hit by a pitch, stole second and came around to score on a McConnell single to put UF ahead 3-0.
Justin Alintoff made his first start of the season for the Gators on Tuesday. After a scoreless first, Alintoff allowed back-to-back two-run innings by the Dolphins to relinquish the lead.
Jacob Southern began the two-out rally for Jacksonville in the second with an infield single and Alintoff walked Duncan Hunter in the next at-bat. They both scored on a Cory Heffron double down the right-field line to make it a one-run game, 3-2.
Jacksonville took the lead in the fourth inning. With Scott Dubrule on second and Dakota Julylia on third after a single and an error, respectively, Cory Garrastazu tripled to right field, scoring them both and putting the Dolphins ahead 4-3.
Only one run was scored over the next five innings. It came in the seventh when Langworthy scored from second on a Nelson Maldonado double to tie the game at 4 apiece.
The Florida bullpen was stellar. The freshman trio of David Luethje, Christian Scott and Crisp combined to throw seven scoreless innings in relief.
Jacksonville called on five pitchers out of the bullpen after starting pitcher Austin Temple allowed three runs on five hits in 4.1 innings and struck out three batters.
Strikeouts were once again an issue for the Gators. They struck out 12 times, but nine hits and five runs overshadowed that mark.
Florida returns to Gainesville on Wednesday to host the UCF Knights (5-2).
Follow Kyle Wood on Twitter @Kkylewood and contact him at kwood@alligator.org.
UF outfielder Jud Fabian went 1 for 5 during Florida's 5-4 win over Jacksonville in extra innings. His only hit of the game came in the top of the 10th inning when he hit a double to right-center field.
