Austin Langworthy’s eyes never left the ball. They stayed glued to the pitch as it traveled from the mound, off his aluminum bat and as it sailed over the right-center field wall.
He finally looked away after the ball left the confines of the park and resumed his grand-slam trot.
Langworthy’s dinger helped the Florida baseball team take the first part of its exhibition split game against USF on Saturday in Lakeland, Florida.
The Gators and the Bulls played with special rules which featured two six-inning games and a plethora of stipulations to run-scoring. Right-handed junior pitcher Tyler Dyson got the start for the first game, while sophomore righty Jack Leftwich got the nod for the second.
Nine UF pitchers reached 92 miles per hour or better on the day, and freshmen Nick Pogue, David Luethje and Christian Scott saw action on the mound.
Florida’s bats came alive in the first game. Sophomore catcher Brady Smith notched an RBI single to bring in freshman third baseman Cory Acton from third, the Gators’ first run of the day. Langworthy’s grand slam gave Florida the 5-3 win in Game 1.
Game 2 went a little different.
USF put up four runs, and held UF to just one due to some solid pitching, taking the second game in the process. Bulls righty Nelson Alvarez produced a scoreless final inning.
The Gators will play another exhibition game against Jacksonville on Sunday, this time at McKethan Stadium.
Follow Jake Dreilinger on Twitter @DreilingerJake or contact him at jdreilinger@alligator.org.
Junior right fielder Austin Langworthy hammered a grand slam in Sunday’s games against USF.
