Peter Alonso stepped to the plate in a situation most players fantasize about.
Tie game.
Extra innings.
Bases loaded.
Two outs.
Full count.
The junior first baseman knew he didn’t want the free pass.
“It’s no fun walking a run in,” Alonso said.
Alonso lined a walk-off single to left and was swarmed by his teammates at first base, as the No. 1 Gators (19-1, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) defeated Missouri 4-3 in 10 innings Friday night at McKethan Stadium in their SEC opener.
“Everyone wants to come up in the clutch situation and get that game winning hit,” Alonso said. “That’s something that you dream of as a kid.”
Alonso, who had been 0-for-4 prior to his final at-bat, said he was looking for a fastball after Missouri pitcher Brian Sharp walked UF’s last two hitters.
The Tampa native said his last walk-off hit came during his sophomore year of high school.
“I almost forgot what a walk-off felt like,” Alonso said.
Florida went eight innings without scoring a run after putting up three in the first inning.
After singles by sophomores Dalton Guthrie and JJ Schwarz, freshman Deacon Liput lined an RBI single to right. A batter later, sophomore Mike Rivera laced a two-run single up the middle.
Missouri (14-7, 0-1 SEC) began to see success against UF starter Logan Shore in the fourth inning.
Shore struck out the first two batters before Zach Lavy boomed a triple off the centerfield wall. Shane Benes then drove in Lavy with a single to left to put the Tigers on the board and cut Florida’s lead to 3-1.
With a pitch count approaching 100, Shore was pulled in the sixth inning after giving up a one-out double.
Despite the shorter outing for Shore, the junior right hander struck out a career-high 10 batters, allowing two runs on five hits.
“They made me throw a lot of pitches early in the game,” Shore said. “They got me out of there early. Credit them.“
Junior Kirby Snead, who replaced Shore, surrendered an RBI single to Lavy to cut Florida’s lead to 3-2 in the sixth inning.
The rest of the game fell in the hands of Florida’s bullpen.
Right-hander Brady Singer relieved Snead with two outs in the seventh inning. The freshman tossed a scoreless eighth inning before allowing the game-tying single to Tigers’ centerfielder Jake Ring.
In a 3-3 ball game, UF pitcher Shaun Anderson held Missouri scoreless in the 10th with three strikeouts before Alonso walked off in the bottom half to seal the win.
Despite tossing nine innings of two-run ball, Missouri starting pitcher Reggie McClain earned the no decision.
Alonso said McClain kept the Gators off balance after the first inning.
“He slowed the ball down, he located his stuff,” he said. “He did a really good job of mixing up his pitches. Hats off to him for making the adjustment.”
Florida and Missouri will square off again Saturday at 7 p.m. in McKethan Stadium. Junior A.J. Puk will draw the start for UF.
Contact Patrick Pinak at ppinak@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter at @Pinakk12.
The Florida Gators celebrate with Peter Alonso (20) after he hit a walk-off single in the 10th inning to seal Florida's 4-3 win against Missouri on March 16, 2016, at McKethan Stadium.
