JACKSONVILLE — An unproven newcomer got the best of a heralded All-American Tuesday night.
Casey Turgeon, Florida’s freshman second baseman, and James Ramsey, Florida State’s senior center fielder, unexpectedly crossed paths in the game’s biggest play in front of 10,751 fans at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.
With his team down 1-0 in the sixth inning, Turgeon ripped a 1-0 pitch to deep center field, sending Ramsey on a frantic sprint that ended with his body, garnet cap and the ball all hitting the turf.
Mike Zunino and Taylor Gushue crossed home plate toward a UF dugout that was as euphoric as it has been all season.
“I thought he caught it to be honest,” Turgeon said. “I saw it hit the ground and I was like, ‘Wow.’ I was really surprised.”
On a night when runs were as tough to come by as a seat, the quick outburst was all No. 1 Florida (23-2, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) would need. After two additional runs tacked on by left fielder Vickash Ramjit, the No. 4 Seminoles (21-4, 8-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) fell by a score of 4-1.
The victory snapped a four-game losing streak in the series for the Gators when playing in Jacksonville and gave Florida its first season series victory over Florida State since 2009.
“We came out here and we had to do anything possible to win,” junior reliever Steven “Paco” Rodriguez said. “We haven’t won here in a few years, so it was a big-time game for us.”
Before the Gators were able to break through, the game was a defensive grind. Apart from a run on a Ramsey fielder’s choice to first that was misplayed by Gushue, it was scoreless for 5.5 innings. A damp wind was blowing in, the temperature was dropping and the park was playing as pitcher-friendly as the Polo Grounds.
UF starter Greg Larson had a strong 3.2-inning outing, but it was FSU right-hander Scott Sitz who made things rough early for Florida. The Gators entered the sixth inning with just one hit after stranding two runners in each of the two previous innings and their only highlights had come on defense.
Sophomore left-hander Daniel Gibson entered in the fourth and got out of a second-and-third, two-out jam with one pitch. Two innings later, freshman right-hander Johnny Magliozzi was called upon with the bases loaded and one out. He needed only six pitches to register a 5-4-3 double play that ignited the Gators.
“That’s about as difficult of a situation as you can be in, so the way [Magliozzi] responded and the way he pitched, I couldn’t be more proud of him,” UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan said.
From there it was all Turgeon, Ramjit and Florida’s two most prominent relievers.
Rodriguez and Austin Maddox were once again an unstoppable duo, working the game’s final three innings, allowing just one hit and striking out a combined four batters.
When Seminoles right fielder Seth Miller whiffed at Maddox’s final pitch of the night, there was extra enthusiasm on the field just like there had been in the fourth and the sixth. This game meant a little more, and the abrasive screams of the cream uniform-clad Gators provided all the proof spectators needed.
“We finally got one,” O’Sullivan said. “It’s the first time in five years. I’m really pleased with the way we played.”
Florida freshman second baseman Casey Turgeon watches as his sixth-inning triple soars toward center fielder James Ramsey. Turgeon’s two RBI on the hit proved to be the winning runs in UF’s 4-1 victory against FSU.
