Florida played 16 innings on Friday night. Its offense played four innings on Saturday.
Michael Palazzone, a pitcher who has struggled in 2012 but won three straight meetings with the Gators, worked eight innings and led a defensive attack that didn’t allow a UF hit for the last five innings of Saturday’s game.
“You’re not going to win many games like that,” Gators coach Kevin O’Sullivan said.
Georgia (24-16, 8-9 Southeastern Conference) beat No. 5 Florida (30-9, 10-7 SEC) 5-3 behind early offensive prowess and solid pitching and defense. The Bulldogs committed no errors and out-hit the Gators 9-6.
Junior left-hander Brian Johnson got the start for the Gators and lasted seven innings, tying a career high and giving the Gators a chance to win after giving up four earned runs. He was touched up early in the first and third inning.
He gave up an RBI double and a fielder’s choice RBI to shortstop Kyle Farmer and a two-run single by second baseman Levi Hyams before settling in. Johnson allowed just one hit after the fourth. His only other base-runner came when he hit center fielder Peter Verdin with a pitch in the seventh. Verdin had slid cleats up into UF shortstop Nolan Fontana in the fifth.
“He gave us a chance,” senior right fielder Preston Tucker said. “He’s going to go out there and compete. … He did his job. Usually if the other team scores four or five runs, we’ve got a good shot to win it.”
For the third game in a row, Florida did not walk a batter.
Tucker’s two-run homer in the first inning gave the Gators the early lead but was Florida’s only run production other than a fourth-inning Daniel Pigott solo homer. Palazonne entered the game 1-5 on the year with a 5.81 ERA, but the Gators knew they were getting an opponent who mixes his three pitches a lot.
Florida was never entirely comfortable at the plate and got the leadoff man on in only two innings. The leadoff runner was stranded in scoring position both times. The Gators got little help from the top of their lineup as 1-3 hitters Fontana, Casey Turgeon and Mike Zunino went 0 for 11 with a walk.
“They’ll come through, they usually do,” Pigott said. “Tonight they had an off night.”
Freshman right-hander Johnny Magliozzi worked the final two innings for Florida. He threw a clean eighth before allowing a Curt Powell RBI double in the ninth.
O’Sullivan said the Gators will start junior Hudson Randall on the mound Sunday. Sophomore Karsten Whitson will be first in line for relief, as Randall is making his first appearance in roughly three weeks.
