Preston Tucker said he didn’t know how to act around Jonathon Crawford. Tucker had never been part of a no-hitter before.
"Once we got to the ninth, I started getting a little anxious," Tucker said. "I was a little nervous for him, but obviously, he did his job."
Crawford threw a no-hitter in a 4-0 Florida (43-18) win against Bethune-Cookman (34-26) in each squad’s NCAA Gainesville Regional opener Friday night. The sophomore right-hander walked just one batter in nine frames, and he showed no signs of wearing down despite throwing 98 pitches.
His fastball was clocked at 98 mph in the final inning.
"I came in (the dugout) after the eighth, and it kind of hit me," Crawford said. "I got really excited and nervous at the same time. That's when it really hit that I could possibly throw a no-hitter."
The first no-hitter by a Florida pitcher was almost spoiled by Bethune-Cookman catcher Carlos Delgado with two outs in the top of ninth. With a full count, Delgado hit a line drive that a leaping Casey Turgeon snagged for the final out.
"The ball was up, and I jumped as high as I could, and luckily, I caught it," Turgeon said.
Turgeon stepped up defensively and offensively for the Gators against the Wildcats. The freshman second baseman put UF up 1-0 in the second inning when he knocked in Daniel Pigott from third base with a single up the middle.
His next at-bat gave Crawford a four-run cushion. With two outs and runners on first and second, Turgeon hit an opposite-field homer to increase Florida’s lead to 4-0. On the night, he finished 3 for 4 with four RBI.
"Usually when I hit a ball good, people get surprised because I'm so small,” Turgeon said.
Crawford’s no-hitter was the sophomore’s first taste of postseason action for Florida. He was left off the roster that traveled to Omaha, Neb., for the 2011 College World Series.
"It's not a good feeling being left behind while your team's going to Omaha,” Crawford said. “So I just wanted to go out this summer and work really hard and contribute to the team and help them get to Omaha again.”
Contact Joe Morgan at joemorgan@alligator.org.
