Brady Singer and Jackson Kowar became the next men up.
When starter A.J. Puk left Sunday’s game after just 10 pitches due to back spasms, Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan had to piece his pitching together.
He called on his pair of dynamic freshmen arms in Singer and Kowar.
Though the two were knocked around for seven runs in 4.2 innings, the innings they ate up were important in UF’s 10-7 win over Texas A&M.
And they learned a valuable lesson: location, location, location.
"They’re freshmen," O’Sullivan said. "The value of locating, they’ll figure that out. It’s just a learning experience."
Kowar, Florida’s usual midweek starting pitcher, threw 33 pitches Sunday and likely won’t start tonight’s game against Jacksonville, which begins at 7 at McKethan Stadium.
Instead, another Gator will have to serve as the next man up, just as Singer and Kowar did Sunday.
"This is one of those games somebody else is gonna have to step up who hasn’t pitched in a while," O’Sullivan said.
O’Sullivan said tonight’s contest against the Dolphins may be another pitching puzzle.
"We’ll have to piece it together," he said.
"There are other guys on our roster that need to kind of contribute. I’m excited to get someone else out there and rally around that guy."
Although O’Sullivan said he wasn’t sure who would start, all signs point to sophomore Scott Moss.
The lefthander, who sports a 1.23 ERA and 15 strikeouts through 7.1 innings, started a midweek game before in Florida’s 8-7 win over Eastern Michigan on Feb. 24.
Though it is coming off back-to-back losses, Jacksonville (17-10) won’t be an easy opponent for No. 1 Florida (27-3).
Led by junior outfielder Austin Hays’ .368 clip and eight home runs, the Dolphins are collectively hitting .279 this season.
UF’s hitters will face freshman pitcher Kyle Arjona, who is 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA.
The last time Florida and Jacksonville squared off was on April 22, 2014, in which the Dolphins won 3-1 in Gainesville.
And the biggest factor in this game might simply be home field advantage.
The Gators are a perfect 20-0 at home this year and are riding a program-record 27-game home win streak.
Florida is also red-hot coming off a sweep of then-No. 1 Texas A&M this past weekend, in which they scored 24 runs and recorded 36 hits in three games.
Contact Patrick Pinak at ppinak@alligator.org and you can follow him on Twitter @Pinakk12.
Brady Singer pitches UF's 8-4 win over Florida Gulf Coast on Feb. 20, 2016, at McKethan Stadium.
