Tuesday night, Josh Tobias watched his third-inning solo home run sail into the filled left-field bleachers longer than he normally would.
Normally, when your starting pitcher goes only three innings against the No. 2 team in the country, it means your bullpen is in for a long night of trying to contain a blowout.
The Gators could not buy runs against the Razorbacks.
The problems began four pitches in.
Attack the zone. Keep the ball down. Give the defense a chance. Through two games against Arkansas, Florida’s pitchers are doing just that. Logan Shore earned his first collegiate victory with 6.1 innings of work on Friday while Eric Hanhold held the Razorbacks scoreless over five to get the win Saturday night.
Peter Alonso was all smiles as he rounded third base and embraced Taylor Gushue who was waiting for him at home following the freshman’s first-career home run.
Logan Shore earned himself a pie on Pi Day.
With the bases loaded and his start hanging in the balance, freshman Logan Shore put his fielding drills to use. Cleanup batter Krisjon Wilkerson hit a chopper down the third base line. The right-hander quickly got off the mound, gloved the bouncing baseball, planted and fired a throw to first baseman Peter Alonso whose stretch preserved a 1-1 game in the top half of the third inning.
Richie Martin will get one of his best friends back in the lineup on Sunday.
The Gators erased any doubt they would have to play their fourth straight extra-inning game in a big way Wednesday night.
Several of the Gators’ key offensive veterans have gotten off to slow starts in the 2014 campaign.
Casey Turgeon handed Florida (8-6) a 1-0 walk-off victory in its series opener against Connecticut (4-6) on Friday night at McKethan Stadium.
Florida (7-6) won its first home-away-from-home game 4-2 against Southern Mississippi (6-7) at Bayfront Stadium in Pensacola on Tuesday night.
Florida’s offense continued to struggle bringing in runs in the final game of its home tournament on Sunday.
Florida bunted its way to its first victory since its series finale against Miami last Sunday, which, after two lifeless performances since, seemed like an eternity ago.
Six hundred twenty nine days separated Karsten Whitson’s last two victories.
The Gators, upbeat and alive at the start, grew more and more silent with each ring of baseball hell they managed to find themselves in Friday night.
Although Florida might not face a better starting rotation than it did against Miami, it held its own in its first road series this season — even though the team dropped the series.
CORAL GABLES — Karsten Whitson arrived at Florida as the crown jewel of Kevin O’Sullivan’s recruiting class four years ago. The 225-pound right-hander had the golden arm and the tree-trunk legs to match it. In basketball terms, he was a slam dunk.
CORAL GABLES — Karsten Whitson is the perfect pitcher for this young Florida team — both are works in progress.
Solutions by The State News
