Christian Hicks really did turn the game around with his 15 pitches and a walk.
It says a lot about Kevin O’Sullivan to pull Faedo. I’m not so sure every coach/manager would care about his players’ welfare so much. Oliver Barry, CRS, GRI Real Estate Broker PARKS 305B Indian Lake Blvd Suite 220 Hendersonville TN 37075 Phone: 615-826-4040 Mobile: 615-972-4239 <mailto:bar...@realtracs.com> bar...@realtracs.com From: gatorn...@googlegroups.com [mailto:gatorn...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Shane Ford Sent: Saturday, May 06, 2017 10:47 AM To: GatorNews Subject: [gatornews] [SUN]: Gators move into a tie for first in league standings Gators move into a tie for first in league standings <http://g52-gxweb.newscyclecloud.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=GS&Date=20170505&Category=ARTICLES&ArtNo=170509967&Ref=AR&Profile=1180&imageVersion=Main&MaxW=445&border=0> Florida starting pitcher Alex Faedo looks to home while the bases are loaded during the opening game of the weekend series against Ole Miss at McKethan Stadium in Gainesville. [Brad McClenny/The Gainesville Sun] By <http://www.gatorsports.com/personalia/patdooley> Pat Dooley Gainesville SUN Staff writer Published: Friday, May 5, 2017 at 9:40 p.m. Last Modified: Friday, May 5, 2017 at 9:40 p.m. It’s rare that foul balls elicit so much raw emotion from a crowd. Especially a bunch of them in a row. Facts Today Who: Ole Miss (29-18, 11-11 SEC) vs. No. 7 Florida (33-13, 14-8) When: 6:30 p.m. Where: McKethan Stadium Radio: AM-850, 98.1-FM Pitching matchup: UM lefty Ryan Rolison (6-2, 1.84 ERA) vs. UF RHP Brady Singer (5-3, 2.09 ERA) Sunday: 2 p.m., SEC Network But on an unseasonably chilly Friday night that included a rainbow in the southern sky, nine foul balls by Christian Hicks that kept his at-bat alive were cheered loudly, each one with more enthusiasm than the last. It happened in the fourth inning of No. 7 Florida’s 11-2 win over Ole Miss in the first game of a three-game series because, well, it was the turning point in the game at McKethan Stadium. And when the game turned, it turned violently in favor of the Gators, who won their seventh straight and pulled into a first-place tie with Kentucky in the SEC East race. The first 10 Gators had gone in order against Ole Miss starter James McArthur before the Gators loaded the bases on a Dalton Guthrie single and two walks. With two out, Hicks found himself in an 0-2 hole. But he kept fouling off pitch after pitch and eventually drew a walk to give Florida a 1-0 lead. “I got to 2-2 and I fouled one off that was real far inside,” said Hicks. “I heard the crowd get up and I got goosebumps. “That was weird. (The crowd noise) kept going up and up and I didn’t want to disappoint them. I felt like I was up there for a half an hour even though it was only 15 pitches.” What followed was Florida putting the game away and making one of the SEC’s best pitching staffs look as if it was throwing batting practice. After the Hicks walk, senior Ryan Larson destroyed a 1-2 pitch off the top row of the left-field stands for his first career grand slam. “That was huge, a great at-bat and when we’ve been good historically it’s been because we’ve been good with two outs or two strikes,” said Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan. “We had a lot of those in the fourth, but the Hicks at-bat might have been the at-bat of the season.” Jonathan India, in the starting lineup for the first time since April 14, followed with a single and a steal of second. Keenan Bell singled India home and also stole second, coming home eventually on Deacon Liput’s single. All told it meant a 7-0 lead for the Gators, more than enough for UF starter Alex Faedo. But the Gators weren’t finished. In the fifth, Guthrie led off with another single and Austin Langworthy sent him to the plate when he rolled a double to the fence in left-center field. After Nelson Maldonado singled, JJ Schwarz made it 9-0 with a ground out. So comfortable was O’Sullivan with the big lead that he pulled Faedo after six innings and 98 pitches. Faedo got the win to run his record to 7-1 and lowered his ERA to 2.42 with six shutout innings. He allowed three hits and struck out nine, including four in a row at one point. He walked three, but only allowed one runner to reach third base. “Not pitching another couple of innings is going to help us down the road,” Faedo said. Maldonado added another Florida run when he powered a homer over the stands in left to lead off the seventh. As was the case with Larson’s slam, it was his fourth homer of the season. Guthrie’s sacrifice fly accounted for the final run, scoring Bell, who had doubled to lead off the eighth. Tyler Dyson pitched two scoreless innings that included five strikeouts. Freshman Cole Maye finished the game, but Ole Miss spoiled the shutout when pinch-hitter DJ Miller drilled a two-run homer. “This was the most complete game we’ve played this season,” said O’Sullivan. “I told everyone this is a long season and you’re not going to play your best from game one to game 56. We had our lull for three weeks, maybe a month when we were struggling to hit. But we’re playing really well right now.” The win gives the Gators a 33-13 record and 14-8 in the SEC. Ole Miss drops to 29-18, 11-11 in the conference. The two teams play again today at 6:30 p.m. Contact Pat Dooley at 352-374-5053 or at <mailto:pat.doo...@gvillesun.com> pat.doo...@gvillesun.com. And follow at Twitter.com/Pat_Dooley. Sent From Shane's iPhone Go Gators! & Skål Vikes! ALPCA #8756 Europlate #1045 -- -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "GatorNews" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to gatornews+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "GatorTalk" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to gatortalk+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
