On Monday, the Florida Gators accomplished something that had never been done in the more than 100 year history of Florida baseball. The Gators won a game in the CWS Championship Series.
Florida defeated LSU in game one 4-3 and now stands only one win from hoisting the Championship trophy.
Where would Florida be without the emergence of closer Michael Byrne?
Byrne recorded his program record 19th save by pitching two innings in relief of Brady Singer. Byrne allowed only one hit and worked quickly and efficiently throwing 28 pitches and only six balls out of the strike zone.
Byrne started the ninth inning by striking out Michael Papierski who bashed two home runs in LSU’s most recent game against Oregon State.
Byrne lowered his team-leading ERA to 1.70 over 74.1 innings of work. Byrne has allowed opposing hitters to reach base at a .220 clip on the season.
Byrne and his high 80s fastball will continue to be a vital part of the Gators bullpen as Florida will utilize freshman Tyler Dyson as Tuesday’s starter. And despite the odds, Byrne has given Gator Nation no reason to believe he can’t continue this incredible run for at least one more night.
Hope we can pull it off tonight!