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Final: Florida 10, Troy 7

In any sport, the margin of error to beat the nation’s top ranked is extremely slim.

On Saturday, Troy found out just how small that margin was.

The Trojans built a 7-1 lead by the middle of the fourth inning, but five errors not only kept the Gators in the game, they cost Troy a shot at winning in Gainesville.

How It Happened:

The Trojans got on the board first as Rigsby Mosley hit a grand slam to left center in the second inning.

W Sullivan added a run in the third with a single that bounced high off the mound, leaving Josh Rivera with no play and put the Gators behind 5-0.

Jud Fabian responded in the bottom of the third with a solo homer that cleared the Troy bullpen in right-center.

Troy came right back and tacked on a pair of runs in the fourth to keep Florida behind the eight-ball.

A Cal Greenfield sacrifice fly to right scored Kendrick Calilao and the Gators began to chip away at the 7-1 deficit in the home half of the fourth.

In the fifth inning, Florida got another one back as Kendrick Calilao recorded an RBI single through the hole on the left side and played Kirby McMullen.

The gap closed to 7-4 in the sixth when speedster Cal Greenfield scored on a wild pitch.

In the seventh, the floodgates opened. Dalton Wilder came on in relief and it was as if Florida players saw blood in the water as the bullpen entered the game.

Wilder faced four batter and gave up two hits and two walks before being yanked from the contest. He would be tagged with three earned runs and hit with the loss.

The back-breaking play for the Trojans was a ball hit up the middle by Cody Acton that second baseman came up with and instead of opting for the play at second, threw to first and the throw went wide, allowing three runs to score to give the Gators a 10-7 lead.

Nick Pogue and Ben Specht finished the game, with Specht earning his second straight save.

Individual Stats:

• McMullen: 2-4, 2 R, RBI, BB
• Calilao: 2-4, 2 R, RBI, BB
• Young: 2-5, R

Pitching Decision:

• W: Luethje (1-0)
• L: Wilder (0-1)
• S: Specht (2)

What’s Next:

The Gators will complete the series against Troy with first pitch scheduled for 1:00 PM.