Final: Florida 4, Georgia State 1
Led by another strong effort on the mound from Hunter Barco, the Florida Gators defeated Georgia State 4-1 at Florida Ballpark on Friday.
The junior southpaw tossed six innings and set a new career high with twelve strikeouts while allowing just one run. The lone run came on a groundout following a triple to open the game.
The Florida offense rebounded quickly, however. Both Colby Halter and Jud Fabian singled to lead off the bottom of the first and both came around to score to give the Gators a 2-1 lead.
The Gators added to the advantage in the third inning as Wyatt Langford hit his second homer of the season, a shot to right that barely escaped the outfield wall.
SS Josh Rivera added an insurance run in the eighth inning with a solo blast to right-center on a 1-2 count.
Nick Ficarrotta entered the game in the seventh inning and tossed three perfect innings out of the bullpen to earn his second save of 2022.
Individual Stats:
- Barco: 6 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 12 K
- Ficarrotta: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K
- Rivera: 2-3, HR, RBI, BB
- Halter: 2-4, R
- Fabian: 2-4, R
On Deck:
Florida will go for the series win on Saturday. Freshman lefty Pierce Coppola will get the start. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 PM