The Gators have now faced rival Florida State twice since the opening of Condron Ballpark. Both contests have resulted in memorable walk off wins for the Gators.
Tuesday’s win came on a Sterlin Thompson moonshot that sent the crowd into a frenzy as the team celebrated defeating their biggest rival, once again. The win improves Florida’s record to 33-19 while the Seminoles fell to 32-19 overall.
Florida got the scoring started as Wyatt Langford continues to enjoy the leadoff spot, hitting a bomb of a home run off the batter’s eye in center to start the game.
The Seminoles rebounded by putting up three runs in the second and grabbing the lead.
It didn’t last long, though.
In the third inning, the Gators plated four runs, highlighted by Langford’s second home run, a no-doubt shot to right-center and suddenly, Florida possessed a 5-3 advantage.
As has been the case for the last two years, the Gators immediately gave up a pair of runs in the following frame and the game was evened at five.
The next four innings were dominated by pitching. Florida’s Tyler Nesbitt and the Seminoles’ Jonah Scolaro shut down the powerhouse offenses over a combined 7.2 innings of work.
For the Gators, Ryan Slater finished the top of the ninth without incident to set up the dramatic finish.
The Gators were down to their final out fairly quickly before Wyatt Langford singled up the middle on a 3-2 pitch.
The Noles made the decision to bring in a left handed pitcher to face Thompson, but the 1-1 pitch was a slider that hung up enough for the sophomore to barrel up and get all of as it was crushed out of the ballpark for the win.
Key Performances:
- Langford: 3-5, 2 HR , 2 RBI, 3 R
- Evans: 2-4, 2B, 3B, RBI
- Nesbitt: 3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K
Pitching Decision:
- W: Ryan Slater (4-3)
- L: Davis Hare (1-3)
On Deck:
Florida will complete the regular season this weekend as they host South Carolina. The Gamecocks come into the series one game back of the Gators at 12-15 in SEC play ahead of the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama.