What inning? Any inning. A mental collapse during any inning on plays that
these players have made since youth ball. The frustration once again set
in.
Missed pitches, mental errors, and a fiesty Bulldogs offense all
contributed to Florida's fall in this first conference test. Through much
of the non-conference portion of the season, we've seen as much- the
oft-times porous Florida defense that provided opponents with endless good
fortune. Whether it was the start of conference play or just an overall
renewed focus, it appeared the Gators had indeed honed in their miscues
and focused on playing textbook baseball. Until it reared it's ugly head
once again this time in the seventh.
Right hander Bryan Augenstein held one the the hottest hitting teams in
the country (.374 average) in check through the sixth- limiting the
Bulldogs to just four hits and a single run. Offensively, the Gators
helped their ace by staking him with some much appreciated offense with
which to work.
The Gators jumped out to an early lead. With one out, second baseman Avery
Barnes worked Mississippi State starter Aaron Weatherford for walk after
running the count full. He moved to second on Matt LaPorta's single up the
middle. A ball briefly got away from catcher Edward Easley who gathered
the ball and threw down to first hoping to nail LaPorta before he could
get back to the bag. However, Easley's throw sailed over the head of first
baseman Mitch Moreland, allowing the runners to advance into scoring
position.
After Cole Figueroa struck out, designated hitter Austin Pride drilled a
high bouncing single to third baseman Connor Powers. He threw over to
first base, but was unable to throw out the hustling Pride. Barnes scored
easily and LaPorta was running all the way and beat the throw to the plate
to give the Gators a 2-0 lead.
The Bulldogs picked up a run in the fourth after Brandon Turner led of
with a single and moved to second on Edward Easley's walk. It was a
situation that thus far has led to one Florida meltdown after another.
However, Mitch Moreland put the ball into play at short and Figueroa
pitched the ball to Barnes who threw on the LaPorta for the double play.
Unfortunately, Brian LaNinfa took an 0-2 count and doubled to score
Turner, cutting the Florida advantage in half at 2-1.
A double by catcher Cody Neer in the bottom of the fourth scored right
fielder Brian Leclerc, who had been hit by a pitch giving the Gators a
3-1 lead.
Florida added two more runs in the fifth when Jon Townend led off the
inning with a walk and moved to third on Barnes single. He scored on a
wild pitch by Mississippi State starter Aaron Weatherford. LaPorta
followed with a walk on a full count. Barnes scored on Figueroa's single
to give the Gators a 5-1 advantage.
Meanwhile, Augenstein throttled the Bulldogs bats in the fourth and fifth
innings. He struck out six, including the first batter in the the seventh
inning.
Then like so many times before- disaster struck.
Mississippi State erupted for nine runs in the seventh inning to erase a
5-1 deficit and turn it into a 10-5 advantage. The Bulldogs pounded out
nine hits in the inning, while the Florida defense rendered an assist with
three errors. However, all the the Bulldogs runs were earned.
Steven Porter (0-1) did not pitch well at all in relief of Augenstein. He
allowed four earned runs and walked two. And he needed only 19 pitches to
do so. Josh Edmondson and Clint Franklin didn't really fare all that well
either. A bullpen that had played well for much of the non-conference
schedule failed to bear down and give a Florida offense that collected 12
hits and battled back for four runs after trailing 10-5.
The Bulldogs scored two more runs in the eighth to take game one in the
series. Florida will pitch left hander Stephen Locke tomorrow. First pitch
is scheduled for 4pm.