Gators Baseball Beats Auburn to Extend Winning Streak

The month of April begins to wind down. But for Florida Gators baseball, it’s anything but that. The winning streak gets longer–make that a season-high seven games in a row. A 4-2 win over Auburn is a type of game the Gators needed. Pitching was sharp, and the bats were timely.

It was also a much-needed win on the road.

The Road to a Road Win

The first three innings went by scoreless. Some rally popped up on both sides, but nothing was to show for it. Auburn blowing a runner-in-scoring-position situation in the third inning would haunt them the rest of the game.

In the top of the fourth, the Gators struck first. With one out and Kirby McMullen standing on first, Jud Fabian belted a home run to left-center field to give the Gators a 2-0 lead.

Auburn bats could not win their battles against Gators starter Franco Aleman, as he pitched five scoreless innings and struck out five. Reliver Christian Scott pitched a clean first inning of work as well in the sixth. Auburn, however, would crack Scott. With two outs and a runner on third base, Scott gave up a two-run shot to Ryan Bliss to tie the game.

The Gators went scoreless in the eighth, but Scott managed to hold the Tigers to keep it even.

Enter the ninth.

With one out, Kendrick Calilao walks and Brock Edge comes in as a pinch runner. Colby Halter steps into the box. Takes the first pitch for a ball. Halter stares down the pitcher as the 1-0 pitch is delivered. Halter gets a hold of it and drills it into centerfield. Edge came all the way around to score and Halter winds up at third with a triple. The Gators take back the lead, 3-2.

Josh Rivera scores Halter on a single to right-center to reach the final score of 4-2.

Jack Leftwich came in to close it out. He picks up a 1-2-3 inning to seal the ballgame for the Gators.

Make Note of This

The Gators improve to 27-11 overall on the season, and they improve to 10-6 in conference play. That road record remains at an iffy 4-6, but games like these will help close the gap.

Their seven-game winning steak is the longest of the year.

The Gators are back Saturday night and can win their first road series of the year. First pitch is at 7 p.m.