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The Florida Gators (3-1) took down the UCF Knights (2-2) 5-3 Tuesday night in front of a record crowd of over 3,600 in Orlando.
Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan gave the starting pitching nod to junior right-hander Keenan Kish, who pitched two innings allowing two hits and a walk to the nine batters he faced before O’Sullivan called the freshman left-hander Parker Danciu from the bullpen.
The southpaw got the win, pitching 3.1 innings, scattering five hits and surrendering two runs to earn his second win of the season. Sophomore Johnny Magliozzi converted his second save in as many chances retiring all five Knights he faced. UCF head coach Terry Rooney says the Gators were tough on the mound and deserve the credit.
The Knights threatened in the bottom of the fourth loading the bases with two hits, but Danciu was able to get out of the jam, keeping Florida in the lead 3-0. Rooney said that driving in runs with two hits helped the Knights defeat the Gators 8-6 when the two teams met last year.
Florida was able to tally 13 hits for the second game in a row. Seven of the Gators’ nine starters had at least one hit in the game. Freshman Richie Martin had a three hit game as did Zack Powers, while freshman Harrison Bader and senior Vickash Ramjit had two hits each. Powers and Ramjit also homered for Florida. Rooney said the Gators were able to come up with the timely hits.
Florida will begin an eight-game home stand at McKethan Stadium tonight at 7 p.m. against Georgia Southern (2-1). Florida’s Jordan Shafer (0-0) will face off against Evan Challenger on the mound. The Eagles began their season taking two out of three against Georgia. ESPN Radio 850/900 has all the action beginning at 7 p.m.
