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The Gator baseball team falls to 3-3 after an 8-2 loss in the opening game of their series against Florida Gulf Coast on Friday night.
Florida’s right fielder Justin Shafer scored the first run of the game in the second inning after a sacrifice fly from Vickash Ramjit, giving the Gators a 1-0 lead until the sixth inning.
But that’s when the Eagles pushed across three runs to get a lead they would not give uyp for the rest of the night. Florida Gulf Coast’s starting pitcher Ricky Knapp pitched a complete game giving up six hits and two runs with four strikeouts and zero walks.
Shafer says Florida tried its best but that Knapp was tough.
Starting pitcher for the Gators Jonathan Crawford, pitched 5.1 innings without giving up a hit. Crawford left in the sixth inning after allowing two baserunners on a hit batter and a walk. Crawford says it was going smoothly for the first five innings:
Gator coach Kevin O’Sullivan says Crawford is still improving:
Relieving Crawford was lefty Daniel Gibson who gave up a three run homer to Brooks Beisner hit far over the left field bleachers, but further damage was avoided when Shafer made a diving catch in right field to end the inning.
Shafer says they weren’t going to give up after the home run.
The Gators battled back in the bottom of the seventh after Vickash Ramjit hit his second sacrifice fly of the night to score Shafer, bringing the score 3-2.
But with one out in the eighth, looking to match up a lefty batter with a lefty pitcher, O’Sullivan brought freshman Parker Danciu to the mound. The Eagles got three consecutive hits off Danciu, bringing the score to 6-2. The Eagles would tack on two more runs to build their 8-2 margin.
Gator coach Kevin O’Sullivan explains what happened in the eighth inning and how they’re going to fix it.
The Gators still have a chance to win the series as they play Florida Gulf Coast again Saturday and Sunday as freshman righty Tucker Simpson gets the start on Saturday. Join ESPN Radio 850/900 for live coverage beginning at 3:55pm and make sure you download our app for iPhone to listen to us on the go!
