The Florida Gators are no longer winless in SEC play after claiming the second half of a doubleheader against Ole Miss, 11-8, on Friday night.
A five-run ninth inning put the Gators out in front of a game that went back and forth all evening. Landon Stripling delivered the go-ahead blow with a two-run single to right field, scoring Blake Cyr and Colby Shelton. Cyr and Shelton were the third and fourth consecutive batters to get a hit off Ole Miss' closer Brayden Jones.
Justin Nadeau, who started at second in place of a suspended Brendan Lawson, started the frame off with a double down the left-field line and Bobby Boser kept things going with the first of back-to-back-to-back singles. Nadeau scored on Shelton's single, and Boser tied the game up on a full-count walk by Luke Heyman. After Stripling's single, the Rebels turned to Landon Waters, who got out of the inning with minimal damage. He traded a double play for a run and froze Hayden Yost to send things to the bottom of the ninth.
Billy Barlow finished off the game for Florida, replacing Luke McNeillie, who earned the win. Barlow loaded up the bases — a one-out walk and back-to-back, two-out singles — making things interesting, but he earned the save without giving up a run.
Alex Philpott made his first start for the Gators, but he wasn't particularly effective. Philpott gave up four runs on eight hits, two hit batters and a walk. Over 50% of the 20 batters he faced reached base, and Philpott left in line for the loss down 5-2.
However, Florida's offense had his back, starting with a Heyman two-run homer in the second. Heyman homered again in the eighth to cut into the lead, giving him three home runs and six runs batted in across both games of the doubleheader. Shelton also homered in the fifth, and Heyman scored on a fielding error that came during a Ty Evans double in the sixth. Yost drove in Evans later that inning, too.
McCall Biemiller was the first out of the bullpen for Florida, allowing two runs on one hit and three walks over two innings. It wasn't all bad, though, with Biemiller working through two frames with no runs and just two walks. Sully came out to get him after a leadoff double, wild pitch and four-pitch walk in the seventh and brought in Carson Montsdeoca.
The pitching change didn't work out, as Montsdeoca allowed a run on a sacrifice fly (charged to Biemiller) and a two-run homer to Will Furniss. Montsdeoca got the second out on a bunt back to him, but Sully still opted to bring in McNeillie for the final out of the seventh.
It's not the prettiest win of the year for Florida, but it's a big one, nonetheless. The Gators were losing conference games in different ways over the past three weekends, and that kind of losing streak is detrimental to a team's psyche. There's an argument that Florida should have taken the series, blowing the first game of the doubleheader in the ninth inning, but the past is in the past. If Florida can turn things around in SEC play moving forward, this game is the one experts will point to as the one where it all changed.
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