We are underway as Florida looks to bounce back from a 1-3 week in a midweek matchup with the Jacksonville Dolphins.
The Gators and Dolphins are tied, 3-3, heading into the top of the sixth.
Kyle Jones led off with a solo home run on the first pitch of the day from Jacksonville starter Ben Baker-Livingston. A pair of errors allowed Florida to push two more runs across in the first. Karson Bowen and Colton Schwarz got the RBIs.
Jacksonville tied the game up in the third. A single, a hit-and-run and a sacrifice fly brought Blake Edmonds around. Sammy Mummau, who singled on the hit-and-run, moved up to second on a wild pitch and scored on a double down the left field line from Derek Bermudez. Sam Grunberg singled in Bermudez with a poke through the left side.
Follow along with Gators Wire’s live blog coverage of the game, starting at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Another 1-2-3 inning for Florida’s offense
It looked like there was no chance for Baker-Livingston to make through five after that first inning, but he’s been on cruise control since. He’s retired seven in a row and recorded his third 1-2-3 inning in the fifth. Surowiec grounded out to short, Cyr flied out to center field and Bowen grounded out to third. Womp womp. (E5: Florida 3, Jacksonville 3)
No belt, no service
McDonald came back out for the fifth. He got Mummau to fly out to right field, but gave up a single to Vergara. A wardrobe malfunction (broken belt) stalled the game for a moment. Bermudez grounded into a potential double play, but Vergara took off for a steal, making the only play for Lawson at first. Lawson got another ground ball hit his way for the third out. So far, so good for McDonald. (M5: Florida 3, Jacksonville 3)
Gators go down in order
Baker-Livingston has been rolling since the first. He got Yost to fly out to left-center, Jones to strike out swinging on three pitches and Lawson to ground out to first. Lawson and Yost worked full counts, but they couldn’t find a way to get on base. (E4: Florida 3, Jacksonville 3)
Caden McDonald takes over for Walls
Caden McDonald took over for Walls in the fourth. He got Barrata to lineout and struck out Pomper, who put up but sworded on a backfoot slider. Edmonds missled one to Lawson at shortstop. Lawson knocked it down, but he couldn’t find the ball or make a play. The official scorer ruled it a base hit. Walter stranded Edmonds on base with a groundout to first. (M4: Florida 3, Jacksonville 3)
Gators threaten but can’t score
Cyr led off with a single, but he was caught stealing second. Pomper made a high throw, but Vergara caught the ball right where he needed to make the tag. Bowen walked and moved to third on a two-out single from Schwarz. Walter tried to make another diving play, but he couldn’t reel it in to rob Schwarz. Stanford grounded out back to the mound to end the threat, though. (E3: Florida 3, Jacksonville 3)
Dolphins tie it up
Blake Edmonds singled up the middle to open the third. Walls bounced back with another strikeout, this time on a changeup — or backed up slider. Mummau singled through the right side, taking advantage of the vacant spot on a hit-and-run. It’s not something you see too much in modern baseball, but it still works the way it’s supposed to. That play set up a sacrifice fly from Vergara.
Mummau moved up to second on a wild pitch and scored on a double down the line from Bermudez.
Grunberg singled through the left side, and Bermudez beat the throw home from Cyr by half a second. Delgado lined out to left to stop the bleeding. (M3: Florida 3, Jacksonville 3)
Jacksonville finds its defensive flow
After a rough inning in the field to open the game, Jacksonville figured things out in the second. Cade Walter robbed Jones of a base hit with a diving play in center field, and Mummau robbed Lawson of a base hit with a diving stop up the middle, followed by a strong throw. Surowiec flied out to first, ending the inning in just eight pitches. (E2: Florida 3, Jacksonville 0)
Walls gets the offense back out there
Sam Grunberg struck out, waving at a slider, and Abdriel Delgado grounded out to third. All four Florida infielders have made a play early without committing an error. That’s progress from this weekend! Walls walked Logan Baratta, earning some dirty looks from Kevin O’Sullivan, but he bounced back with a strikeout on Griffin Pomper. Walls’ breaking ball looks fantastic tonight. (M2: Florida 3, Jacksonville 0)
Gators plate three in first
Kyle Jones swung at the first pitch he saw and took it over the left field wall for his fourth home run of the year.
Brendan Lawson reached on an error by the second baseman, Vergara. It was an easy play to make, and Vergara just missed it with his glove. Ethan Surowiec couldn’t advance Lawson, striking out looking, but Blake Cyr stayed hot with a single through the left side. Karson Bowen settled into his new spot in the lineup (No. 5) with a single up the middle to bring in Lawson.
Cade Kurland walked, and Schwarz grounded into a potential double play up the middle. Another error moved everyone up a base, and Florida leads by three. Cole Stanford struck out looking; it was probably a ball, but there’s no ABS in college. Hayden Yost flied out to center field, ending the inning. (E1: Florida 3, Jacksonville 0)
Cooper Walls starts off with an 8-pitch inning
Cooper Walls is sitting 94-95 mph with his fastball and mixing in an 84 mph breaking ball. He got a quick pair of outs to the right side of the infield, retiring Smmay Mummau and Roger Vergara. Derek Bermudez grounded out to short for a 1-2-3 inning that only required eight pitches from Walls. (M1: Florida 0, Jacksonville 0)
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Florida vs. Jacksonville starting pitchers, lineups
NOTES: Cooper Walls has it rough since being removed from Florida’s weekend rotation. He’s given up seven runs and failed to record an out over his last two appearances against Georgia and Bethune-Cookman. The latter outing is more concerning. Bethune-Cookman has put together a solid lineup, but there’s zero reason for a former SEC starter to struggle so badly. Walls hit a batter and gave up two hits for four runs, three of which were earned. Time for the Hawaii transfer to bounce back.
Ben Baker-Livingston has appeared in 12 games this season for Jacksonville, throwing 21 2/3 innings. In the first meeting with Florida, Baker-Livingston worked three innings but gave up all three runs the Gators scored. Cole Stanford took him deep, and Brendan Lawson and Ethan Surowiec drove in runs.
Florida Gators starting lineup
Jacksonville Dolphins starting lineup
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The Florida vs. Jacksonville game starts at 6:30 p.m. ET from Condron Family Ballpark in Gainesville, Florida.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Live updates, highlights from Florida baseball vs Jacksonville
Reporting by David Rosenberg, Gators Wire / Gators Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
