Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A magnificent college baseball game played in an equally exceptional environment had just wrapped Tuesday night, capped by a tough-as-nails ninth inning from Florida closer Michael Byrne. The Gators' 1-0 defeat of rival Florida State at the sold-out Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville was not without some late drama, as Byrne worked out of a first-and-third, one-out jam to put the finishing touches on UF's seventh straight win in the series.

"When Byrne's on the mound, the game's over," freshman right-hander Jack Leftwich said. 

The key is giving Byrne the ball with the lead. The Gators did that Tuesday night, thanks to Leftwich and classmate Jordan Butler, two collegiate rookies who combined to throw seven innings of one-hit ball against the nation's fifth-ranked team, then handed Byrne, their bullpen ace, that one-run lead with two innings to play. The result was Byrne's 25th career save, which tied a 26-year-old school record, but just as significant a storyline — especially for Coach Kevin O'Sullivan — was the work of Leftwich and Butler. 

Yes, it was just one game, but it was a big one in front of nearly 10,000 fans, and the two rookies gave O'Sullivan reason to believe they can be trusted in similar high-pressure situations, such as this weekend when the No. 2 Gators (22-5, 4-2) take on No. 8 and Southeastern Conference East Division-leading Vanderbilt (17-8, 5-1) in a three-game series at McKethan Stadium that opens Friday night. 
 
Leftwich and Butler, along with fellow freshmen Tommy Mace and Hunter McMullen, have had their moments this season, both good and not so good. Such is life for a college newcomer.

But all four are very much in O'Sullivan's plans. That's why Tuesday's outings from Leftwich and Butler were so encouraging, as the coach now has seen more proof of what they can do against high-level comp. 

Not that he didn't know before. 

"I've seen it over and over in practice, so I'm not surprised," O'Sullivan said after the FSU game. "I think the biggest thing for these freshmen — they're obviously very talented — is finding that fine line and consistency of knowing what you're going to get every time out."

Case in point: Just three weeks earlier, Leftwich got the start in a midweek game at UCF, only to surrender five hits and six runs (all earned) in just 2.2 innings. Two hitless relief innings four days later against Rhode Island was followed by two hits and two earned runs over just two-thirds of an inning in the first FSU game. Next time out? Three hits and two runs in one inning at South Carolina. Last Friday, Leftwich was called on against Arkansas and worked 1.2 scoreless.

Hence, O'Sullivan's uncertain of what he's going to get.

Yet, the Gators rolled him out on the big stage to face his Seminole demons again. 

"That was kind of in the back of my mind, because I definitely knew I could do better," said the 6-foot-2 Orlando product, referencing his previous FSU turn. "I had a little stretch where I had a couple rough outings, so I had really just been working and focusing on making pitches. I knew I could get them out, it was just a matter of focusing."

Against the Seminoles, Leftwich was at his best, changing speeds and keeping the ball down. He yielded a two-out walk in the first, but then set down the next 13 batters and had his 1-0 lead when O'Sullivan called on Butler out of the bullpen. 

"They always preach to throw first pitches for strikes to get ahead early in the count," said Leftwich, who threw 67 pitches, struck out five and walked just one. "A lot of hitters, I was ahead of 1-2. That's a big thing, not to fall behind. You keep ahead of the count, it just makes it harder and harder for them to hit you."

Enter Butler, who hurled two hitless innings and despite walking one batter faced the minimum six hitters, thanks to inducing a double play, and thus provided a bridge to Byrne. 

If Leftwich, Butler, Mace and McMullen can gain their coach's trust on that front — especially with what the Gators have in their starters — this will be an even tougher staff to confront in the second half of the SEC season and beyond.
 
"You're only as good as your last outing," O'Sullivan said, acknowledging the latest Leftwich and Butler outings were very good. "Their roles are pretty well defined on the weekend. We're not asking them to do more than they're capable of doing. It's just more to bridge the gap to Michael Byrne. Get us three, four, five, six outs on a Friday and Saturday. We're not asking them to do more than that." 

Doing it against Florida State is an awfully encouraging sign. 

"Their confidence should be through the roof," outfielder Austin Langworthy said. 

Now, it's up to O'Sullivan's confidence. In them. 

"You guys have been around me long enough. When a guy has a rough outing, I don't really hesitate very long to get him back out there," O'Sullivan said. "[Leftwich] had two rough outings [recently], but we, as competitors, we have a tendency to focus on the negative — the rough outings — and forget the positive outings that they've had. I tried to point out all the other positives outings he had."

It worked. Now, Leftwich and Butler each have another positive outing (against a powerhouse lineup, no less) to use as reference points. 

"I want to show him I can get hitters out," Leftwich said. "I want to show I can help this team win."