GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 7-ranked Florida baseball team rallied from a 4-0 deficit and won their eighth consecutive game, topping Ole Miss, 7-4.
Ole Miss totaled four runs through the first four innings, scoring two on a 2-out double in the first, another on a sacrifice fly in the second, and another via a 2-out double in the fourth.
The Gators scored three runs in the fifth to pull themselves within striking distance.
Mark Kolozsvary led off with a single, followed by a
Ryan Larson single and a four-pitch walk by
Dalton Guthrie. After a fielder's choice brought Kolozsvary across, and the Rebels dipped into their bullpen,
JJ Schwarz drove in a pair with a double to left center, making it a 4-3 game.
The Gators moved the tying run to third base in the bottom of the sixth, but did not tie things up until the seventh.
Schwarz singled to center, and
Nelson Maldonado walked on four pitches to move the tying run into scoring position. With two outs,
Jonathan India, in his second game back from injury, laced a single off Rebels closer Dallas Woolfolk to knot the game at 4-4.
With two outs in the eighth, Guthrie singled and
Austin Langworthy drew a walk to keep the inning alive for Schwarz. On the ninth pitch of his at bat, Schwarz delivered an opposite-field single to right, giving the Gators a 5-4 lead.
Following a Schwarz stolen base, Maldonado singled to center and plated a pair of insurance runs.
Schwarz finished the game 3 for 4 with two runs, three RBI, and a walk. Koloszvary also finished with three hits and a run, while India and
Christian Hicks notched two hits apiece.
Starting pitcher
Brady Singer dealt seven innings, allowing four runs (three earned) while striking out six and walking two.
Nick Horvath and
Michael Byrne each threw a perfect inning of relief, with Byrne picking up his 12th save of the season.
Game three of the series begins at 2 p.m. ET Sunday (May 7).
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan
"Think Brady (Singer) just made a couple mistakes. Other than that he threw great. The line may not show that was the best game he's pitched all year, but, mentally, he kept us in the game. Didn't hang his head, stayed with it, and gave our offense a chance to creep back into it. That's a sign of maturity. I'm awfully proud of the way he pitched. (He) just gave us a chance. A lot of guys that aren't mentally tough … they lose focus.
"Fell behind 4-0, against a really good pitching staff … we hung in there. Our guys had some really, really clutch at bats. The last three runs we scored in the seventh and eighth were all with two outs. JJ's at bat was awesome. Kept fouling off pitches, kind of similar to what (Christian) Hicks did yesterday, then he got a breaking ball up and stayed on it. Without that fight of fouling those pitches off, he never gets to that point.
"(
Nelson Maldonado) coming through with a hit was big, gave us a three-run cushion instead of a one-run lead. Seven of our guys got hits, and we're facing some really good arms. Offensively, we're coming around. Good to get (Jonathan) India back.
"It's fun to watch. It's a long season, everyone goes through their lulls when they're not playing their best. It just seems as though, right now, we're playing as good as we've played all year long. This could've been one of those games where we didn't fight, but we're starting to fight a little bit, and we're doing the little things, getting two-out hits, two-strike hits."
