WHAT HAPPENED: Florida freshman Jordan Butler's walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning gave the Gators a 3-2 win over Rhode Island to sweep the weekend series against the Rams.
With two outs, Butler got the call to pinch hit with runners on second and third. Butler pulled an inside fastball to the right side and Deacon Liput sprinted home from third to walk off with a win.
Rhode Island took its first lead of the series in the second inning on a solo home run from catcher Sonny Ulliana.
The Gators answer in the third inning on a sac fly from Nelson Maldonado.
Following the home run, UF starter Jackson Kowar took control and retired the next 14 batters in a row until running into trouble in the seventh.
After a leadoff single, the Rams loaded the bases with a walk and hit batter. A sac fly to center gave them a 2-1 lead before Kowar ended the threat.
Jack Leftwich relieved Kowar in the eighth inning and retired all six batters he faced.
Florida came to bat in the ninth trailing by a run but the veteran Gators came through. Jonathan India led off with a double and Deacon Liput followed with a RBI single to tie the game at 2-2.
The Gators won the first game of the doubleheader 9-2. Tyler Dyson pitched 6.1 innings with one unearned run allowed. India, Austin Langworthy and JJ Schwarz each had a pair of RBI in the game.
FROM THE COACH: Head coach Kevin O'Sullivan on the comeback win: "We had some good at bats there in the ninth inning. Until you come back in a game like that you don't know if you can do it -- not that they don't think they can -- but it certainly helps your confidence. Credit to Rhode Island, they didn't give us anything there in the ninth inning. We had the leadoff double, it wasn't like we had a couple walks and a wild pitch or an error. I thought they played great in the second game. Their starting pitcher was outstanding, kept the ball down. They went to their closer there at the end, he's got a nice little cutter.
"I thought Jackson looked as sharp as he's looked all year in the first six innings. That's really encouraging moving forward as we move into SEC play. Not to get lost in the shuffle here, Jack put up two zero's at the end to keep the game right there. It was a nice outing for him to bounce back from Tuesday night."
FRESHMAN JORDAN BUTLER On the final at bat: "He started me off with a couple off-speed pitches and then for some reason came inside with a fastball. I just got my hands inside and put it on the ground and in a spot where we could win."
On the walk-off hit: "It was like nothing I've experienced before. I haven't really done anything here to get the crowd cheering like that. It was awesome."
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Jonathan India – India went 6-for-10 (.600) on the weekend with three doubles. He led off the ninth inning with a double to the right field gap and scored the game-tying run on Deacon Liput's single.
STANDOUT STAT: 0.67 – The Florida pitching posted a 0.67 earned run average in the weekend sweep, allowing just two earned runs in 27.0 innings pitched.
UP NEXT: Florida will host Florida State in a midweek matchup Tuesday night at 6 p.m. at McKethan Stadium.
The Gators will open play in the Southeastern Conference next weekend with a road trip to South Carolina.
