GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A month ago at the University of Florida's indoor practice facility, a gaggle of NFL talent evaluators roamed the field clutching stopwatches. They were in town for a closer look at the Gators' top draft prospects.
On Thursday night, as the NFL Draft unfolded with quarterbacks Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen and Josh Rosen all going in the first 10 picks, a similar scene unfolded in the stands at McKethan Stadium. More than 60 MLB scouts and cross-checkers requested passes to watch the pitching matchup between Florida's
Brady Singer and Auburn's Casey Mize.
A college football comparison would be if Mayfield and Darnold had squared off in a bowl game back in January. While the MLB amateur draft in June won't generate nearly as much attention as this week's NFL Draft, the professional prospects of Singer and Mize are on equal footing as those of Mayfield and Darnold.
"They are both potential No. 1 picks,'' Florida third baseman
Jonathan India said.
And neither disappointed on an ideal spring night in front of an announced crowd of 3,931.
Someday, if Singer and Mize fulfill their potential in the big leagues, an original ticket to Thursday's game might fetch you a few bucks on eBay. The powerful right-handers each were in fine form, regularly hitting the mid-90s on all those radar guns aimed in their direction Thursday night.
Not that Singer actually saw any of them.
"I knew they were here,'' Singer said of the pack of scouts. "I knew it would be a big turnout. Honestly, I didn't look up. I was just trying to go out there, have a good game, compete and win."
As usual, Singer got the job done in Florida's 3-1 win, outdueling Mize with a stellar 108-pitch outing that was vintage No. 51. Singer tossed seven innings, gave up four hits and one run, struck out eight and walked two to improve to 9-1 and lower his ERA to 2.63.
India, who slammed a two-run homer off Mize in the first inning for what proved to be all that Singer and relievers
Jordan Butler and
Michael Byrne would need, could tell Thursday's game was not just another weekend opener.
The lanky 6-foot-5, 210-pound Singer, always a picture of intensity when he takes the mound, was sharpened for battle long before he tossed a 1-2-3 first inning as shadows crept across the mound with the sun fading on the horizon.
"He was very excited and locked in,'' India said. "He loves competing against other guys like that."
As good as Singer was, Mize was his equal. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound junior from Springville, Ala., left a pitch up to India that cost him, but otherwise, Mize dominated Florida's potent lineup, surrendering just three hits over seven innings. He struck out 10 and walked one, only his sixth free pass in 101 innings this season.
A candidate for national player of the year, India was the biggest thorn in Mize's side. Besides his home run in the first, India scored an insurance run in the fourth when Mize hit him with a pitch to lead off the inning, snapping a string of eight consecutive Gators retired by Mize following India's homer. Four batters later, freshman
Brady Smith's two-out RBI single scored India.
Smith struck out in his first at-bat.
"He was throwing me cutters,'' Smith said. "They're pretty good. My second at-bat, I tried to stay relaxed and saw a pitch up and put a good swing on it. He's kind of like Singer, but he's Mize. He's pretty good."
The No. 1-ranked Gators handed Mize (8-2, 2.28 ERA) his first defeat since April 6 at Arkansas and avenged a 2-1 loss to Mize last season in Auburn.
Florida coach
Kevin O'Sullivan was like everyone else in the ballpark Thursday. He was a fan. O'Sullivan has certainly seen his share of great pitching duels over the years, but he flashbacked to more than a decade ago while an assistant at Clemson to recall a matchup like the one between Singer and Mize. In that one, former Clemson left-hander Tyler Lumsden outdueled future Cy Young winner and MVP Justin Verlander in the Tigers' 2-0 win over Old Dominion.
That game wasn't played in front of a national TV audience on ESPNU like the Singer-Mize clash.
"It's really hard to remember something like this,'' O'Sullivan said. "It had a different feel to it. It ended up being exactly what we thought it would be."
Baseball America, which had a writer in town to cover the game, has Mize ranked as the top college right-hander available in June's draft and Singer at No. 2. Both have electric fastballs with Singer's slider perhaps the best in the country and Mize's splitter a dominant weapon.
The victory was the 20th of Singer's career and one he won't forget.
"I think we both came out with an edge,'' he said. "We both knew it was a big game. I don't think either one of us let it get to us. We came out and did our job."
Yes, they did. A classic pitchers' duel. And it was a joy to watch.
"It was the best one I've seen,'' India said.
