Gators Prove to be Night Owls, Fueled by Improbable Hero

The Gators took the lead on Jonah Girand's two-run homer Monday night, and by the time closer Michael Byrne delivered the final pitch early Tuesday morning, they were on their way to the next round. (Photo: Kelly Chase/UAA Communications)

Gators Prove to be Night Owls, Fueled by Improbable Hero

Tuesday, June 5, 2018 | Baseball, Scott Carter

By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The clock had already passed 2 a.m. Tuesday as McKethan Stadium emptied underneath a thick blanket of Florida humidity.

Over the previous 14 hours or so since the gates opened for the scheduled 1 p.m. Monday start time between the Gators and Florida Atlantic, two games and a 4-hour, 41-minute weather delay made for a long, sweaty day at the ballpark.

Now, inside a conference room at the Lemerand Center, coaches John McCormack and Kevin O'Sullivan took turns discussing what had transpired. Neither seemed ready to call it a night as a moderator tried to wrap up their postgame press conferences.

"I can answer anything you want,'' McCormack said.

"It don't matter,'' O'Sullivan said a few minutes later. "I'll stay here all night. I'm not going to bed anyway."

On the final day, night and morning of the Gainesville Regional, the game in which they make their living provided plenty to discuss.

FAU avoided elimination in the first game with a 7-4 victory, forcing a winner-take-all final that did not start until 9:45 p.m. The Owls roughed up Gators starter Jackson Kowar, who later in the evening was drafted by the Kansas City Royals with the 33rd overall pick in the MLB amateur draft, for 11 hits and five runs.

The tension inside McKethan Stadium was palpable during the 45-minute break between games.

"We don't make it easy on ourselves sometimes,'' said third baseman Jonathan India.

FAU's win in Game 1 forced the Gators, the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, to confront the possibility of their season ending in Game 2.

O'Sullivan called on freshman right-hander Jack Leftwich to start and in the first inning, the reigning national champion's season appeared in serious jeopardy. FAU scored two runs in the first off Leftwich, who walked three in the inning and received multiple visitors to the mound to help calm him down.

"We faced him three, four months ago and he was really good,'' said McCormack, referencing a 6-1 loss to the Gators on Feb. 20. "Here, you could tell he's a freshman. I think the situation got to him a little bit. He didn't have his breaking ball, his fastball command wasn't great early. I was hoping we could get another run or two. He kind of meandered through the second inning and then I thought he turned it on after that. He got a little confident, show a little toughness."

O'Sullivan made a quick visit to the mound when Leftwich walked three of the first four batters he faced. He knew exactly what the Gators needed if they were going to keep their season alive.

"He was going to have to give us another few innings or we weren't going to win the game,'' O'Sullivan said. "It's really that simple."

Leftwich eventually settled in, retiring 10 of the final 11 Owls who stepped into the batter's box during a 94-pitch outing over four innings. By the time Tommy Mace, another UF freshman right-hander, took over in the fifth, the Gators led 3-2 courtesy of yet another home run from reserve catcher Jonah Girand.

Trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth and with teammate Nick Horvath at first, Girand launched a pitch from Owls lefty Jordan Poole high into the night sky and over the bleachers in left field for a two-run homer. It was Girand's third homer in four games in the regional, earning him Most Outstanding Player honors.

Those who stuck around jumped to their feet as Girand rounded the bases. The junior transfer from Seminole State (Fla.) College showed no signs of weariness after catching the first game.

He trotted around the bases boosted by adrenaline.

"I was pumped when I was told I was catching the second game,'' Girand said. "I was able to go out there and catch all 18."

Mace pitched two scoreless innings, and when closer Michael Byrne took over in the seventh, the Gators led 5-2 thanks to back-to-back home runs from India, the fifth overall pick of the draft by the Reds, and Wil Dalton in the bottom of the fifth.

Byrne shut down the upset-minded Owls as the Gators advanced with a 5-2 victory, keeping their hopes alive of a second consecutive national title. They will face Southeastern Conference rival Auburn in the Gainesville Super Regional for a berth to the College World Series.

Both McCormack and O'Sullivan addressed the unlikely heroics of Girand, Florida's bullpen catcher during the regular season and only in the lineup because of the hand injury to senior JJ Schwarz.

"I don't think he got a hit off a left-handed pitcher [all season] ... until that ball he hit off the newly renovated O'Connell Center,'' McCormack quipped. "This time of year, isn't there a story like that all over the place somewhere? Congratulations to him. I don't know him, but I'm happy for him."

O'Sullivan gave Girand an opportunity to play because of the way he caught Kowar at the SEC Tournament. Instead of his defense being the difference, it was Girand's bat. All three of his hits in the regional were home runs, two proving to be game-winners.

"It's amazing, these stories that happen,'' O'Sullivan said. "He got hit by a pitch [in the eighth] and everybody was yelling in the dugout to check the ball. They thought the ball might be dented."

Over the course of the evening, the teams played 6 hours, 56 minutes of baseball and provided the announced crowd of 2,033 enough drama to make staying up late worth it.

O'Sullivan opened his press conference by thanking the fans who hung around and the Florida grounds crew, which stayed in constant motion because of multiple weather delays and a thunderstorm that postponed a Sunday night matchup between the schools.

Meanwhile, four players – India (Reds), Gators right-hander Brady Singer (Royals), Kowar (Royals) and FAU shortstop Tyler Frank (Rays) – were drafted in the first 56 picks.

Yet, in the end, the player who two years ago took a year off from college and got a job working in retail as he contemplated his future, stole the spotlight.

Against a lineup that features several future pros, McCormack threw an assortment of pitching looks at the Gators in the second game, using seven different pitchers. When he turned to hard-throwing right-hander Vince Coletti in the fifth, India and Dalton made him pay.

"My goal was to continually try to keep them off balance,'' McCormack said. "I thought we did a pretty good job of pushing, pulling and keeping them off-balance, and that was what our goal was. It worked for a fair amount of time. It's hard to kind of keep them in check all night. These tournaments prove who's got the better goods. It's the way the NCAA set it up."

Still, if not for the seldom-used Girand, a different kind of story could have unfolded.

O'Sullivan needed only eight words to sum up one of the most memorable, improbable performances in Gators baseball history.

"What can you say about Jonah Girand's weekend?" O'Sullivan wondered aloud.

Soon thereafter, the lights at McKethan Stadium finally shut off.