WHAT HAPPENED: The Gators secured a series victory by defeating the Long Beach State Dirtbags 5-2 in game two of the 2019 opening series. With the win, UF has now won the season-opening series for 12 straight years.

After a scoreless first inning, a two-run double by Blake Reese brought in Kendrick Calilao and Brady Smith to open the scoring for the Gators. A RBI double by Jud Fabian brought in Reese, while another RBI by Austin Langworthy allowed Fabian to score his first career run—expanding the Gators' lead 4-0 by the end of the second inning.
 
Nelson Maldonado came in on a sac fly to right field by Wil Dalton in the third inning, increasing Florida's lead 5-0.
 
Long Beach State responded early in the fourth with two runs. A sac fly to center by Aidan Malm brought Luke Rasmussen in and a single to right by Santino Rivera allowed Dominic Campeau to score the second and last run of the day for the Dirtbags.
 
Tommy Mace went seven innings during his first start of the season, allowing five hits and two runs while striking out a career-high seven batters.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT:  Freshmen – Freshman pitchers Christian Scott and Nolan Crisp made their collegiate debuts. Scott went for one inning, allowing no hits, no runs while striking out one. Crisp finished the Dirtbags off with a scoreless inning while striking out one and recording his first career save. Meanwhile, center fielder Jud Fabian recorded his first career run and RBI, while first baseman Kendrick Calilao recorded his first career RBI and second career run.



FROM THE COACH: Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan -- On tonight's performance: "Much cleaner. We had a brief meeting before we stretched today—and the bottom line is: it's normal to have those jitters like they did last night, but you have to have the ability to reel them in, and once you get passed the first couple of innings, you need to settle in. And I thought they did that tonight."
 
On the pitching: "Starting on the mound, Tommy [Mace] was outstanding, other than the hit-by-pitch to start the fourth—I believe it was with a backup slider—you know, he pitched very well. It was really good to get Christian Scott out there for one inning—seven pitches. His fastball looked really good. Obviously to get Nolan Crisp out there—I mean—pretty impressive. He is supposed to be a high school senior right now, and he goes out there and keeps his emotions in check, and he's got three left-handed hitters in a row he's got to face—I thought he did really well."

STANDOUT STAT: Mace set a new career high with seven strikeouts and surpassed 50 career strikeouts (now at 52). Crisp recorded his first career save in his first collegiate outing.

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UP NEXT: Florida's Jack Leftwich will get the ball on Sunday in the series finale against the Dirtbags. First pitch is at 12 p.m. The game will broadcast live on SEC Network+ and the Gator Sports Network.