Gators Kept Fighting Following Mace's Scary Moment

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The hush that engulfed McKethan Stadium on Friday night arrived in a flash. Gators starter Tommy Mace's 86th pitch of the game is one he won't forget, at least not anytime soon.

In the first game of a weekend series against Kentucky in which every pitch looms large toward Florida's quest to reach the postseason, Wildcats right fielder Ryan Johnson crushed Mace's 2-2 changeup right back at him.

Mace was a sitting duck as he completed his delivery.

"We just held our breath for a second,'' UF outfielder Nelson Maldonado said.

Everyone did.

"That's always a scary accident in baseball," said catcher Brady Smith.

Mace dropped to the ground as the ball hit him in the head. The thud of the impact prompted a collective gasp among those in the announced crowd of 3,664. Remarkably, a visibly upset Mace bounced to his feet within seconds of crashing to the turf as Gators head coach Kevin O'Sullivan and trainer Jon Michelini rushed onto the field.

He then fell back to the ground as teammates and opponents crouched all around the diamond hoping for the best. Within a few minutes, Mace got up and walked off the field under his own power. No blood was evident on TV replays. The ball appeared to strike Mace around the right forehead as he instinctively raised his glove to defend himself.

"When it first happened, we thought it caught him flush,'' O'Sullivan said. "But obviously when he got up right away, that was a good sign, but you really didn't know. We dodged a bullet there."

At the time, the Gators led 4-3 in the top of the fifth with two outs. That's when Johnson's line drive ricocheted off Mace's head into the outfield, allowing Kentucky's Marshall Gei to score from second to tie the game. Following a brief delay, reliever Christian Scott replaced Mace and struck out Ryan Shinn to end the inning.

65760 — Trainer Jon Michelini and head coach Kevin O'Sullivan tend to starter Tommy Mace on Friday night after he was hit in the head by a line drive. (Photo: Courtney Culbreath/UAA Communications)

Of course, Mace remained on everyone's mind as the game continued. He immediately went into the clubhouse to undergo further examination from Michelini, who stayed in close contact with O'Sullivan. The initial diagnosis is a head contusion that will require Mace to enter the standard concussion protocol over the next few days.

Considering the circumstances, the Gators (27-17, 8-11 in SEC) were elated following their 10-8 victory over the Wildcats (21-21, 4-15), snapping a three-game losing streak as they attempt to climb closer to .500 in conference play to strengthen their chances of making the NCAA Tournament.

"I don't even know how he got up so dang quick,'' said Maldonado, who led the way offensively by going 3-for-5 with a homer, double and five RBI. "He's a bulldog. I'm sure he'll be fine, but that motivated us a little bit more to get this win for him."

The Gators led 4-0 following Maldonado's three-run homer in the second inning. The Wildcats scored three in the fourth and after they tied the game on Johnson's single in the fifth, Florida responded with three runs in the bottom of the frame on a two-run homer by Wil Dalton and an RBI double from Jacob Young.

UF's three-run rally off Kentucky starter Jimmy Ramsay came with two outs. Kentucky refused to go away, however, scoring two more runs in the top of the sixth to trim the lead to 7-6. And then, with Johnson once again in the batter's box and the bases loaded with two outs, O'Sullivan replaced Scott with lefty reliever Jordan Butler.

Similar situations have plagued the Gators all season.

"We just haven't been very good out of the bullpen,'' O'Sullivan said.

Butler struck out Johnson looking, preserving the one-run lead. Once again, the Gators responded in the bottom of the inning with three more runs, highlighted by Maldonado's two-run double.

"Butler is a key guy for us,'' Smith said. "You've got to make a pitch and he did it for us. It really helped us out."

Still, the Wildcats applied pressure on UF's beleaguered bullpen. Kentucky scored a pair of unearned runs off Butler in the seventh, an inning that started when Dalton was charged with a two-base error for dropping a high fly ball by Shinn to lead off the inning. In the eighth, after Butler walked No. 9 hitter Zeke Lewis to lead off the inning and then retired Johnson on a line drive to second, O'Sullivan turned to freshman right-hander Nolan Crisp.

The Gators entered the series last in the SEC in pitching with a 5.20 ERA overall and a whopping 7.48 ERA in conference play. Meanwhile, Crisp started the season as the team's closer and registered saves in each of his first seven college outings.

However, the team's pitching struggles have forced O'Sullivan to tinker with roles. Crisp had pitched in relief and started since his last save on March 8. On Friday, Crisp needed only 20 pitches to record the final five outs and give the Gators a much-needed victory.

"You kind of go, 'OK, who's got the best makeup to hopefully close thing out?' We decided it was Nolan and he made us look like we made the right decision," O'Sullivan said. "There's really no roles right now in the bullpen. I wish we did. We've just got a lot of young pitchers who are still learning."

The most important discovery on this night was that Mace's injury isn't as serious as it could have been. He likely woke up with a headache Saturday, but eventually, the Gators were able to exhale.

They got a victory they needed and, if they can string together more wins down the stretch, perhaps they can look back at Friday night's victory as one of the most important of the season.

"It just shows you we have grit,'' Maldonado said of overcoming Mace's frightening moment. "We've had a lot of tough games this year. We've battle the whole way. We want to keep showing that fight."

Closer Nolan Crisp reacts after the final out of Friday night's 10-8 win over Kentucky at McKethan Stadium. (Photo: Courtney Culbreath/UAA Communications)