GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida started slow and fell behind, but the top-ranked Gators got another ace-like outing from junior Tommy Mace, fiery pitching from their bullpen, and posted a three-run seventh inning to come away with a 3-2 victory over Troy Friday night. Florida is now 9-0 for the fourth time in school history.
 
Although Mace surrendered runs in the first and third innings, he worked well out of the stretch and did not issue a walk in his seven innings on the mound. The Tampa, Fla., native registered six strikeouts and earned the win, his second of the season, following the Gators' three runs in the bottom of the seventh.
 
Florida's three-run inning began with a one-out single from freshman shortstop Josh Rivera, followed by a walk from pinch hitter Nathan Hickey. After a harmless flyout to left, senior outfielder Austin Langworthy singled to center to plate the first run, and an error moved both he and Hickey in scoring position for senior infielder Kirby McMullen.
 
McMullen drove them in with a single over the head of Troy's shortstop.
 
Langworthy finished the game with three hits, a run and an RBI, rebounding from a rocky weekend in Miami. Sophomore outfielder Jacob Young was the only other UF hitter with multiple hits, going 2-for-3 to extend his hot streak.
 
Sophomores Nick Pogue and Ben Specht finished the game off for the Gators, delivering three strikeouts apiece in their respective innings. Specht earned the second save of his career, with his previous save coming in a May 7 win over South Florida last year.
 
STANDOUT STAT: 43.1 – percentage of Florida's RBIs that have come with two outs this season. Florida has 25 two-out RBIs – including all three it registered Friday night – and a total of 58 RBIs on the season.
 
Florida's bullpen as a whole has been stellar thus far, as it boasts a 1.70 earned run average (six runs allowed) across 31.2 innings. Gators relievers also have 34 strikeouts against 12 walks this season.
 
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Pogue and Specht. Since a rough start in the Sunday game of Florida's opening series against Marshall, Pogue has been on fire, holding opponents scoreless in each of his last four outings and allowing just three hits and two walks while picking up a win (against Jacksonville last Wednesday) and a save (last Friday at then-No. 1 Miami).
 
Specht continues to be an effective reliever for the Gators as well, allowing just one earned run on four hits and striking out nine in his 8.1 innings this year.
 
The duo lowered Florida's bullpen earned run average to 2.18, across 41.1 innings, with their performances Friday night.
 
FROM COACH KEVIN O'SULLIVAN: On the win and Mace's performance… "Tommy battled. I don't think he had his best stuff tonight. It's unfortunate for him, that's three starts in a row for him we haven't had Florida weather behind him. Hopefully next week he can get some Florida weather to pitch in. He hung in there and battled. Didn't walk anybody, which is a big thing for tonight. Usually when you don't have your best stuff, you have to throw strikes. That's exactly what he did. Made some big pitches when he needed to.
 
On the bullpen performances… "[Pogue and Specht] have made the jump we're hoping they would make. It's really fun to see how some of these young pitchers and position players one year to the next have some adjustments and started to grow and mature. Both those guys did really well tonight."
 
On whether the rainouts affected anything tonight… "I'll be honest, I wasn't pleased with how we started the ballgame. We're in the top of the first, taking groundballs in between innings, our first baseman is rolling balls and we threw one ball away. We missed another ball, which I've only seen one other time in my career, where a rolled ball gets kicked. We had a popup, which was placed in a tough place for our outfielders, but not one person on the infield pointed and yelled. Nobody took charge there. There was one ball we hit to second base we probably should've bodied, instead of gloved. We had a 5-4-3, which I thought was a double play ball, and we were late getting to the bag. And there was a cross up between the pitcher and catcher, and threw the ball to the backstop.
 
"That's what I told them at the end of the game. I warned them after the game on Sunday against Miami, the rankings don't mean anything. You can get beat by anybody. To think we're just going to come out here and win just because we're going to throw our gloves out there is just not the case. I think the telltale sign of whether your team is ready to play is not necessarily on the mound or at the plate, but it's more defensively, because you've got to be ready to go every single pitch. I just was a little disappointed the way we started the game. I told them we were very fortunate to win the ballgame. It's a learning experience for us, but we shouldn't be going through that the ninth game of the year, especially when we had the whole week off."
 
UP NEXT: Florida chases the fourth 10-0 start in school history, and the first since 2002, when it opened the season 11-0. UF also started the 1989 season 11-0. First pitch for Saturday's rematch with Troy is slated for 4 p.m.
 

PITCHING MATCHUPS

	Saturday | 4 p.m. (SECN+)	Sunday | 1 p.m. (SECN+)
Florida	RHP Jack Leftwich (1-0)	LHP Hunter Barco (1-0)
Troy	RHP Orlando Ortiz (1-0)	RHP Tyson Ellis (0-0)

 
 
PROMOTIONS
 
Saturday, February 29th vs. Troy

• Final Season Sign – Stop by the final season sign located next to the Gators Sports Shop on the concourse and take a photo!
• Kid's Korner – Come check out the newest additions to Kid's Korner, located on the first base side of the concourse. Kids (12 and under) have a chance to walk away with a prize.
• Foul Ball for Queso – If a fan catches a clean foul ball out of the air with no deflections, everyone in attendance will win free queso!
• Section Wars – Two sections will compete against each other for the chance to win a prize courtesy of Domino's.
• Military and First Responders – All military members and first responders, active and retired, may purchase half-priced GA tickets.
• Seniors – All senior citizens, ages 55 and older, may purchase half-priced general admission tickets while supplies last.

 
Sunday, March 1st vs. Troy

• Giveaway – Youth lunchbox giveaway for the first 250 kids (12 and under) in attendance.
• Community Anthem – Kids (12 and under) can stand on the field next to their favorite Gators during the National Anthem! Sign-ups for this are on the third base side in autograph alley, beginning at 12 p.m. Sign-ups end at 12:30 p.m.
• Kids Circle The Bases – Kids (12 and under) can circle the bases following the game! Sign-ups for this are on the third base side in autograph alley, beginning in the 8th inning.
• Final Season Sign – Stop by the final season sign located next to the Gators Sports Shop on the concourse and take a photo!
• Kid's Korner – Come check out the newest additions to Kid's Korner, located on the first base side of the concourse. Kids (12 and under) have a chance to walk away with a prize.
• Foul Ball for Queso – If a fan catches a clean foul ball out of the air with no deflections, everyone in attendance will win free queso!
• Dollar Sundays – Fans may purchase general admission tickets for only $1!