Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The game was over, but if someone had told Nathan Hickey to put his mask and catcher's mitt back on for a surprise doubleheader, he would have gladly done it.
 

"I love this. I would play this game every day if I could,'' Hickey said. "Nothing else I'd rather do."
 

Hickey oozed enthusiasm as he stood on Perry Field early Sunday afternoon after the Gators' 2-1 victory over South Florida in a crisp 2 hours, 5 minutes. A freshman from Jacksonville, Hickey hit the go-ahead home run in the bottom of the eighth inning. In the ninth, he squeezed the ball for the final out when Gators reliever Ben Specht struck out Jordan Santos for Florida's 16th consecutive win to open the season.
 

Hickey was a huge storyline over the weekend as the No. 1-ranked Gators swept USF to remain the only undefeated team in Division I. So was the starting pitching. And the offense. And the bullpen.
 

It's been that kind of season so far for the Gators.
 

"It's been surreal. I didn't know what to expect coming in. I knew that we would be good. I mean, it's the University of Florida, always good, always contenders for the national championship,'' said Hickey, yet to taste defeat as a collegian. "This is just surreal, a surreal moment for me, for my teammates, just for everybody."
 

The Gators hope it stays surreal on Tuesday night when Florida State visits McKethan Stadium for the final time in the regular season. Florida blew past the previous record for most consecutive wins to start a season (11 in 1989 and 2002) and is now aiming for the school-record 18-game winning streak set by the 2012 team, which made it to the College World Series and featured eight future big-leaguers.
 

In honor of Florida's 16-game win streak, here is a look at 16 numbers worth noting:
 

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1 – Players who have started every game of the winning streak (CF Jud Fabian).
 

2 – Winning streaks in program history longer than the current 16-game streak, the aforementioned 18-game run in 2012 and a 17-game streak in 2016.
 

4 – Consecutive games with a home run for Hickey, who was named Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week on Monday.
 

8 – Team-high relief appearances by sophomore Ben Specht, who is 2-0 with three saves and a 0.82 ERA. He has allowed just six hits and struck out 14 in 11 innings.
 

10 – Wins needed by head coach Kevin O'Sullivan to surpass Dave Fuller (556) as the program's all-time winningest coach. O'Sullivan now has 547 career wins.
 

12 – RBI for junior 1B/DH Jordan Butler, one more than his total from 2019.
 

15 – Players on the roster who have yet to lose a game with the Gators.
 

17 – Hitting streak for outfielder Jacob Young, which includes the final two games of last season and 15 games this season. Young leads the team with a .448 average (26-for-58) and a .507 on-base percentage.
 
21 – Home runs hit by the Gators during their winning streak, led by center fielder Fabian's five.
 

24 – Stolen bases for Florida during the winning streak, half its total (48) in 60 games a season ago.
 

26 – Strikeouts by freshman lefty Hunter Barco in 19 1/3 innings. Barco is tied with Tommy Mace (26 Ks in 27 IP) for the team lead.
 

29 – Longest hitting streak in school history, set by Tim Olson during the 2000 season.
 

34 – NCAA record for most consecutive wins to start a season, set by the 1977 Texas Longhorns.
 

44 – Runs allowed by the Gators through 16 games, an average of 2.8 per game.
 

123 – Runs scored by the Gators during their winning streak, an average of 7.7 per game.
 

172 – Strikeouts by Florida's pitching staff in 148 innings during the winning streak.