Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The long-awaited opening of Florida Ballpark at McKethan Field took place over the weekend as the No. 1-ranked Gators hosted Miami in a season-opening three-game series.

The Gators won the first game on Friday night, lost in 13 innings on Saturday, and then fell behind by eight runs Sunday before losing to the Hurricanes 8-6.

Regardless of how the weekend played out on the field, the ballpark was set to be the featured attraction in front of limited-capacity crowds. The fan-friendly venue seemed to be a hit as fans roared with approval based on their social media posts.
 

The new Florida Ballpark is incredible. Quite the leap from The Mac to this. Thank you to @ScottStricklin, UAA and @UF_IFAS for turning a dream into reality. pic.twitter.com/qbBcnRjZvs

— Tony Agolini (@tonyagolini) February 21, 2021

Here at FloridaGators.com, we like to document such events for the record. Hence, here is a list of 35 "firsts" in the history of Florida Ballpark. If we missed a good one, let us know.
  FLORIDA BALLPARK FIRSTS

First weather delay: 2 hours, 47 minutes prior to Friday's inaugural game
First national anthem: Julie Webster (video)
First ceremonial first pitch: Representatives of UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS)
First batter: Miami left fielder Jordan Lala
First pitcher: Florida right-hander Tommy Mace
First pitch: A fastball for a strike
First foul ball: Lala down third-base line (1-1 pitch)
First strikeout: Lala on a 1-2 breaking ball from Mace to lead off game
First umpire to call batter out: Home plate umpire Scott Kennedy (Lala)
First Gators batter: Left fielder Jacob Young (grounded out to Miami pitcher Daniel Federman)
First run: Gators catcher Nathan Hickey with two outs in bottom of first
First home run: Solo homer to right by Hickey off Federman with two outs in bottom of first
First RBI: Hickey (see above)
 
First double: Miami third baseman Yohandy Morales in second (off Mace)
First walk: Miami first baseman Alex Toral in second (off Mace)
First passed ball: Hickey in top of second
First sacrifice: Miami second baseman Anthony Vilar in top of third
First player HBP: Miami catcher Adrian Del Castillo (by Mace in top of third)
First error: Vilar (throwing) in bottom of fourth, one out
First double play: Miami turned a 4-6-3 double play with one out in bottom of fourth on a grounder by Kris Armstrong
First stolen base: Young swiped second with one out in bottom of fifth
First ground-rule double: Hickey two-run double down right-field line in bottom of fifth
First relief pitcher: Miami right-hander Jake Garland (one out in bottom of fifth)
First pinch-hitter: Miami's Jared Thomas in top of sixth (for DH Raymond Gil)
First triple: Gators shortstop Josh Rivera (one out in bottom of sixth)
First pinch-runner: UF's Jordan Carrion in bottom of eighth for Jordan Butler
First sacrifice fly: Miami outfielder Tony Jenkins (RBI in top of ninth)
First win: Gators 7-5 vs. Miami
First winning pitcher: Mace (5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 SO)
First losing pitcher: Federman (4 1/3 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO)
First save: Florida right-hander Franco Aleman (2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R)
First extra-inning game: Miami 10, Florida 9 (13 innings) in second game of series on Saturday
First player with multiple homers: Hickey homered to right in the sixth inning of Saturday's game, his second of the series
First left-handed pitcher: Gators reliever Trey Van Der Weide (replaced starter Jack Leftwich in sixth inning of Saturday's game)
First opponent home run: Miami third baseman Raymond Gil (against Gators starter Hunter Barco to lead off top of third in Sunday's final game of series)