Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — It was the kind of moment that a ballplayer remembers for the rest of his life. The one who swung and the one who threw the pitch.

The participants of the mini-drama that unfolded late Tuesday night at Condron Ballpark were Sterlin Thompson and Andrew Armstrong.

Thompson was the one holding the bat.

"It's just a great memory,'' he said. "It was probably one of the best moments of my life on a baseball field."

Armstrong certainly preferred to leave the memory in Gainesville but was forced to pack it for the trip back to Tallahassee.

Now, any Gators or Seminoles fan not on a three-day bender knows what happened. Thompson stepped to the plate with Wyatt Langford on first base in a tie game in the bottom of the ninth inning. Florida was down to its final out before extra innings would be needed.

With Thompson a left-handed hitter, FSU coach Mike Martin Jr. brought in lefty reliever Armstrong for a more favorable matchup. A hanging slider was not part of his plan.

Armstrong's 1-1 pitch to Thompson probably ended up somewhere near Palatka, or way, way over the right-field berm. The two-run, walk-off homer gave the Gators a 7-5 victory and kept the train pumping toward the postseason.

"A fun night,'' Gators head coach Kevin O'Sullivan said. "You saw the reaction. I think that probably tells you everything you need to know."

As Thompson tossed his bat and watched the ball sail through the muggy darkness, his teammates rushed from the dugout to greet him at home plate.

"I was looking at the ball, 'oh my god, that ball is launched,' " he said. "That's just something you dream of as a kid, especially against FSU."

That was the start of a party that ended in right field with Thompson trying to keep his jersey on.

In a win over the Seminoles last season – the first meeting between the rivals at Florida's new ballpark – Kendrick Calilao hit a walk-off homer to sink the Seminoles. He ended up shirtless and flexing in the mayhem that followed.

Thompson lost his jersey but was able to keep his undershirt intact. Thompson's game-winning blast served as the instant highlight in a season of ups and downs.

It was Florida's 10th win in the last 12 games. More than that, it was the kind of win that starts to make non-believers begin to believe.

The Gators close the regular season starting Thursday with a three-game home series against South Carolina. Next week, they will head to Hoover, Ala., for the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

The question on everyone's mind: What do we make of this sudden and unexpected turnaround?

The Gators are playing good baseball against the odds. It's not often a team takes off after losing its ace. Last month, Left-hander Hunter Barco underwent elbow surgery and watched Thompson's blast with a brace on his arm.

The Gators have faced other hurdles, including losing left-hander Pierce Coppola to back troubles and growing pains from the bullpen. But in case you gave up on the Gators, it's time to take another look.

Starters Brandon Sproat and Brandon Neely have pitched well of late, right-hander Nick Pogue has shown signs of progress as the No. 3 starter coming off two years sidelined by arm surgery, and a tweak to the top of the lineup – moving Langford to the leadoff spot and Thompson to second in the order – have all paid dividends.

And young pitchers such as Tyler Nesbitt (coming off arm surgery), Nick Ficarrotta, Fisher Jameson, Ryan Slater, Anthony Ursitti and Philip Abner are starting to figure a few things out in a bullpen built around surprise standout Blake Purnell.

"We're getting the part of the season where every win is kind of magnified," O'Sullivan said. "I'd like to think we're maybe playing our best baseball of the year."

The Gamecocks series will provide a hint. The Gators are the better team on paper and should maintain their momentum if they play well. Of course, that's like saying your local grocery store should have plenty of bread on the shelves. We know how that goes these days.

The final answers will come on the field. But for the first time in a while, the Gators are winning at a pace fans expect and seem to be having fun doing it.

One swing by Thompson served as a loud reminder.

"I feel like we've got a little groove going on,'' he said.