Gator Baseball Rallies to Defeat USF In Midweek Matchup

It looked as if the game was going to get away from the Florida baseball team from the jump Tuesday night in Gainesville.

USF jumped out to a 6-0 lead and at one point held an 8-4 lead before the Gators rallied back to defeat the Bulls 11-8.

How the Gators Came Out On Top

Florida dug themselves into a major hole as starting pitcher Tyler Dyson struggled big time. The sophomore only recorded one out as he gave up four runs on two hits and walked three. Tommy Mace came into the game in-relief for Dyson but wasn’t much better as he gave up two runs in 1.2 innings of work.

Gator coach Kevin O’Sullivan continued to mix and match with his bullpen the rest of the night as he used four more pitchers the rest of the way. Jordan Butler and Michael Byrne did a great job suppressing the USF bats as they combined for four scoreless innings.

Butler struck out three in his two innings of work, lowering his earned run average to an impressive 2.27 and he also got the win in the contest.  Byrne earned his 12th save of the season after only allowing one hit and striking out two.

The leader of the comeback offensively was Gator infielder Deacon Liput.

Liput had one of his best games of the season as he went 3 for 3 with two walks. The shortstop also scored two runs and collected three RBIs. With the Gators down 8-4 in the bottom of the sixth, Liput roped a ball over the right-field wall for a three-run home run.

1 swing = 3 runs!!!

Deacon with a frozen rope to right field cuts the lead to one. #LiputGood pic.twitter.com/uuZQUAhiCI

— Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 9, 2018

Liput showcased that he was capable of getting the job done with the long ball and the basics as he came up big once again in the following inning. Liput dropped a bunt and was able to bring home two runs after the pitcher picked the ball up and overthrew the throw to first. The error gave the Gators a 10-8 lead that they would not relinquish.  Florida totaled 13 hits on the night as JJ Schwarz, Brady Smith and Nick Horvath all had two hits in the game.

#GATORS TAKE THE LEAD!!!

WATCH NOW: https://t.co/zGTeBDjwWJ pic.twitter.com/CvhwWlJoco

— Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 9, 2018

On Deck

Florida will now prepare for their final SEC homestand of the season as they will prepare for the Georgia Bulldogs coming to town.

The series between the two teams begins on Friday with first pitch coming at 6:30. The game will be televised on SEC Network+ and can be heard on the Gators IMG Sports Network.