NCAA Super Regional at Gainesville
Game 1 of best-of-three series
Florida 11, MSU 1
—Gators have 1-0 series lead heading into Saturday”s noon (CDT) start
—Gators are undefeated in postseason play and have outscored opponents 34-1 in the first three innings of NCAA games.
—MSU tied its third-worst loss of the season (fell 17-1 to LSU; 18-0 to Florida; and 10-0 to Vanderbilt)
—Bulldogs” lowest run total since losing 17-1 to LSU on May 19.
—MSU held to one run or less for the ninth time this season
—Who did work?
—MSU: Sr. 3B Jarrod Parks
MSU”s best hitter this season has been mired in a postseason slump, which saw him go 1-for-12 in the Atlanta regional. Friday, he went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles, but with MSU chasing a four-run deficit after the first inning.
The Bulldogs managed seven hits as a team, struggling to hit Florida pitcher Hudson Randall”s slider and taking a slew of first-pitch strikes.
—Florida: So. RHP Hudson Randall
He was ready to erase the memory of his worst outing of the season, which came in a 7-5 loss to MSU in Starkville.
Randall gave the Gators eight innings and was dominant early, throwing first-pitch strikes to seven of the first eight batters he faced. He gave up just one earned run on six hits and recorded a season-high eight strikeouts. Randall came into the game with just 54 strikeouts in 102 innings. He walked two batters.
—Florida”s hitters
Florida”s top four hitters accounted for six of the team”s 11 hits, including six RBI and two home runs from leadoff hitter Nolan Fontana and cleanup hitter Mike Zunino. But it was the bottom of the order, which contributed heavily to Florida”s domination of the Gainesville regional, that made it tough for MSU pitchers to get outs.
Six-hole hitter Tyler Thompson had two RBIs, and seven-hole hitter Daniel Pigott had a solo home run.
—What did the Bulldogs in?
Pitcher Evan Mitchell”s worst start of his young career.
The freshman righty gave up seven earned runs on five hits in two innings. In his first nine pitches, he the bases loaded after two walks and a single.
Mitchell struggled to get strikes on the corners and was taxed when he left the ball over the plate, giving up two home runs before being lifted in the third.
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