Junior Kendall Graveman and freshman Jonathan
Holder combined on a three-hit shutout as No. 25 Mississippi State (31-19/13-13
SEC) evened its weekend series with a 2-0 win over No. 5 Florida (37-14/15-11
SEC) on Saturday night at McKethan Stadium. Graveman (4-3) limited the Gators
to a three singles over 7.2 innings to earn the victory, while Holder set down
all four hitters he faced to register his fourth save. It marked just the
second time that UF has been held scoreless this season (3-0 at No. 16 Ole Miss
on March 30). The teams will play the rubber match tomorrow at 1 p.m. in the
Orange and Blue’s regular-season finale at home.
“Kendall
Graveman threw the ball great tonight,” head coach Kevin O’Sullivan
said. “He only walked one and Mississippi State turned a double play that was
key. We couldn’t do anything offensively tonight. We had one inning with
runners on first and third with none out and we needed to score one run there. We
needed to hit a fly ball to at least cut the lead in half, and who knows what
could have happened from that point on. We just need to do a better job
offensively, manufacture runs and when we get the opportunity to score, we need
to have better at-bats.”
The Bulldogs seized a 1-0 lead in the first
inning on a two-out RBI single by sophomore Hunter Renfroe (3-for-4). Sophomore
Adam Frazier (2-for-3, two runs) led off the game with an infield single off
sophomore Jonathon Crawford (Okeechobee, Fla.) (4-2) and sophomore
Taylor Stark was hit by a pitch for two runners aboard. Crawford struck out
junior Mitch Slauter and had a fielder’s choice by junior Trey Porter erase
Stark at second base for out number two. Renfroe opened the scoring with his
fourth hit of the series, a base-knock into left field that brought home
Frazier.
Graveman retired the first five Gators of the
game before freshman Justin Shafer (Lake Wales, Fla.) (2-for-4) reached
on a two-out error by junior third baseman Sam Frost in the second. Junior Austin
Maddox (Jacksonville, Fla.) was hit by a pitch for the first time this
season but Graveman kept Florida off the scoreboard by having freshman Josh
Tobias (Greensboro, N.C.) ground out to shortstop.
MSU filled the bags with two down in the
third but was held at bay by Crawford. Stark drew a one-out walk and moved into
scoring position on a base-hit up the middle with two down by Porter. Another
infield single by Renfroe loaded the bases and Crawford had freshman Phillip
Casey ground out to junior shortstop Nolan Fontana (Winter Garden, Fla.)
to end the frame.
Casey provided the Bulldogs with a 2-0 lead
on a two-out RBI single with the bases full in the fifth. After Frazier walked
on four pitches to start the inning, senior Greg Larson (Longwood, Fla.)
replaced Crawford (4.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 K, 2 BB). Stark advanced his teammate to
second with a sacrifice bunt and a grounder by Slauter failed to move Frazier to
third. An intentional walk to Porter was followed by a free pass to Renfroe
that loaded the bases for the second time in the contest. Casey delivered a
single into left field to drive in Frazier and Larson (0.2 IP, 1 H, 2 BB) was
replaced by freshman Bobby Poyner (Wellington, Fla.). The southpaw had
freshman Matthew Britton fly out to shallow center field, where senior Daniel
Pigott (Ormond Beach, Fla.) made a sliding catch.
Shafer started the home part of the inning
with the Gators’ initial hit, a single into center field on Graveman’s first
pitch. Maddox followed with a single into right center that gave Florida
runners on the corners. Tobias lined out to third base and then Graveman had
junior Vickash Ramjit (Miami, Fla.) ground into an inning-ending 4-6-3
double play.
The Bulldogs loaded the bases again in the
sixth but could not push anything across. Frost was hit by a pitch with one down
and Frazier reached an infield single to shortstop for two men on base.
Sophomore Keenan Kish (Worcester, Pa.) took over for Poyner (0.2 IP, 1
H) and had a fielder’s choice by Stark to third base force Frost for the second
out. Kish was charged with a balk to advance both runners into scoring position
and issued a walk to Slauter that loaded the bases. The reliever had Porter ground
out to increase the Bulldogs’ left on base total to 11 in the contest.
Renfroe began the seventh with a double to
straightaway center field for his second-consecutive three-hit outing and Kish
responded with three strikeouts in a row of Casey, Britton and Rea to keep the
Gators down by two runs.
In the bottom of the stanza, freshman Casey
Turgeon (Palm Harbor, Fla.) reached on a one-out throwing error by Frost and
Shafer followed with a single into right field. A grounder by Maddox moved
Shafer and Turgeon to second and third base, respectively, and Graveman struck
out Tobias to escape the jam.
Frazier drew a one-out walk in the eighth,
stole second and when to third on an errant relay throw by junior Mike
Zunino (Cape Coral, Fla.). Kish fanned Stark and had Slauter fly out to
right field to prevent the runner from scoring.
Fontana earned a walk with one down in the
home portion of the frame, the first permitted by Graveman, and Pigott flew out
to center field, prompting a pitching change. Over 7.2 scoreless innings, Graveman
allowed three hits, with three strikeouts and a walk. Holder had senior Preston
Tucker (Tampa, Fla.) ground out to end the inning and then worked a 1-2-3
ninth to complete the contest. The Bulldogs held a 7-3 advantage in hits and
stranded 13 runners.
