UF BSB: Gators Down Missouri in Game 1, 8-5

Christian Scott tossed 5.2 scoreless innings in relief

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida baseball earned an 8-5 victory vs. Missouri on Friday at Florida Ballpark at Alfred A. McKethan Field, powered by a six-run third inning and 5.2 scoreless innings from right-handed pitcher Christian Scott out of the bullpen.
It marked the Gators’ 13th straight win vs. the Tigers, matching UF’s longest win streak vs. an SEC opponent over the past 50 years and tied for the third-longest in program history (see charts at bottom).

Jud Fabian opened scoring with a solo home run to left on the first pitch of the second inning, his team-leading 12th of the season. Fabian has reached base in nine straight games with four home runs in that span.

Following a Jacob Young walk and steal and a Nathan Hickey single, Kirby McMullen launched a 3-run blast to put the Gators up, 4-1. Kendrick Calilao, in the starting lineup following his extra-inning walk-off home run vs. Florida State on Tuesday, ripped an RBI triple to bring in Jordan Butler and scored himself on Colby Halter’s liner to left, extending the lead to 7-1.

Missouri got four runs back in the top of the fourth, pulling within 7-5, but the balance moved back in favor of the pitchers from there. The only run the rest of the night was Hickey’s RBI double to bring in Jordan Carrion in the bottom of the eighth, adding insurance for the Gators.

NOTABLES

* Scott allowed just one hit and no runs with three strikeouts in the longest relief appearance of his career.
* Hickey went 4-for-4 with a double, an RBI and walk.
* Young has now reached base in 31 of 34 games this season.
* Calilao’s triple was his first of the season and third of his career.
* The teams and the Florida faithful outlasted a rain delay of two hours and 50 minutes with the first pitch thrown at 9:22 p.m.

FROM COACH KEVIN O’SULLIVAN
On Christian Scott’s performance…
“Obviously, we didn’t want to go to him that early, but felt like that was probably a pivotal part of the game. Without his outing and his performance tonight, the outcome may have been a little bit different, so I’m really pleased with how he pitched tonight.”

On the bats…
“I thought our bats all night were pretty good. We faced their starter, who has a really good arm. Nathan (Hickey), starting with him, had a 4-for-4 night. Jud (Fabian) hit the home run and hit the hard double down the left field line, and he’s starting to see the ball a lot better. Kirby’s three-run homer there was obviously big there in the third. Kendrick (Calilao) had some good at bats. I know he only got one hit, but I thought his at bats were really good. Colby Halter hit the ball hard twice, and (Jordan) Carrion got a couple hits. So offensively, I thought we swung the bats really well tonight.”

UP NEXT: Florida and Missouri resume action at Florida Ballpark on Saturday at 1 p.m., looking to play a doubleheader due to Sunday’s forecast. This weekend’s entire series is streaming on SEC Network+, and the radio broadcast airs on WRUF 850 AM/98.1 FM in Gainesville, on 1010XL in Jacksonville and on any mobile device via the TuneIn app<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__tunein.com_radio_Florida-2DBaseball-2Ds308240_&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=N21cTCTw1LKzijHiHqS53SvYV8zMLXq5QFUVmg6qGx0&s=iSOICedTkTD9XIpalIqb0UMYN1-7R4bPjq5i_ynDkdY&e= > (search for the “Florida Baseball” station).

Longest Win Streak vs. an SEC Opponent (Last 50 Years)
13

Missouri

3/18/16-present

Vanderbilt

5/3/86-3/24/90

Georgia

4/22/90-5/2/93

Georgia

3/25/72-3/21/75

Georgia

4/26/08-4/15/11