On paper, Friday night was supposed to be the game the Florida Gators had the lowest chance of winning in their series against No. 1 Texas. Pierce Cappola made the start and it was a bullpen day for Florida after their rotation got screwed up thanks to the weather delays against South Carolina last week.
But when they say "Gator Boys Stay Hot," they mean it. And perhaps annoyed they were losing big to Florida on a bullpen day, Texas thought it would be a good idea to start chirping at the Gators, and it didn't end well for the Longhorns.
Florida Baseball Beats No. 1 Texas
The first inning was all the offense the Gators needed to win game one in Austin. Florida sent 12 batters to the plate, got four hits, walked times, and were also hit by a pitch. By the time Justin Nadeau singled to left field, Florida took a 6-0 lead in the top of the 1st.
Towards the end of the game the ESPN broadcast talked about Texas having the flu, which would be cause for sympathy expect it ignores the hardships Florida has had to go through this season.
Emblematic of those hardships was Pierce Cappola taking the mound for the start. Cappola left during the Miami series and had been out until last weekend. Even with him back, he is still only good for two innings. And while he did load the bases in the 1st inning, Cappola navigated his two innings without giving up a run.
In fact, Florida's bullpen as a whole, which had been a massive liability for the Gators, was sharp all night, and Florida used five pitchers to combine for seven hits, three walks, and just one run.
The even better news: None of those pitchers were Jake Clemente.
Texas Chirps But Doesn't Back It Up
This brings us to the weird interaction in the bottom of the 7th inning. Down 8-1 at this point, Texas left fielder Jonah Williams drew a walk to put runners on 1st and 2nd. Kind of like making a 1st down when trailing 35-10 in the 4th quarter, there isn't much to celebrate in this moment if you are Texas.
But Williams took it upon himself to chirp all the way down to 1st base and exchanged words with Florida's Brody Donay.
If Williams was trying to fire up his team, he failed. Texas didn't score in that inning, and when he came back up to bat in the 9th inning, he struck out.
Florida is now 34-17 on the season and 12-13 in SEC play. They will have Liam Peterson take the mound today with a completely rested Jake Clemente available to come out of the bullpen. First pitch is at 2 PM.