COLUMBIA, Mo. – Florida overcame an early two-run deficit to pick up its third-straight series victory with a 4-3 win over Missouri at Taylor Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Sunday’s series finale was delayed by an hour and forty-five minutes due to inclement weather, but play eventually started just after 2 p.m. CT.
The Gators (32-19, 13-14 SEC) and Tigers (26-22, 8-19 SEC) engaged in an early pitchers’ duel in game three, as starters
Nick Pogue and Carter Rustad exchanged zeros through the first three innings of play. While Florida was held in check in the fourth, Missouri broke into the scoring column with a pair of solo home runs by Luke Mann and Trevor Austin.
Faced with a 2-0 deficit, Florida answered right back in the top of the fifth. After
Kris Armstrong singled to center with one out,
Josh Rivera stepped to the plate and connected on a two-run, game-tying homer off the scoreboard in left field.
Following a one-two-three inning from Pogue, the Orange & Blue grabbed its first lead of the day in the top of the sixth.
Sterlin Thompson reached to lead off the frame via a hit-by-pitch, then Florida loaded up the bases with a
Jac Caglianone single to left and subsequent walk by
Ty Evans. With two outs and an 0-1 count, Armstrong delivered a clutch, two-run single to center to make it 4-2 in favor of the Gators.
Pogue went back to work in the bottom half, retiring the side in order with two strikeouts. As a result, Pogue notched new career highs in innings pitched and strikeouts.
The fourth-year right-hander returned to the mound in the seventh and recorded two quick outs, but was lifted with runners at the corners after allowing an RBI single to Ross Lovich. Right-handed reliever
Blake Purnell took over at that point, needing just one pitch to hold the score at 4-3 by inducing an inning-ending groundout to second base
Purnell retired the first two batters of the eighth via the groundout, but ceded pitching duties to right-hander
Ryan Slater after surrendering a pair of singles. Slater successfully worked the Gators out of the inning, inducing a line-out to center field to send the game into the ninth with the one-run lead still intact.
Slater closed out the matchup in the bottom of the ninth with little fanfare, navigating around a one-out walk to pick up his fourth save of the season. He finished with 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief.
Pogue (3-2) earned his second-consecutive victory, firing a career-high 6 2/3 innings with three earned runs allowed on five hits. He did not allow a walk while striking out a career-high eight batters.
Missouri starting pitcher Carter Rustad (3-2) was saddled with the loss, allowing four earned runs one seven hits and one walk across 5 2/3 frames. He struck out five.
Armstrong (3-for-4) and Halter (2-for-3) collected multiple hits in the finale.
NOTABLES
- Pogue set new career highs with 6 2/3 innings pitched and eight strikeouts
- His previous career highs were 5 1/3 innings and six strikeouts, which he set during his last outing at Missouri on May 18, 2019.
- Armstrong picked up three hits, finishing 3-for-4 with the game-winning, two-run single in the sixth.
- Florida did not commit an error all series at Missouri.
- Florida is now 28-5 all-time vs. Missouri including 11-4 on the road.
- Florida is 32-4 vs. the Tigers under O’Sullivan.
- Florida has won nine of its last 11 games.
- The Gators are 8-1 in their last three SEC series, sporting three-consecutive series wins.
- Thompson extended his on-base streak to 21 games.
- Langford extended his on-base streak to 13 games.
FROM HEAD COACH KEVIN O’SULLIVAN
On the hard-fought win…
“You know, Missouri played well all weekend. We ran across a really good arm today. We knew going in it was not going to be easy. He threw a bunch of strikes, low and in, so it kind of took away a little bit of our offense. But, credit Nick Pogue. He was just outstanding, other than the two solo home runs there in the fourth. But he was just outstanding… I’m really pleased with how Ryan [Slater] bounced back to close out the game.”
On the offense…
“At the plate, Josh had the big, two-run homer to tie the ballgame up and Kris had a good day. He had three hits. It was a good team win. Missouri’s played everybody tough this year. To get a series win, especially this late in the season, it’s big for us.”
On Pogue’s outing and the defense…
“He was great. Down in the strike zone. We only had one walk, with one out in the bottom of the ninth. So, all our pitchers threw strikes and we played really good defense.”
UP NEXT
Florida returns home to close out the final four games of the 2022 regular season at Condron Family Ballpark. The Gators host in-state rival Florida State on Tuesday, May 17 at 7 p.m. on SEC Network, before welcoming South Carolina to town for a three-game series spanning from Thursday, May 19 to Saturday, May 21. Saturday’s season finale is Senior Day. All three game against the Gamecocks will stream on SEC Network+.
