Gators blank Gamecocks to take fourth-straight SEC series
Brandon Neely may have a freshman designation next to his name but he doesn’t look like one on the mound. 27 days ago the Florida Gators were 6-12 in the SEC and their ace Hunter Barco was about to undergo Tommy John surgery. That meant Neely would need to step up.
How are seven scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts and no walks for stepping up?
Neely led the charge Friday night as the Gators (35-19, 15-14 SEC) blanked South Carolina (26-27, 12-17 SEC) 8-0 to take the series.
“He was really good tonight. I didn’t know he struck out 10, but it was kind of reminiscent of the start he had against Tennessee. I thought his pace was really good,” Kevin O’Sullivan said of Neely. “I think that tonight in itself helped him a little bit to speed up the pace. For a couple of innings, he was still a little bit slow, but then by the third inning I think he got into a really good groove.”
Florida broke through in the bottom of the third, stringing three runs together on two hits and a pair of Carolina errors. The Gators extended the lead in the bottom of the fifth, as Rivera followed a Riopelle double with a two-run blast onto the left-field berm.
Florida tacked on more runs in the latter innings thanks to a pair of doubles and a home run from the Fabian brothers.
Welcome back, Jud Fabian
Baseball will humble you quickly. Jud Fabian is one of the best players in the SEC and in the country. 17 days ago the junior outfielder blasted three home runs and drove in eight runs against USF. After that, Fabian was mired in a 3-37 (.081) slump with 14 strikeouts. It was one of the more difficult stretches in his career, so he went back to his comfort zone. Deric and Jud took a drive down the road to Ocala to hit with the one person that might know their swings better than they do. The person who introduced them to the game and coached them — their father Eric.
“It’s really good. He knows my swing better than anyone,” Fabian said after the game. “Being able to have the opportunity to go down there and hit with him it’s special.”
Whatever dad said during that batting practice session worked. Fabian went 3-4 with a home run and a double on Friday night.
Fabian and Langford make Gators history
Fabian’s home run was his 20th of the season. That makes two straight seasons with 20 home runs for the outfielder. He’s just the second player in Florida history to hit 20 home runs in consecutive seasons (Brad Wilkerson – 1997, 1998).
Fabian joined Langford (21) in the 20 home run club. It marks the first time that two Gator teammates have slugged 20 homers in the same season.
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