HOOVER, Ala. — Cole Gordon’s outing Friday morning against the top-seeded Florida Gators didn’t begin well.
The redshirt sophomore right-hander hit center fielder Ryan Larson in the helmet. The hit by pitch forced Larson to leave the game. Gordon, though, re-focused and retired the next 11 batters.
The stretch was part of better things to come.
Gordon went on to go seven-plus innings in his longest outing of the season to help move MSU within six outs of an upset in the winners’ bracket game in the Southeastern Conference tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.
But the magic vanished when Gordon left the game after giving up a leadoff hit in the top of the eighth.
Florida exploded for 11 runs — the most in an inning in the SEC this season — to rally for a 12-3 victory that pushed MSU into an elimination game against Arkansas later in the day.
The 11 runs in the eighth were the most runs for Florida in an this season and tied the record for the most in SEC tournament history. Nine of the 11 runs came with two outs.
Despite the outburst, Gordon pitched his best game of the season, allowing only four hits and one run. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out a career-high seven.
“He’s a Tampa kid, and what he did today against the University of Florida was amazing,” MSU coach Andy Cannizaro said.
Cannizaro said Gordon flashed the ability to throw three pitches for strikes. Early in the game, he was getting ahead in counts with a cutter to right-handed hitters that they were taking as it broke into the strike zone.
Entering the game, Gordon hadn’t pitched more than four innings this season. He reached that mark six times.
Price update
MSU reliever Spencer Price issued a seven-pitch walk against his only batter in the eighth. Price’s inability to go deeper forced Cannizaro to go deeper into the bullpen and ultimately contributed to Florida’s rally.
Price, who rolled his ankle against Alabama on April 21, hasn’t saved a game since then and has pitched only four times. He has allowed five hits and four walks in 3 2/3 innings. Meanwhile, teammate Riley Self has saved four games.
“Price is supposed to be healthy,” Cannizaro said. “He was healthy. He just didn’t throw it over the plate. He did not throw strikes. When you don’t throw strikes and you don’t throw it over the plate, you’re not going to have the right to stand on the mound and pitch.”
Billingsley likely will start tonight
With few arms at his disposal after using five in the eighth, Cannizaro said Jacob Billingsley “more than likely” would start MSU’s elimination game against Arkansas. Cannizaro said he still had to meet with pitching coach Gary Henderson, but he also was realistic about the limitations.
“There’s not a whole lot of guys that can throw,” Cannizaro said. “(Billingsley) is one of the few guys that hasn’t thrown yet, so more than likely he’ll get the ball tonight.”
The thought made Cannizaro look to next week when the Bulldogs prepare for the NCAA tournament. In that setting, Cannizaro knows his team wont be able to survive a repeat of the eighth inning.
“Our goal is to get into regional play, and we have to win three ballgames to win a regional. We have enough starting pitching to do that,” Cannizaro said. “When you start having to win four or five ballgames in less than a week’s span, we’re not built for that.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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