NCAA Super Regional at Gainesville
Game 2 of best-of-three series
MSU 4, Florida 3
Game 3 tomorrow at noon CT (ESPN)
—Nick Vickerson delivers two-run walk-off home run on first pitch from Steven Rodriguez in bottom of ninth. He went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs.
—Vickerson had MSU”s last home run, which came against Florida in the SEC tournament. He has 18 extra-base hits in last 22 games.
—Gators lose first NCAA tournament game of postseason
—MSU”s postseason run continues with 4-1 record
—Who did work?
—MSU: Jr. RHP Caleb Reed
MSU”s most consistent pitcher this season saved his best for last. He earned his first win of the year after pitching 5 1/3 innings and giving up two earned runs on seven hits.
Reed, who has 12 saves this year, earned his first win of the season and first against an SEC opponent.
At one point, he retired 10 of 11 batters. He got out of a jam with a runner at third in the eighth and two runners on in the ninth. He gave up a RBI single to Thompson in the eighth.
Reed worked in a changeup to go with his slider and fastball, which, because he hadn”t debuted until the Southern Miss game, wasn”t on the Florida scouting report.
“When I threw it against Southern Miss the other day, they had no idea I had one,” Reed said. “It”s just a big key factor for me.”
—Florida: Fr. RHP Karsten Whitson
The hard-throwing right-hander gave up two earned runs on four hits today, turning in 6 1/3 innings and striking out six.
At one point, Whitson had retired 13 straight Bulldogs. In the sixth inning, he retired three MSU batters on five pitches.
The former first-round draft pick by the San Diego Padres had been the Sunday starter in Florida”s rotation, but with Brian Johnson out of the lineup as he works his way back from a concussion, Whitson filled in brilliantly.
His line is similar to how he performed in Florida”s 3-1 win over MSU in the rubber match of their series in Starkville. Then, he threw 5 1/3 innings and gave up one earned run on five hits.
Still, he got his first loss of the season.
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