Blake Cyr and Brody Donay blasted homers behind 5 1/3 stellar frames from Billy Barlow.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 7 Florida edged out Florida Atlantic by a final score of 4-2 in a hard-fought contest at Condron Family Ballpark on Wednesday night.
Starting pitcher Billy Barlow set the tone for the Orange & Blue, dazzling across 5 1/3 innings with zero earned runs allowed. The right-hander struck out five against just one walk, allowing a lone unearned run in the sixth to register his first win as a member of the Orange & Blue.
At the plate, Colby Shelton (2-for-4) and Ty Evans (2-for-3) logged multiple hits while Blake Cyr (1-for-3) and Brody Donay (1-for-3) swatted solo home runs.
Barlow pitched a one-two-three top half of the first for the Gators (12-2), picking up two strikeouts in the process. Florida took advantage, taking a 1-0 lead over the Owls (10-2) after one frame. Bobby Boser worked a one-out walk, then came all the way in to score on an RBI double to left-center from Shelton.
After receiving another clean inning from Barlow, Florida extended its lead to 2-0 in the home half of the second. Following a Luke Heyman walk, Evans and Justin Nadeaucranked singles to load the bases. Hayden Yost capitalized, hitting a sacrifice fly to left field to drive in Heyman.
Given a two-run lead, Barlow threw up two more zeros to complete four shutout innings. Florida gifted him a third run in the bottom of the fourth, with Cyr going the other way for a solo home run to right field.
The Owls used a pair of singles to create traffic in the fifth, but Barlow used back-to-back strikeouts to complete five scoreless frames. FAU broke through for an unearned run in the sixth, as Danny Baez came home on a groundout by Jake Milan after reaching via a leadoff double.
In the top of the seventh, the Owls made it a one-run game. Nick Romano walked, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a throwing error at second base to make it a 3-2 ballgame.
Closer Alex Philpott took over for the Gators in the eighth. After allowing a leadoff single, the sophomore righty fanned three-straight Owls to maintain the one-run advantage.
Holding on by one run, Florida placed an insurance claim in the home half of the eighth. With one out, Donay hammered his seventh homer of the year onto the right-field berm to push the UF edge to 4-2.
Philpott remained on the hill to close it out in the ninth. Despite a leadoff walk, Philpott fanned the next two Owls and induced a flyout of pinch-hitter Patrick Ward to cement the victory.
In closing the door, Philpott secured his second save in as many chances this season. He finished with two shutout innings on one hit, one walk and five strikeouts.
Barlow (1-0) picked up his first victory in a Florida uniform, allowing just one unearned run across 5 1/3 frames. He allowed four hits and one walk while striking out five.
FAU starter Zach Kilby (0-1) was saddled with the loss after surrendering three earned runs over four innings. He gave up four hits and two walks while fanning three batters.
NOTABLES
* The Gators did not allow an earned run in the 4-2 win while striking out 13 against three walks.
* Barlow became the first UF pitcher to go at least five innings with zero earned runs allowed in a midweek matchup since Ryan Slateron April 11, 2023 vs. FSU.
* Barlow set season highs in innings (5 1/3) and strikeouts (five) while earning his first win in Orange & Blue.
* Cyr hit his second home run of the season in the fourth inning.
* Cyr and Shelton have reached safely in all 14 games this season.
* Donay connected for his team-leading seventh homer in the eighth inning.
* Philpott earned his second save of the season, striking out five over two shutout innings.
* Florida has launched a homer in all 14 games.
* Florida pitchers have produced a 169-to-41 strikeout-to-walk ratio through 14 games.
* The Gators won their fourth-straight games against the Owls.
* Florida leads the all-time series against FAU, 28-10, including 22-8 at home.
* The Gators are 15-5 overall and 12-5 on the road in the series under Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan
* Wednesday night's official attendance was 4,408.
FROM HEAD COACH KEVIN O'SULLIVAN
On the team's performance tonight…
"It was good. We manufactured some runs in the first, second, I think in the fourth. We built a 3-0 lead. Obviously, we made two defensive miscues that kind of led to a couple runs there. Frankie had a leadoff walk in one of the innings and Alex walked the leadoff man there with a two-run lead in the ninth. Sac bunt, we need to make sure the third baseman goes up. But overall, it was a really quality win against a really good Florida Atlantic team. They came in 10-1. They've been playing really well. They beat Miami in a midweek, 2-1. They beat UConn, who's always good, two out of three. We knew coming into this thing that it was not going to be easy, but it was a win we needed after the way we played on Sunday and obviously last night."
On what worked for Barlow in his start…
"It was command. He was really good. I mean, his changeup was the best it's been all year long. He was throwing his slider for strikes, fastballs had sink. I don't remember playing two midweek games and seeing that many left-handed hitters. I think FAU had three switch hitters and three left-handed hitters in the lineup. So, in order to navigate through that lineup with a right-handed pitcher, you've gotta be able to slow the ball down. So, he was able to do that tonight. He was really good."
On the value of Evans contributing tonight …
"He's going to have to be a part of this thing. The thing we have to keep in mind, what I spoke to them yesterday morning about, is you can't really worry about your start, because we're so early in the season. It was really good to see him get a couple of hits tonight, obviously to both sides of the field."
UP NEXT
The Gators host Harvard of the Ivy League in their final non-conference series this weekend from March 7-9. The opener is set for Friday night at 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network+.
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