Florida Gators baseball vs. UAB Blazers Opening Day live blog

Kendall worked a 0-2 count full, but he couldn’t finish a nine-pitch at-bat by getting on base. He grounded out to first, and Jones swung at the first pitch he saw for a routine fly out to left and the second out of the inning. Lawson gave the Gators a chance with a line-drive double over the left fielder’s head, but Kurland struck out on a check swing that went a bit too far.

Let’s play some free baseball on Opening Night.

Barberi looked sharp. Bowen pulled a slider in for a strike-three call for the first out. He walked Beacer, but to no harm as he struck out Cheeseman twice — once on a no-call check swing and for real on a check swing that was called correctly. Waugh grounded out to short to send it to the bottom of the ninth.

Surowiec singled through the left side with one out, but Yost, Cyr and Stripling all went down for a quiet inning. Cyr’s groundout was challenged after the first baseman picked his foot up off the bag, but the replay showed that it came after he caught the ball. Stripling laced one into right-center, but the wind blew it in range of Hall, who made a diving catch.

If the Gators are going to win it, it’s going to have to come via walkoff.

Russell Sandefer, the UCF transfer, took over for Reeth to start the eighth.

Reeth’s final line: 3.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K (37 pitches, 25 strikes)

Sandefer ran into trouble immediately, allowing a line-drive single to left field and walking the next batter. A sacrifice bunt and grounder back to Sandefer got the Gators two outs, but Hall lined one through the left side to score two and tie the game.

Pitching coach David Kopp came out to talk to Sandefere and brought out the trainer. After a brief conversation, Sandefer handed the ball over, and in came Jackson Barberi. He threw three pitches before getting a deep fly out to end the inning.

Florida got its first baserunners since the third inning thanks to a hit by pitch on Surowiec. Blake Cyr fouled off a few balls before lining a double into left, and Stripling followed up with an RBI single on the first pitch he saw.

Kendall walked to load the bases, and Jones slapped one to right field for a two-run single. Conner has struggled ever since getting into the stretch, and Florida is jumping on him. The Gators now lead, despite an ugly stretch at the palte.

Lawson singled to the right side, getting it by a sprawling Helms at first base. Cheeseman picked it up in the grass with a chance at an out, but no one was covering first.

Kurland just missed on a meatball and lined out to left. Bowen struck out looking to end an eight-pitch at-bat.

Reeth gave up a leadoff single on a seeing-eye grounder by the Stripling at first, but he induced a double play to erase it. Kurland and Lawson played it well. Beaver took a ball off the foot for a free base, but no harm was done thanks to a 1-3 out on a bunt back to Reeth.

The Florida hitters aren’t seeing the ball well. For a third-straight inning, the Gators went down in order. Lawson struck out looking. He stood there like a house by the side of the road and watched that one go by. Kurland grounded out back to the pitcher, Brendan Conner, who took over for Steele at the top of the inning. Bowen flied out to left.

This thing is turning into a ptichers duel. Reeth went 1-2-3 with a pair of groundouts and a strikeout. His breaking stuff is working, and no one is making hard contact off him. So far, so good for the Notre Dame transfer.

Stripling, Kendall and Jones went down in order. All three grounded into routine outs, although there was some drama on Stripling’s out. The shortstop bobbled it and the first base umpire was late to make the call.

Reeth hit Cheeseman to allow a baserunner, but he was fine for the rest of the inning. Cheeseman stole second and third, but he looked out on the replay at second. Florida didn’t challenge, though, so it held up.

Beaver and Helms grounded out to bookend the inning, and Waugh struck out swinging between them. Bowen made the throw down to first, but there was some confusion before the call was confirmed.

Yost and Surowiec struck out on a combined seven pitches, both swinging. Cyr popped it up behind home for the third out. UAB’s catcher, Austin Pierzynski, was dancing around trying to find it, but the first baseman, Wesley Helms, called him off.

Peterson walked the first batter of the inning on nine pitches and threw the ball away, fielding a bunt to put both runners in scoring position. He struck out Kevin Hall Jr., but that was the end of the line for him at 82 pitches.

Peterson’s final line: 3.1 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 3 K

Ricky Reeth took over for Peterson, hoping to keep the runners from scoring. A bunt attempt never left the batter’s box yet stayed fair, and Bowen picked it up for an easy out as the runner from third crashed into him. Bowen almost got the double play at first, but the collision rushed the throw and forced Stripling off the bag. Reeth did his job in five pitches, though, inducing a 4-6 fielder’s choice to end the inning without any runs crossing.

Jones struck out looking on a nice slider from Steele. He disagreed with the call, but it looked like the ball caught the edge of the zone. Lawson walked, and Kurland singled to the right side of second base, past the second baseman at double-play depth. Lawson took a turn to go to third, but collided with the shortstop and hit the deck. The umpire ruled obstruction and gave Lawson the base. UAB protested briefly, but there was little to no chance of reversing that call.

Bowen drove in Lawson with a sac fly to left-center. It looked like a double or better off the bat, but the wind killed it in the air. Kurland got caught on a delayed steal to second that had no chance.

Peterson’s Jekyll-and-Hyde start to the season swung back the other way in the third. After a leadoff groundout to first, unassisted, Peterson went walk, single, walk to Alex Dupuy, Head and Beaver. Peterson’s fastball ran up to 97 mph, but he didn’t have command of it.

The curveball got Cheeseman to a 0-2 count, but Peterson left a fastball up in the zone for a two-run single back up the middle. Cheeseman advanced to second on a throw to third that wasn’t cut off, taking away the double play. That baserunning made a difference as a routine double-play ball to short resulted in a run and out instead of ending the inning.

Peterson got out of the inning with a pop-up to third from Helms.

Blake Cyr struck out on four straight sliders. UAB starter Mason Steele might have gotten a call on one of those strikes, but the approach wasn’t great. Landon Stripling was behind on 93-94 mph fastballs, and sent one to left field that danced in the wind for an out.

Jason Kendall put together the only competitive at-bat of the inning, by either team. He almost got a hold of one for an extra-base hit, but it carried foul past the right-field line — part of four straight foul balls from him before grounding out to second, who was playing deep in the grass.

After a near-30-pitch first inning, Liam Peterson started looking like Liam Peterson again. He retired the Blazers in order: groundout to second, strikeout looking and groundout to third. His fastball command looked a lot better, and he was coming in around 95-96 mph. Peterson dotted the outer half of the plate for the strikeout. Only 13 pitches in the second.

Kyle Jones got the Florida offense going immediately with a line-drive double over the left fielder’s head. Welcome back, young man.

Brendan Lawson hit a deep grounder up the middle and Cheeseman, the UAB second baseman, lost his footing on the throw for an error and an unearned run. Lawson was awarded a hit anyway, as he would have been safe, but the run scored on the bad throw.

Cade Kurland’s trouble with breaking balls and offspeed led to a three-pitch strikeout. Lawson stole second with Bowen out the plate, setting up an RBI single that snuck back the backhand of UAB’s shortstop, Baylor Roberts. It’s an unearned run, though, as the left fielder, JP Head, bobbled the ball while fielding it. Credit to third base coach Taylor Black for picking it up fast and waving Lawson around third.

Hayden Yost got hit by a pitch, and Ethan Surowiec sent a deep fly ball to right-center. Both runners tagged up, and Yost got caught at second. Florida appealed the call, but there wasn’t a conclusive angle to overturn the call.

Liam Peterson didn’t start the season out the way he wanted. Some command issues led to a leadoff base hit through the 5-6 hole, and then came a four-pitch walk. Catcher Karson Bowen went out to talk to Peterson after the count reached 2-0 in that second at-bat, but it didn’t help Peterson figure it out. A double steal put both runners into scoring position, and UAB put the first run of the game on the board with a sacrifice fly to deep right field after a swinging strikeout.

Peterson lost Alex Cheeseman on a full-count walk to put men on the corners. He just didn’t have the feel on any of his pitches. A pop-up should have ended the inning at 1-0, but first baseman Landon Stripling dropped the ball. Fortunately, Brady Waugh overran first and was tagged out at second to end the inning.