Game #46: Florida 9, Texas A&M 0

Records: Florida (37-10, 17-5 SEC), Texas A&M (33-13, 11-11 SEC)

WP: Brady Singer (10-1)

LP: Mitchell Kilkenny (8-2)

Box Score

It was a classic Friday night pitcher’s duel for five innings, but No. 1 Florida finally broke through with a four-spot in the sixth to cruise to a 9-0 series-opening victory at Olsen Field.

Gators ace Brady Singer blanked the Aggies over nine innings, striking out five and walking none in the first complete game shutout of his career.

“The story of the night was Brady Singer,” head coach Rob Childress said after the game. “He was fabulous. We had one shot to get a big two-out hit, we didn’t do it and he didn’t allow us any other opportunities the rest of the night.”

The potent Florida offense made it difficult on Mitchell Kilkenny from the opening pitch. Deacon Liput got the first inning started with a double to right, and then Nelson Maldanado blooped a single to right. After Kilkenny retired the next two on a popout and strikeout, JJ Schwarz hit a chopper to third that George Janca fielded cleanly but threw wide of first.

Liput scored on the play, which was ruled a single, for the first run of the game and ultimately the only run the Gators would need.

With the Aggies still trailing 1-0, the Aggies loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth, but Singer got Janca to fly out to center to escape the jam unscathed.

Kilkenny labored through the first two innings, throwing 30 pitches in the first and 21 in the second, but settled in after that. He put up zeroes all the way into the sixth, when he retired the first two batters of the inning and then allowed a single. Next up, Schwarz tripled to right field to give the Gators a 2-0 lead and knock Kilkenny out of the game.

"They have a great approach. They're a great team with great players. You have to commend them for what they did." - Mitchell Kilkenny

“They have a great approach,” Kilkenny said of the Florida offense. “They’re a great team with great players. You have to commend them for what they did. They ate a lot of good pitches from me, but as a team we have to be better. We can’t let that get to us.”

In all, Kilkenny allowed six hits and three runs in 5.2 innings, striking out seven without walking a batter.

“I thought Mitchell Kilkenny was outstanding — maybe as good as I’ve seen him pitch during his career,” Childress said. “I’m very proud of him, but Brady Singer was that much better.”

Said Kilkenny: “As far as having all my stuff and putting it where I wanted, it was probably one of my best [starts] in college. That’s how baseball works — sometimes you have your best and lose. The fact of the matter is I couldn’t get it done for my team.”

Childress turned to Kaylor Chafin out of the bullpen, and Chafin allowed hits to all three hitters he faced. The four-run sixth created all the separation the Gators would need, and they continued to tack on after that as they got deeper into the Aggie bullpen.

They scored two runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth to make the final score much more lopsided than the game was for most of the evening.

Chandler Morris notched two of the Aggies’ six hits and also made two impressive catches, including a sparkling diving play in the third that robbed Maldanaldo of extra bases.

“Just trying to do whatever I can for the team,” Morris said. “We’re really trying to grind out wins right now. The dog days of the season are in conference, and we’re just doing whatever we can.”

The teams return to Olsen Field on Saturday for the second game of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. and can be seen on the SEC Network.