Brandon Sproat masterpiece carries Florida baseball team over Alabama in SEC opener, 3-0

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) -Florida starting pitcher Brandon Sproat turned in a career performance on Thursday, tossing a 105-pitch complete game one-hit shutout of No. 24 Alabama, lifting the No. 5 Gators past the Crimson Tide, 3-0. It was Sproat’s first career complete game. He also fanned 11 batters, a career-high as well.

Sproat improves to 3-0 on the season and the Gators reach 17-3 overall. They have now won Sproat’s last 11 starts. The game was ruled by pitching on both sides, which is notable considering Florida (.348) and Alabama (.349) both came carrying team batting averages that rank in the nation’stop four.

The game was scoreless until Cade Kurland’s two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning. The blast was Kurland’s sixth of the season. He is batting .417 as an early enrollee freshman.

Ty Evans delivered UF’s other RBI, a groundout in the seventh that scored Josh Rivera, who had the only other two hits by Florida all night.

Game two of the three-game series remains scheduled for Friday at 6:30 p.m., weather permitting.

Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

Copyright 2023 WCJB. All rights reserved.