JvilleJohnny
Senior Member
Brian Johnson didn’t lose any sleep over his collegiate debut.
Florida’s freshman left-hander said he was more excited than nervous about stepping out onto the mound for game two of Florida’s series with South Florida on Saturday.
To collect himself, Johnson stuck to the basics. He wasn’t flashy by any means. He lived by his fastball and it carried him as he tossed 51 strikes to just 14 balls through 5 2/3 innings, earning his first college win as the Gators claimed the series with a 9-1 victory.
Staying ahead of most of his batters made things much easier for Johnson
“It’s huge. You can throw any pitch you want,” Johnson said. “They have to hit your pitch.
“I throw a lot of strikes. I like to pound the strike zone.”
Johnson finished the day with three strikeouts, zero walks, allowed zero runs and gave up three hits, but it was those three hits that Johnson said he was disappointed in.
While Johnson was keeping things easy for Florida’s defense, his fellow classmates generated some offensive excitement after USF pitcher Ray Delphey quieted Florida’s bats early.
Friday saw freshman designated hitter Austin Maddox debut with a homer in his first at-bat. Saturday, outfielder Kamm Washington put the Gators up 2-0 in the bottom of the fourth with his first collegiate homer and hit.
With Delphey shelled after five innings, in which he struck out eight in the losing effort, Maddox sent his only hit of the game over the right field wall in the seventh to give the Gators a 5-0 lead.....
More from Edward Aschoff at Gainesville.com
Florida’s freshman left-hander said he was more excited than nervous about stepping out onto the mound for game two of Florida’s series with South Florida on Saturday.
To collect himself, Johnson stuck to the basics. He wasn’t flashy by any means. He lived by his fastball and it carried him as he tossed 51 strikes to just 14 balls through 5 2/3 innings, earning his first college win as the Gators claimed the series with a 9-1 victory.
Staying ahead of most of his batters made things much easier for Johnson
“It’s huge. You can throw any pitch you want,” Johnson said. “They have to hit your pitch.
“I throw a lot of strikes. I like to pound the strike zone.”
Johnson finished the day with three strikeouts, zero walks, allowed zero runs and gave up three hits, but it was those three hits that Johnson said he was disappointed in.
While Johnson was keeping things easy for Florida’s defense, his fellow classmates generated some offensive excitement after USF pitcher Ray Delphey quieted Florida’s bats early.
Friday saw freshman designated hitter Austin Maddox debut with a homer in his first at-bat. Saturday, outfielder Kamm Washington put the Gators up 2-0 in the bottom of the fourth with his first collegiate homer and hit.
With Delphey shelled after five innings, in which he struck out eight in the losing effort, Maddox sent his only hit of the game over the right field wall in the seventh to give the Gators a 5-0 lead.....
More from Edward Aschoff at Gainesville.com
