Game One Observations

Former Crimson beat writer and utterly disinterested observer Lande submits the following notes from her seat in Gainesville:

Cole: "Adam Cole was great. He pretty clearly tired in the sixth(?), but before that he was really in control the whole game. The Florida lineup has been in a serious -- and for me, somewhat disturbing slump -- and when Cole was out there, it didn't look like there was any way the team was coming out of it. He mixed up his pitches and located well, got a lot of ground balls, it was a nice job by a kid making his first collegiate start."

Morgan Brown: "Morgan Brown looked great. Between his home run (which was a shot to left center), a pretty little bunt single, and an impressive day at short (highlighted by a diving stab of a line drive with a man on third), he looked as good as anyone on the field for either team. Ball got him swinging on what looked like a pretty breaking pitch, but overall, I was really impressed with Morgan, as I usually am."

And the obvious: "After Cole came out, things got ugly pretty quickly, just because the other guys we brought in (up until Meehan), really struggled to throw strikes. It was a little painful at times, especially with the whole Florida crowd chanting at them (the crowd inexplicably calls every pitcher 'Earl', and just rips on them the whole time...)."

More notes: Cole had his control problems, throwing only 37 of his 77 pitches for strikes. That he only allowed 2 hits in 5+ anyway is even more of a testament to his poise on the mound yesterday.

Morgan Brown had one home run all of last season.

The Gators had only given up five homers all season (17 games, 150 innings) before last night's two.

Game Two at 2pm. Live audio here. If last night was any indication, this team can be beaten if you can get 7 quality innings out of Haviland and turn it over to Salsgiver-Wilson. Tomorrow's Game Three has been moved up to noon to accommodate Harvard's travel schedule; no inning will start after 3.