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A second chance Ryan Slater wouldn't take for granted

Untitled designby:Nick de la Torre•06/05/23•

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Gators pitcher Ryan Slater (13) returns to the mound in the top of the fourth inning against the Red Raiders in a win-all elimination game of the NCAA Regionals, Monday, June 5, 2023, at Condron Family Ballpark in Gainesville, Florida. Florida beat Texas Tech 6-0 and advances to Super Regionals. | Cyndi Chambers / USA TODAY NETWORK

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Game Seven. The two most electric words in sport. It can bring out the most in some or cripple others under the pressure. You don’t get many opportunities to rise to this sort of occasion on this big of a stage. Florida pitcher Ryan Slater was given as second chance on Monday.

On the backs of monumental performances from their starting pitchers from Sunday, had options on Monday. It no longer mattered that they had lost their second game. Thanks to Hustron Waldrep, Cade Fisher, Nick Ficarrotta, and Brandon Neely, it appeared the Gators were on a level playing field with the season on the line.

In reality, they were better than that. They were deeper and had more talent ready to close the deal out.

With the thoughts of a five-plus hour rain delay and the ultimate disappointment in a seventh game from the 2022 regional at the forefront of their mind, Florida sent Ryan Slater to the mound.

The image of Slater folded over at the waist, hands on his knees, staring at the ground as Peyton Graham rounded the bases following a game-tying two-run home run didn’t feel all too long ago. Slater was saddled with the loss in what would be the last game for those 2022 Gators.

Sunday was his chance at redemption. The more than 5,000 fans who called in sick to work on Monday morning wouldn’t see that image of Slater and the Red Raiders hardly saw the ball out of his hands.

“He threw a lot of strikes. He was ahead the whole time. The first at-bat I think I was down 1-2 within 25 seconds,” Texas Tech left fielder Nolen Hester said after the game. “He pitched quick and we didn’t really have a chance to breathe up there. When you are trying to work an at-bat and get a good pitch to hit, but he isn’t giving you any good pitches to hit, that makes it hard on you. You have to be really good.”

Slater would throw five scoreless innings. He worked quickly, threw strikes, and challenged Texas Tech to beat him. They couldn’t.

“You don’t get a second chance very often. Go back to Ryan last year when he pitched against Oklahoma on Saturday. And we’re sitting with him in the conference room saying ‘You know these opportunities don’t come around very often’,” O’Sullivan said of Slater.

“Ryan had the opportunity today. It was a pretty easy decision to decide on him to start. I never said anything to him about redemption or anything like that. It’s the game of baseball and Gavin Kash ran into a ball on Saturday night. That happens. It’s part of the game. You throw the ball across the plate and—but yeah really, really happy for him to have that opportunity and he certainly pitched well today.”

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