Tasked with saving the season, freshman Cade Fisher delivered

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A year ago at this time Cade Fisher was watching Carsten Finnvold keep the Florida Gators alive with a nine-inning relief appearance. Sunday, exactly 364 days after Finnvold’s gem, Fisher was given the same task. Facing elimination in their own regional, the Gators once again turned to a freshman lefty.

Fisher was dominant in high school. He posted a 0.71 ERA as a senior, the best of any high school player in the state of Georgia, regardless of classification. He had also been an arm that Kevin O’Sullivan lean on out of the bullpen. Sunday, however, wouldn’t be out of the bullpen. Fisher was starting against a dangerous Texas Tech lineup.

All season the Gators’ head coach spoke of Fisher’s demeanor. “He has the right heartbeat,” O’Sullivan would say.

“We were hoping to probably get five,” O’Sullivan said after the game of Fisher. “We would have been pleased with that and then finished the game with (closer Brandon) Neely.”

Making his 21st appearance of the season. Fisher had never thrown more than four innings in a college game, so O’Sullivan was already asking and expecting more than we had seen of the lefty.

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Fisher takes the mound

Florida went quietly in the top of the first and the 19-year-old walked to the mound with an emotionless face. Fisher fired two strikes before Nolen Hester began battling. The leadoff ban fouled the next three offers off.

“I was annoyed with that,” Fisher said after the game with a wiry smile.

Hester would battle, grounding out to Josh Rievra on the tenth pitch of the at bat. The freshman got out of that first inning with a zero on the scoreboard. Then he did it again. And again, matching Texas Tech starter Zane Petty as the two rookies posted scoreless inning after scoreless inning.

Fisher surrender two singles in the second inning but worked out of it. He retired the next six batters he faced before Gavin Kash singled to start the fifth inning.

His demeanor never changed. Looking at Fisher walking off the mound you wouldn’t have been able to tell if it were an elimination game in June or an intrasquad back on the same mound in September.

Florida’s offense gave him four runs in the sixth inning. Fisher returned to the mound and returned the Red Raiders back to their dugout scoreless again.

Fisher went seven scoreless innings on 90 pitches.

“You really can’t ask for better,” Florida outfielder Tyler Shelnut said. “We knew going into that game that he was going to have to go deep and the deeper he could go the better, obviously. I don’t think you could ask for much better than that. I mean, [seven innings with one earned run], it’s unbelievable.”

O’Sullivan made the decision to send him back to the mound in the eighth inning.

“I probably got a little greedy,” he admitted after the game.

Fisher allowed a lead of double and Hester, that pesky leadoff hitter, executed a perfect bunt for a single to give Tech runners on the corners with no outs.

“I wanted to finish it out,” he said after the game. “I wanted those last six outs.”

Brandon Neely was able to come in and close the game.

Fisher’s performance was herculean. A freshman who hadn’t thrown more than four innings in a game or more than 64 pitches hurled six scoreless and worked into the eighth inning, allowing just one earned run.

Freshman. Second career start. Facing Elimination. pic.twitter.com/srWFJDvlEQ

— Nick de la Torre (@delatorre) June 5, 2023

Saving the bullpen

Florida had a tall task of winning two games on Sunday. The performances from Hurston Waldrep and Fisher will put the Gators in as good of a position as they could have hoped for. The Gators got 18 strikeouts in 14 innings from their two starting pitchers Sunday: Hurston Waldrep and Cade Fisher. Meanwhile, Waldrep and Fisher allowed only 10 hits and posted a 1.29 ERA.

Florida and Texas Tech will meet on Monday in game seven of the Gainesville Regional. The first game is scheduled for noon and will be broadcast on ESPNU.