With their backs against the wall and an 11 year run of making the NCAA Tournament on life support, tension boiled over for the Florida Gators on Thursday night.
In the seventh inning Paul Gomez grounded a ball back to Tommy Mace with the bases loaded. The sophomore starter fielded it cleanly and threw to home where Brady Smith was standing with a foot on the plate ready to make the force out. Missouri catcher Chad McDaniel slid close to, but not making contact with, Smith’s foot. It’s a vulnerable situation for a catcher, something McDaniel is familiar with.