KYLE CURTIS: Sterlin Thompson’s Moonshot Cranks Up Sully’s Troops Just In Time For Post-Season Play
Updated: May 23, 2022
By KYLE CURTIS
GatorBaitMedia.com
The last time the Florida Gators hosted the Florida State Seminoles in baseball, it ended in a historic fashion. Kendrick Calilao had a line drive sail over the leftfield wall in the bottom of the 10th en route to a historic walk-off followed by an even better picture of Calilao celebrating with his teammates shirtless.
When Sterlin Thompson stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the ninth Tuesday night with a tie ball game, every Gator fan was having flashbacks. No way this could happen again?!
Boom! Queue the bat flip.
Delivering the most memorable hit in Condron Family Ballpark’s short existence, Sterlin Thompson sent his walk-off home run all the way back to Tallahassee. An absolute no-doubter had the fans in the stadium on their feet along with a shell-shocked Seminole dugout. Thompson’s moonshot secured the season series for the Gators, along with 19 of the last 23 matchups favoring Florida.
“It was a blur, honestly. I saw enough, I knew it was gone and I threw my bat,” said Thompson. “That’s something I dreamed of as a kid, especially against FSU, a big-time rival. It was amazing going around the bases… It was something I’ll never forget.”
The win adds to the hot streak the Gators have been on this last stretch of the season. They have now 10 of their last 12 games and heading into the final series vs. South Carolina, sit in a good position to make a run at hosting a regional tournament.
A large part of this hot streak has been thanks to the bats of Wyatt Langford and Sterlin Thompson.
After Thompson’s heroics on Tuesday night, he has now extended his on-base streak to a staggering 22 games. Langford had a night of his own with two home runs along with a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth to allow Thompson to get to the plate before the walk-off. Additionally, Langford has accumulated a streak of 14 games of getting on base and nine straight with a hit.
The Gators are now 13-14 in the Southeastern Conference and with a series win over South Carolina this weekend with a chance to finish in sole second place of the SEC East. This is a feat most Gator fans could never have imagined a few weeks back after it felt like the Gators hit rock bottom with the loss of their ace starter Hunter Barco. Rather than falling farther,
they have rallied to become one of the hottest
teams in the country over the past month.
“We were fortunate enough to win some games recently, so we’ve kind of built some momentum. It’s important,” said Gator’s head coach Kevin O’Sullivan. “We’re getting in the part of the season where every win is magnified, and I’d like to think that we’re hopefully playing the best baseball this time of year… It was a big win. It was a fun win, too.”
All in all, another momentum win for the Gators and Sterlin Thompson’s first collegiate walk-off. Certainly, one Thompson and Gator fans will not forget for the foreseeable future, if ever.
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