One local kid helped another as the Florida Gators rolled past Louisville 5-1 Tuesday night in Omaha. The win came with many thanks to Eustis grad Brady Singer who was on the mound and Oviedo’s Deacon Liput at the plate.

For Deacon, the night couldn’t have gotten any better as the sophomore hit a 3-run home run in the 4th inning.

“I’d have to say that was one of the more exciting times,” joked Liput, who won a state championship with the Oviedo Lions in 2015.

“When you get into this tournament every run counts and being able to contribute and help this team is a huge accomplishment for me and felt really good.”

The homer put the Gators up 4-0, and the cushion was huge for the confidence of Eustis grad Singer on the mound.

“Yeah, that helped a lot,” said Singer. “We’ve played a lot of one run ball games this year and Deacon got his pitch and elevated out and gave me some runs, gave me some breathing room. I just went out there and kept trying to put up 0’s.”

Brady finished the night with 9 strikeouts and 1 run in 7 innings pitched as pitching continued to be a strong suit for the Gators. “Just trying to pitch to win not trying to be too fine with anything,” said Singer.

Singer and Liput are both sophomores and were a part of last season’s trip to Omaha as well. But all would agree, the feeling this season is different.

“I definitely think it is a lot easier this year rather than last year to not get caught up in the atmosphere and how many fans there are around you,” said Liput. “I think it is a lot easier to just focus on the main goal and just stick to doing what you are taught to do.”