Gator Baseball: February Recap

First off, I apologize for my lack of writing this semester. I have been super busy with schoolwork, fraternity pledging, and my new girlfriend. Due to all of these going on at once, I have not been able to cover every single Florida baseball game I have gone to. As a substitute, I will present a month recap of the team's performance thus far. So let's begin!

The Florida Gators lost just one game on route to a 9-1 start. As it stands now, they are 13-2. Their only loss in February came to the Miami Hurricanes on Saturday, February 21st. I was at this game and all I can say was that it was a rough night for the Gators as the pitching was not there. The night before, however, was one of the best Gator baseball games I have ever been to.

On a blistering cold Friday night where the temperatures reached the low thirties, I watched the Florida Gators walk off in the ninth inning to beat the Miami Hurricanes 4-3. It was an absolutely amazing game!

I remember everything vividly! Down 3-1 with two outs in the fifth inning, freshman catcher Mike Rivera strode to the plate for the Gators with the bases loaded. He remained calm under pressure and knocked a game-tying single between first and second. Then, in the eighth inning, Miami smoked a ball to right center with a runner on first and one out. I thought for sure Miami would score. Buddy Reed corralled the ball and threw it to Richie Martin, who then threw a dart to Rivera at the plate to gun the runner by ten feet! It was amazing and kept the game tied! All 100 people in the stadium were buzzing at this point!

The climax of the game came in the bottom of the ninth. With two outs and senior Josh Tobias representing the winning run on second base, sophomore Buddy Reed blooped a ball just over the shortstop's head to win the game for the Gators! I was going crazy as I had never seen a walk off in person before. Being a part of the 50 people who braced the freezing temperatures at Alfred A. McKethan Stadium at this point made it a really special moment for myself and my friends who had stayed for it all.

Now that I have covered my favorite game of the month, it is time to move on to the stat leaders of February.

Offense

Hits: Dalton Guthrie (21) (Freshman)

RBI's: Harrison Bader (21) (Junior)

Home Runs: Harrison Bader (6) (Junior)

Batting Average: Harrison Bader (.417) (Junior)

Slugging %: Harrison Bader (.896) (Junior)

On Base %: Harrison Bader (.556) (Junior)

Stolen Bases: Buddy Reed (9) (Sophomore) 

Runs Scored: Harrison Bader (17) (Junior)

Strikeouts: JJ Schwarz (11) (Freshman)

Walks:  Harrison Bader (13) (Junior)

Defense

Assists: Dalton Guthrie (46) (Freshman)

Putouts: A.J. Puk (55) (Sophomore)

Errors: Riche Martin/ Logan Browning (2) (Sophomore/Freshman)

Pitching

Wins: Logan Shore/Dane Dunning (3) (Sophomores)

Losses: Bobby Poyner/A.J. Puk (1) (Senior/Sophomore)

Strikeouts: Bobby Poyner (15) (Senior)

ERA: Logan Shore (0.00) (Sophomore)

Shutouts: Logan Shore (2) (Sophomore)

Saves: Taylor Lewis (3) (Junior)

Appearances: Taylor Lewis (7) (Junior)

The team swept two series in February while taking two out of three from rival Miami at home. They have been firing on all cylinders going into March and I think they will stay hot for a good rest of the season. Stay tuned for another Gator baseball recap at the end of March!

*All stats accredited to Gatorzone.com