Saturday, June 6, 2015

UF Baseball: #4 Florida Gators Are Going Back to Omaha!

The Florida Gator baseball team is going to its ninth ever College World Series after stomping FSU 11-4 in Game 2 of Super Regionals! After losing the regular season series, the Gators got the last laugh as they swept FSU in Super Regionals and outscored them 24-9 in the process.

#4 Florida went down 2-0 in the first inning after some uncharacteristic errors. But FSU would not enjoy this lead for too long as freshman phenom JJ Schwarz tied the game with a two-run blast to left field in the top of the second. From there the floodgates opened. Schwarz would hit another home run in the sixth and ended the night 3-4 with three RBI's and three runs scored.

Juniors Harrison Bader and Richie Martin joined Schwarz in the home run parade as they both left the yard in the third and fourth innings, respectively. Both of them had two hits a piece and Bader's three RBI's tied him with Schwarz for a game-high.

Just like last night in Game 1, six different Gators had at least one RBI. Sophomore Peter Alonso was among those to have just one RBI, but he also smacked three hits and scored three times as well. Behind him was true freshman Jeremy Vasquez, who had two hits and one RBI. A few spots after Vasquez in the nine-hole was fellow true freshman Dalton Guthrie, who had an RBI and two runs scored.

For pitching duties, the Gators gave the ball to sophomore A.J. Puk. The 6'7 lefty did his job and kept the Gators ahead when he left in the fifth inning. On 89 pitches, Puk threw four innings while giving up four runs (three earned) on four hits. He struck out six 'Noles, hit two batters, and walked three. It was by no means an over-dominating start, but it was enough to keep the Seminoles off balance. After Puk left, senior Bobby Poyner came in and threw five innings of shutout relief. He allowed just three hits and struck out two as he notched his fifth win of the season.

After putting a good ol' clobbering on FSU, #4 Florida's (49-16) first opponent in Omaha will be another in-state rival in the #5 Miami Hurricanes (49-15). The Gators and 'Canes will be meeting for the fourth time this season after hooking up for a three-game series in Gainesville all the way back in February. Florida took two out of three games from Miami to win that series.

For Florida, those past two wins against Miami now mean nothing. All that matters now is beating the 'Canes in Omaha and getting into the winner's bracket. That of course is easier said than done. Regardless, this is going to be an absolute great game! I do not have a set game time as of now, but I know that the game is going to be on Saturday. I can't wait!

On an unrelated note, American Pharaoh became just the 12th race horse to win the Triple Crown after his victory at the Belmont Stakes today. He is the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978! This is a truly historic event and I was happy I got to see the race in its entirety!

Also, my favorite boxer, Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto, won his boxing bout vs Daniel Geale via a technical knockout in the fourth round! It was a very great Saturday in my book for sports!

*All stats accredited to NCAA.com & Gatorzone.com

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