This was a bullpen game for Florida as starter A.J. Puk (1-2, 3.38 ERA) exited the game with an apparent lower back injury. He had thrown just one inning and struck out two of the three Aggies he had faced. With Puk done, Coach Kevin O'Sullivan called on freshman Brady Singer to eat up some innings.
Entering the top of the second inning with a 2-0 lead, Singer had a rough outing. He was tagged for four runs on four hits, struck out three, walked two, and hit a batter in three innings of work. He would be the only Gator pitcher to issue a free pass all game.
After Singer's departure, fellow freshman Jackson Kowar came in and was tasked with protecting a 5-4 lead in the top of the fifth. This lead would quickly evaporate as TAMU put up three runs against him on five hits.
Once Kowar was pulled, star lefty reliever Kirby Snead came in and allowed just one hit in 1.1 innings. He struck out one and would be the beneficiary of Florida's timely hitting as he was the last pitcher on the mound when Florida took a 10-7 lead after the seventh inning. As a result, he would earn his third win of the season.
Coming in for the final two innings, closer Shaun Anderson pitched a perfect eighth and easily recorded the first two outs of the ninth before TAMU put two runners on to bring the tying run to the plate. This wouldn't faze Anderson at all. He struck out Nick Banks for his third punch out of the inning to end the game and notch his sixth save of the season.
Offensively, the Florida Gators battled back all game before safely taking the lead in the bottom of a wild seventh inning. Let me break it down.
In the bottom of the seventh, the bottom three of the Gator lineup was up with Florida trailing 7-6. Jeremy Vasquez struck out swinging and Nelson Maldonado flied out to right field to kick off the inning. With two outs, the nine-hole batter Jonathan India drew a walk.
Soon after, India stole second base and was now in prime scoring position for leadoff hitter Dalton Guthrie. The shortstop would draw a walk and set the stage for Buddy Reed. After India reached third base via a wild pitch, Reed hit a 1-2 pitch in front of the pitcher and beat out the throw for an infield single. India scored and the game was now tied at seven all.
As India scored, Dalton Guthrie thought the throw got away from Aggie first baseman Hunter Melton as the throw took the 6'2, 235 pounder off of the bag. Guthrie misjudged the play, and Melton threw a strike to third baseman Boomer White to get Guthrie in a pickle. Fortunately for Florida, White made an errant throw to second baseman Ryne Birk and all runners were safe at first and third.
It was now up to JJ Schwarz, who had just two hits in the series up to this point. The Gator's best hitter came up clutch as Schwarz singled into right field to give the Gators an 8-7 lead and move Buddy Reed into scoring position at third.
Next up, the hot-hitting first baseman Peter Alonso smoked a ball into right field to push the lead to 9-7 and advance JJ to third. Finally, a passed ball allowed JJ to score and extend Florida's lead to 10-7. Deacon Liput would strike out and end an incredible two-out rally from the Orange and Blue.
Buddy Reed's game-tying single was his third hit of the contest as he went 3-5 with two RBI's, two runs scored, and his 14th stolen base of the season. He was one of five Gators with multiple hits today! JJ Schwarz ended the series on a good note with a 2-4 performance that included a double, two RBI's, two runs scored, and a walk.
Behind JJ in the clean-up spot, Peter Alonso followed up a four-hit night by going 2-3 with an RBI and two walks. In the middle of the lineup, Mike Rivera and Jeremy Vasquez mirrored last night as they both had two hits a piece. Rivera went 2-4 with an RBI, two runs scored, and a walk while Jeremy Vasquez went 2-4 with a run scored and a hit by pitch.
The only other Gator with a hit was Jonathan India. He went 1-2 with two RBI's, a run scored, and a crucial walk that changed the game's course in the seventh inning.
Final Takeaway:
The No. 3 Florida Gators made a big statement this weekend. They will now undoubtedly top all polls tomorrow after sweeping the No. 1 team in the country at home. My fraternity brother Mark and I were so sure that Florida would sweep Texas A&M that we brought brooms to the game. It was a very risky move on our part, but obviously it paid off as Florida swept those Aggies away!
Before previewing this week's upcoming action, here are my final tidbits on today's slugfest victory:
- Florida and Texas A&M banged out 12 hits a piece today.
- Nelson Maldonado and Deacon Liput both struck out with the bases loaded to end an inning. They left a collective seven runners on base (four for Maldonado and three for Liput) and both went hitless in today's contest with Liput striking out three times.
- On a more positive note, Maldonado had a good eye and walked twice.
- Florida has now won 26 straight games at the Mac and the Gators are currently 20-0 at home this season!
- The Florida pitching staff struck out 13 Aggies and walked just two. TAMU's pitching staff whiffed nine Gators, but also walked eight.
- India's steal of second in the seventh inning was his seventh swiped bag of the season.
- Dalton Guthrie went hitless for the second time this series, but still made an impact as he drew a walk, knocked in one, and scored once.
- Peter Alonso killed it from the plate this entire series as he went 8-12 (.666) with two home runs and five RBI's.
- TAMU's three-hole Boomer White and clean-up man Hunter Melton accounted for half of the Aggies' offense as both of them had three hits in the game today.
The Florida Gators have whipped up a nice four-game winning streak heading into the the first full week of April. They are tied with No. 6 South Carolina (24-5) at the top of the SEC with a 7-2 conference record.
Looking ahead, the Gators have a home bout against the Jacksonville Dolphins (17-10) before the No. 11 Mississippi State Bulldogs (20-8-1, 6-3 in SEC play) come to the Mac for a weekend series. Miss State actually tops the SEC West standings and is the fifth best team record-wise in the SEC. This will be another great SEC series that I can't wait to attend!
The Jacksonville game is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 5th. It can be seen on the SEC Network and heard on the Gator IMG Sports Network. I have a good feeling that Dane Dunning (2-1, 2.90 ERA) will get the start despite tossing three innings in the Game 2 victory Saturday night.
As for Texas A&M, well, they definitely will not be the No. 1 team in the country anymore. After coming up completely empty in Gainesville, the Aggies will bring a three-game losing streak into Houston as they prepare to face the Rice Owls (17-10). The game is on Tuesday and is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. start time. After Rice, TAMU returns to College Station to take on the Georgia Bulldogs (17-12, 4-4 in SEC play) in a weekend series.
To conclude, this was an incredible series and I was happy I got to attend every game! This is one talented Gator team, and the stakes will only get higher as the season gets deeper. Great sweep boys! Go Gators!
*All stats accredited to FloridaGators.com
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