Alex Faedo (6-0, 2.53 ERA) started the contest for Florida and had a rough first inning as he gave up a leadoff home run along with another run on a wild pitch. He finished the inning with 35 total pitches thrown after facing seven Aggie batters! I thought for sure that Faedo would not even make it past the third inning due to how high his pitch count was just one inning into the game. Fortunately, I was very wrong.
Faedo settled down and from the second inning onward he delivered five strong innings of shutout baseball. He finished the night with 105 pitches thrown in six innings, two runs (one earned) allowed on five hits, two walks, seven strikeouts, and one wild pitch. His incredible comeback effort would be enough to earn him his sixth win of the season.
After Faedo's remarkable six innings of work, Dane Dunning came on for the final three innings of the game. Dunning was spectacular as he struck out four, walked none, and allowed just three hits on route to his second save of the season.
The Florida offense was a big reason as to why Alex Faedo got back on track. In the bottom of the first inning, eight Gators came to bat and the Orange and Blue put up three runs to answer TAMU. Florida's hitters made Aggie starter Kyle Simonds (5-1, 2.83 ERA) throw 45 pitches in the first inning! 45 PITCHES! The senior would only last two innings before being pulled and suffering his first loss of the season.
Leading the Gators from the plate tonight was Peter Alonso, who went 4-5 (tying a career-high) with a solo home run, three RBI's, and three runs scored. Alonso even stole his second bag of the season when he took second base via a delayed steal against TAMU pitcher Andrew Vinson.
In addition to Alonso's monster performance, three other Gators had multi-hit games. At the top of the lineup, Dalton Guthrie went 2-3 with two runs scored, a walk, and a hit by pitch.
In the six-hole, Mike Rivera went 2-3 with two RBI's, a run scored, and a walk. Rivera tilted the momentum onto Florida's side early in the game, as both of his RBI's came with two outs in the bottom of the first inning to give the Gators a 3-2 lead.
Batting after Rivera in the seven-hole, Jeremy Vasquez had himself a good game as well as he went 2-4 with a double, two RBI's, and a walk.
Among those with one base hit, Deacon Liput was 1-4 with a walk and a run scored as he beat a close play at the plate to score the go-ahead run in the bottom of the game's opening frame.
Final Takeaway:
The No. 3 Florida Gators responded to early adversity extremely well tonight and should be back to No. 1 in the polls after winning their weekend series against top-ranked Texas A&M. Although a series win is fantastic in itself, a sweep would be icing on the cake. Before I preview Florida's potential sweep attempt in Game 3, let me give my final tidbits on the series clincher:
- Six of Florida's seven runs tonight came with two outs. Now that's clutch hitting!
- This is the second straight game that the Gators have put up seven runs against the Aggies.
- Florida out-hit Texas A&M 12-8 and topped double digits in base knocks for the second straight game as well.
- Florida's pitching duo of Alex Faedo and Dane Dunning were dynamic as they struck out 11 Aggies and walked just two. The TAMU staff (five pitchers total) was prolific in strikeouts as well with 10, but their control was nonexistent as they walked seven Gators.
- The Gators have now won 26 straight home games.
- Peter Alonso's home run was his sixth of the season and now ties him with Mike Rivera for the team lead.
- Third baseman Jonathan India made a spectacular diving play in the top of the third for the final out of the inning.
- JJ Schwarz is hitting .125 (1-8) in the series with a single, an RBI, a walk, and two strikeouts.
- Nelson Maldonado left six runners on base tonight.
- TAMU's third baseman Boomer White was their leading hitter as he went a perfect 3-3 with a run scored and a walk.
- 5,339 were in attendance tonight. This replaces last night's game (5,197) as the third highest attendance at the Mac this season.
Looking to sweep Texas A&M and regain their position as the top dog in the college baseball world, Florida will trot out junior lefty A.J. Puk (1-2, 3.49 ERA) for Game 3 tomorrow. His opponent will be TAMU's ace in righty sophomore Jace Vines (4-0, 3.38 ERA) who didn't start Friday because he was sick.
The final game of this marquee SEC series is set for 2 p.m on Sunday. It can be seen on ESPNU and heard on the Gator IMG Sports Network. Regardless of how tomorrow goes, I think we can all safely assume that Florida has sent a message to Texas A&M as to who they need to worry about when the SEC Tournament rolls around in May.
*All stats accredited to FloridaGators.com
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