UF Baseball: #1 Florida Comes Back to Beat #5 South Carolina

The No. 1 Florida Gators (37-6, 14-5 in SEC play) used a pair of ninth inning home runs to come from behind and defeat the No. 5 South Carolina Gamecocks (33-9, 14-5 in SEC play) 5-4 in an exhilarating Game 1 of this weekend series.

This contest between these two SEC East rivals reached its apex in the ninth inning. With no outs and the Gators down 4-3, freshman Jonathan India drilled a 2-2 pitch over the left field wall to tie the game.

Two outs later, sophomore Nick Horvath strode to the plate for his first at-bat of the game. After taking the first pitch for ball one, Horvath crushed his first collegiate home run over the left field fence to give the Gators their first lead of the night!

Leading now 5-4, Florida called upon closer Shaun Anderson to shut the door and secure an improbable victory. After allowing a leadoff single to LT Tolbert, Anderson settled down and induced a ground ball for a much-needed double play.

After walking Gene Cone, Anderson gave up a deep shot to Dom Thompson-Williams that Nelson Maldonado tracked down at the wall for the game's final out. A foot so or more and South Carolina would have been the benefactors of a walk off home run. Instead, it was Anderson's tenth save of the season and a huge road victory for the Gators.

Before the dramatics of the ninth inning, this was a battle between two aces as Florida's Logan Shore (8-0, 2.39 ERA) and South Carolina's Clarke Schmidt (8-1, 2.04 ERA) dueled the night away. This would be Shore's second shortest outing of the season, as he tossed 86 pitches in 4.2 innings. He exited with a stat line of three earned runs allowed on five hits, two walks, and six strikeouts.

Schmidt fared slightly better in 6.1 frames. Throwing 104 pitches, he gave up three runs (one earned) on five hits, walked two, and struck out six in 6.1 frames.

Upon Shore's exit, Kirby Snead came in and threw 0.1 innings. He allowed one earned run on one hit while facing just two batters.

After Snead's departure, Dane Dunning came in and threw 50 pitches in three scoreless innings of relief. Yielding just two hits while striking out three, Dunning's durability would pay off as the late lead change would notch him his third win of the season.

The Gator lineup scattered eight hits, but three of those base knocks were long bombs. Before India and Horvath silenced the crowd at Founders Park, JJ Schwarz left the yard with two outs in the top of the sixth to cut the Gamecock lead to 3-2. It was a home run that never should have happened, as a two-out error allowed freshman Deacon Liput to reach first base and bring Schwarz to the plate.

After South Carolina pushed it to 4-2, Jeremy Vasquez delivered in the clutch with a pinch-hit RBI single in the top of the seventh to trim the deficit to one. Horvath would replace him in the bottom of the same inning.

The only Gator with multiple hits was Nelson Maldonado, who went 2-4 with a pair of singles. The only extra base hit that was not a home run came off the bat of Dalton Guthrie, whose lone hit was a double in the ninth inning.

Final Takeaway:
The No. 2 Florida Gators have now tied the No. 5 South Carolina Gamecocks for first place in the SEC East standings. Before previewing Game 2, here are my final tidbits on a thrilling opening game:

• Florida handed South Carolina just their second loss at home, as the Gamecocks are now 25-2 at the friendly confines.
• South Carolina's leading hitter was Chris Cullen, who went 3-4 with two doubles, a home run, two RBI's, and a run scored.
• The Gators have now won seven straight games over the Gamecocks dating back to 2014.
• Jonathan India's home run was his second of his career, while JJ Schwarz's home run was his fifth of the season.
• Dalton Guthrie's ninth inning double was his 11th of the season and tied him with Peter Alonso for the team lead.
• Both Florida and South Carolina's pitching staffs struck out eight batters. In regards to walks, the Gators issued two free passes while the Gamecocks walked three.
• The Gators left six men on the base paths, with Deacon Liput stranding four of them.

With first place on the line, Florida will trot out lefty junior A.J. Puk (2-2, 3.07 ERA) as the Orange and Blue attempt to win the series against the Gamecocks for the fifth year in a row. South Carolina will counter with junior freshman Braden Webb (8-2, 2.38 ERA). 

Game time is again set for 7 p.m. It can be seen on the SEC Network and heard on the Gator IMG Sports Network.

*All stats accredited to FloridaGators.com

UF Baseball: #2 Florida Wins Series Over Georgia

The No. 2 Florida Gators (36-6, 13-5 in SEC play) captured their third straight series victory over the rival Georgia Bulldogs (21-20, 7-11 in SEC play) with a 4-1 victory today.

Alex Faedo (8-1, 3.32 ERA) got the nod on the mound and delivered another strong outing. Winning his eighth game of the year, Faedo went 5.2 innings and allowed no earned runs on two hits while striking out six, walking two, and hitting a batter.

After his departure in the top of the sixth inning, junior lefty Kirby Snead came in and worked two scoreless innings of relief. He struck out three while allowing just two hits.

In the top of the eighth with two outs, Dane Dunning came in and induced a ground ball on his first pitch. In the ninth, Dunning loaded the bases before being pulled in favor of closer Shaun Anderson. He would finish with a stat line of one earned run allowed on one hit and one walk.

When Anderson entered the game, Georgia had a chance to tie it up with the bases loaded and no one out. Anderson would have none of it. He induced a fly ball for the first out, then struck out the next two batters to secure the victory and earn his ninth save of the season.

Offensively, the Gators were led by junior first baseman Peter Alonso. Going 2-4 in the game with two RBI's and two runs scored, Alonso hit both a two-run home run and a double to center field. He was one of three Gators with multiple hits in the contest.

Batting after Alonso and also notching two hits was junior outfielder Buddy Reed. He finished 2-4 with an RBI double and a triple. Going all the way down to the bottom of the lineup, fellow junior outfielder Ryan Larson finally broke out of his hitting funk as he went 2-3 with an RBI and his second stolen base of the season.

Final Takeaway:

Today's series victory had the mark of the juniors as Sully's 2013 recruiting class (minus Faedo) nearly did all the pitching and run producing for Florida. Before previewing next weekend's series against South Carolina (32-8, 13-4 in SEC play), here are my final tidbits from today's game:

• Peter Alonso's home run was his ninth of the season. His double was the eleventh of the season, tying him for the team lead with Dalton Guthrie.
• Buddy Reed's triple was his fourth of the season and now puts him as the team leader in that stat category.
• Jonathan India drew two of the Gators's three walks today and made the most of it as he came around to score once.
• Both pitching staffs walked just three batters, but the disparity came in strikeouts as Florida punched out 11 Bulldogs while Georgia fanned just five Gators.
• Ryan Larson finally reached the Mendoza Line as his performance today raised his batting average to .200.
• Florida made two errors today between Ryan Larson dropping a fly ball in the first and Peter Alonso bobbling a ground ball in the ninth. Regardless, none of those errors came back to substantially hurt the Gators.
• Since giving up nine runs against Mississippi State on April 9th, Alex Faedo has allowed just one earned run in his last 12 innings pitched.

With a fourth SEC series win under their belt, No. 2 Florida now has a big weekend ahead of them as they head to Columbia for three games against the No. 8 South Carolina Gamecocks. The Gators trail the first-place Gamecocks by only half a game in the SEC East standings, so this series will go a long way in shaping up the race for the regular season title.

The weekend rotation will be the usual as A.J. Puk (2-2, 3.07 ERA) will throw Friday, Logan Shore (8-0, 2.14 ERA) will throw Saturday, and Alex Faedo will throw Sunday. The first game is at 7 p.m. It can be seen on the SEC Network and heard on the Gator IMG Sports Network.

As for Georgia, it doesn't get any easier as they return to Athens to play the rival Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (25-12) on Tuesday before heading to Nashville to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores (30-9, 10-7 in SEC play) in a weekend series.

*All stats accredited to FloridaGators.com

UF Baseball: #2 Florida Shuts Out Georgia

The No. 2 Florida Gators (35-6, 12-5 in SEC play) got back on track tonight as they blanked the Georgia Bulldogs (21-19, 7-10) by a score of 6-0.

It was a historic night for Florida ace Logan Shore (8-0, 2.14 ERA), as the junior earned a school-record 13th consecutive victory on the mound tonight. In addition to breaking a record previously set by Russ Kibler in the early 80s, Shore also threw his second complete game shutout of the season.

Allowing just two hits the whole night, Shore faced the minimum amount of 27 batters while striking out six and walking just one on 101 pitches thrown. He induced seven groundouts and 11 fly outs.

The Gator offense would give Shore a big lead to work with early as they scored five runs in the first two innings. Jonathan India had a team-high two RBI's after his first inning single scored both Deacon Liput and Peter Alonso to push the score to 3-0. It would be his only hit of the night as he finished 1-4.

JJ Schwarz continued to stay hot as he went 2-4 and almost connected for his fifth home run of the season. Schwarz also showed off his wheels tonight as he stole his second bag of the year. He was one of five Gators to swipe a base off of Georgia's pitching staff.

Of these five steals, the most memorable had to be Buddy Reed's in the bottom of the first inning. With the score 3-0 and two outs in the bottom of the first inning, Buddy Reed took off from third base as Bulldog pitcher Connor Jones delivered to the plate. Reed timed his jump perfectly and slid in just ahead of catcher Skyler Weber's tag to steal home and extend the Gator lead to 4-0.

Reed's risky decision was incredible and the perfect way to cap off a four-run inning. From there, the Gators would run with the momentum and never look back.

Final Takeaway:
The No. 2 Florida Gators are now back in a position to win the series after yet another dominating performance from Logan Shore. Before previewing the rubber match, here are my final tidbits on tonight's shutout victory:

• Besides Reed and Schwarz, the other three Gators with stolen bases were Dalton Guthrie (his seventh), Deacon Liput (his tenth), and Christian Hicks (his first of his collegiate career).
• Dalton Guthrie and Buddy Reed were the only other two Gators to drive in a run as Guthrie went 1-3 with an RBI and Reed went 1-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
• Six different players accounted for all the runs that the Orange and Blue scored tonight.
• Yet again, Christian Hicks walked in his only plate appearance of the game in the bottom of the seventh. It was his seventh free pass of the year.
• Ryan Larson (who is hitting .173 this season) actually got to start this game, but was a non-factor as he went 0-3 with a strikeout. He did have two putouts though, with one being a diving catch.
• Speaking of diving catches, Nelson Maldonado made a fine play in left field when he laid out for a ball in the top of the fourth.

With Logan Shore giving the bullpen a rest tonight, it will be all hands on deck tomorrow as the Gators go for their third straight series victory over Georgia. Toeing the mound for Florida will be another quality arm in sophomore right-hander Alex Faedo (7-1, 3.67 ERA). I again am clueless in regards to who Georgia will counter with.

Game time for the rubber match is set for 2 p.m. It can be seen on ESPN2 and heard on the Gator IMG Sports Network.

*All stats accredited to FloridaGators.com

UF Baseball: #2 Florida Falls to Georgia in Extra Innings

The No. 2 Florida Gators (34-6, 11-5 in SEC play) lost tonight's twelve-inning affair to the Georgia Bulldogs (21-18, 7-9 in SEC play) by a score of 2-1.

It was a pitcher's duel for most of the night as MLB prospects A.J. Puk (2-2, 3.07 ERA) and Robert Tyler were both masterful on the mound. Puk gave Florida 6.2 innings of one-run ball while allowing three hits, striking out 10, and walking one. He threw 103 pitches in the contest.

Matching Puk pitch for pitch, Robert Tyler plowed his way all the way into the ninth inning before being pulled after 116 pitches. He exited the game with a stat line of 8.1 innings thrown, one earned run allowed on eight hits, one walk, and nine strikeouts.

With both starters gone, the game would come down to a battle of the bullpens. Florida would use five pitchers in relief, Georgia would need just one. 

The first Gator reliever was Dane Dunning. He had another stellar night as he tossed 1.1 innings and struck out three Bulldogs while allowing two hits.

After Dunning, Kirby Snead came in and struck out the only batter he faced before being pulled in favor of closer Shaun Anderson.

Working the most of all relievers, Shaun threw 2.2 innings and allowed two hits, struck out two, and walked two. His ability to pitch out of a bases loaded jam with one out in the top of the eleventh was the highlight of his outing.

At 55 pitches already, Anderson was replaced with Frank Rubio in the top of the twelfth. This is when things got hairy for Florida as Rubio allowed back-to-back singles and recorded just one out before being yanked for freshman Brady Singer.

With Singer in, Georgia finally broke through as shortstop Nick King singled up the middle to plate what would prove to be the game-winning run. The run and loss would be charged to Frank, his first of the year.

As Florida kept shuffling pitchers in and out, Georgia relied on their redshirt senior Heath Holder. He was absolutely untouchable and deserved every bit of his first win of the season. Throwing 64 pitches in 3.1 innings, he allowed one hit, walked one, and struck out seven Gators.

Even with Holder dominating the extra frames and the Bulldogs capturing a 2-1 lead, the Gators still convinced me that there was a slight chance to win in dramatic fashion.

In the bottom of the twelfth, the Gators had a chance as Mike Rivera reached base on a dropped third strike. However, a Nick Horvath strikeout and fly outs from Nelson Maldonado and Dalton Guthrie would dash any hope of a Gator come-from-behind victory.

The offense was shutdown tonight despite mustering eight hits off of Tyler. The Gators scored just once, and that came when JJ Schwarz singled in Deacon Liput with two outs in the bottom of the first. 

Along with Peter Alonso who went 2-5, JJ was the only Gator with multiple hits as he went 3-5 with his RBI single. Every single batter except Dalton Guthrie struck out at least once, with Mike Rivera leading the way with three strikeouts on the night. The Gator lineup combined for 16 strikeouts, matching the amount of punch outs that the pitching staff accumulated in the game. 

Final Takeaway:

This game was won by the fundamentals. Georgia put a leadoff runner on base from the ninth inning through the twelfth and moved runners over with properly executed bunts. Before previewing Game 2 of the series, here are my final tidbits on the loss tonight:

• Entering the game as a defensive replacement, Nick Horvath had a clutch inning-ending double play when he caught a fly ball in right field and doubled up Georgia's Stephen Wrenn in the top of the tenth.
• Two Georgia players (Michael Curry and LJ Talley) struck out four times tonight.
• Conversely, two Georgia players had three hits tonight as leadoff man Nick King went 3-6 with an RBI and Stephen Wrenn went 3-5 with a run scored.
• The Gators have now lost three straight SEC games at the Mac dating back to their series against Mississippi State (25-12-1, 8-7 in SEC play) two weekends ago.

In jeopardy of dropping their first series to Georgia since 2013, the Gators will look to ace Logan Shore (7-0, 2.50 ERA) to even the series up at one game a piece on Friday night. I do not have the faintest idea who Georgia will counter with.

Game time is 7 p.m. and it can be seen on the SEC Network and heard on the Gator IMG Sports Network.

*All stats accredited to FloridaGators.com

UF Baseball: #2 Florida Defeats Jacksonville Again

The No. 2 Florida Gators (34-5) regained their winning aways at the Mac with a 3-1 victory over the Jacksonville Dolphins (22-14). This is the second time this month that the Gators have defeated the Dolphins, with Florida winning the April 5th contest by a score of 7-2.

Jackson Kowar (3-0, 3.37 ERA) got the start and was hit around a bit as Jacksonville notched five hits off of him. The Dolphins only did damage in the first inning, when two-hole hitter Austin Hays belted a 2-2 pitch over the left field fence to give Jax an early 1-0 lead. It would be their only score of the game, and Kowar would finish with a no decision on three innings pitched, two strikeouts, two hit batsmen, and one wild pitch thrown.

Relieving Kowar in the fourth was Frank Rubio, who was astounding on route to his third victory of the season. In 3.2 innings out of the bullpen, Frank allowed just two hits and struck out two. It was by far the best I had personally seen Frank pitch all season!

Rubio was masterful as he mowed down the Jacksonville lineup.

After Frank's incredible outing, Kirby Snead came in to face lefty Parker Perez and gave up a hit after a five-pitch at-bat. Without hesitation, Coach O'Sullivan pulled him for Dane Dunning.

In his first game action since last Friday (April 15th), Dunning held down the fort and retired all four batters he faced via strikeout.

In the ninth, Shaun Anderson entered in search of his eighth save of the season. He kicked off the inning with a strikeout, a groundout, a hit batter, and a strikeout of the pinch hitter to end the game and secure the victory.

Offensively, the Gators' bats were somewhat cold tonight as they only mustered three runs on seven hits. Fortunately for Florida, the lineup was jumpstarted by leadoff man Dalton Guthrie and three-hole hitter Buddy Reed.

Guthrie was the only Gator with multiple hits as he went 2-4 in the contest. Two spots down, Buddy Reed was just 1-4 on the night, but he scored two of Florida's runs! He scored the game-tying run on a wild pitch and then scored the go-ahead run on a Mike Rivera groundout.

Florida only banging out seven hits is actually okay considering they mirrored it with seven walks! Three Gators had two walks in the contest!

First was JJ Schwarz, who finished 1-2 with a double (Florida's only extra base hit of the night). Next was Nelson Maldonado, who finished 0-0 with no official at-bat and his second stolen base of the year.

Finally was Nick Horvath, who went hitless but scored an important insurance run on a Jonathan India single in the bottom of the seventh. The final batter to walk was pinch hitter Christian Hicks, who subbed in at DH for Danny Reyes.

The last thing I would like to mention about the Gator offense is Deacon Liput. Not in the starting lineup for the first time in his collegiate career, Liput entered the game as a defensive replacement in the top of the seventh inning. Naturally, the first batter of the inning hit the ball right to him and he made the play for the first out.

When it came time for him to bat in the bottom of the eighth, Liput wasted no time as he ripped a 1-0 pitch through the right side for a single. Now 1-1 on the night, the freshman wouldn't stop there. He subsequently stole both second and third base to put himself in scoring position with one out in the inning.

Liput showcased his speed tonight, easily taking both second and third on the Jacksonville Dolphins.

Even in just three innings of playing time, Liput still found a way to make an impact on the game. If you're Coach O'Sullivan, you gotta be happy seeing that from your freshman.

Final Takeaway:
The No. 2 Florida Gators are now 15-1 against teams from the Sunshine State. Before previewing the baseball version of the "World's Greatest Cocktail Party" on the diamond, here are my final tidbits on the victory over Jacksonville:

• Deacon Liput's two stolen bases now give him a total of nine on the season. This is half of what team leader Buddy Reed has right now (18).
• Danny Reyes almost connected for his first collegiate home run in the bottom of the seventh when he smoked a ball to right field. However, the right fielder nonchalantly reached over the right field fence and took it away. It was the most undramatic robbed home run I had ever seen!
• Jacksonville made two errors in the game while Florida made none. It's hard beating the best team in the country playing a flawless game, let alone if you shoot yourself in the foot a couple of times.
• Jackson Kowar picked off Jacksonville's Parker Perez for the first out of the game. This would be huge as Kowar would give up a home run to the very next batter. 
• Contrary to Jacksonville's pitching staff, Florida did a great job not issuing any free passes as the staff walked nobody tonight!
• The Gators now hold a two-game winning streak over the Jacksonville Dolphins. This may seem irrelevant, but keep in mind that on April 22, 2014, the Jacksonville was the one who emerged from the Mac victorious by the same score of 3-1.

Like last week, the Gators are faced with another Thursday through Saturday series as the rival Georgia Bulldogs (20-18, 6-9 in SEC play) come to the Mac. The Gators currently hold a two-game winning streak over the Dawgs and, as of 2012, Florida has also won four straight home games against their old SEC rival.

Just because Georgia has nearly 20 losses and is sub .500 in SEC play doesn't mean they should be overlooked. This past weekend, they took two out of three in a home series vs the No. 6 South Carolina Gamecocks (29-8, 11-4 in SEC play) before getting smacked 12-0 by Clemson (24-12) last night. Regardless, Florida needs to be on their toes for every game so another disaster like Mississippi State doesn't occur. 

The weekend rotation will be as follows: A.J. Puk (2-2, 3.41 ERA) on Thursday, Logan Shore (7-0, 2.50 ERA) on Friday, and Alex Faedo (7-1, 3.67 ERA) on Saturday. The first game is at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday and I will be interested to see the attendance with final exams going on here at UF. The first game can be seen on ESPNU and heard on the Gator IMG Sports Network.

As for Jacksonville (who is 4-2 in Atlantic Sun play), they will look to end their two-game losing streak as they head home to take on the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (19-18, 5-1 in Atlantic Sun play) in a series that may shape up the regular season race for the Atlantic Sun title. Game time for the Friday night contest is 6 p.m.

*All stats accredited to FloridaGators.com

UF Baseball: #10 Mississippi State Routs #1 Florida to Even Series

The No. 1 Florida Gators (29-4, 8-3 in SEC play) were absolutely obliterated tonight as the No. 10 Mississippi State Bulldogs (22-9-1, 7-4 in SEC play) smacked them by a score of 10-4.

Alex Faedo (6-1, 3.97 ERA) suffered his first loss of the season as Mississippi State shelled him for nine runs on ten hits in the first four innings! He gave up a four-spot in the first and a five-spot in the third that featured a grand slam from Bulldog center fielder Cody Brown.

Undoubtedly the worst start of his collegiate career, Faedo finished the game with five strikeouts, one walk, one hit batsman, and a game ERA of 16.20 in five innings pitched.

Once Faedo was mercifully pulled, Florida used four relievers to mop up the damage. First up was Nick Horvath. The sophomore retired the first batter he faced before giving up a hit and walking a batter.

The two base runners would quickly end Horvath's night as Coach O'Sullivan yanked him in favor of Frank Rubio. The junior out of Miami Shores tossed the most innings out of the bullpen as he retired all five batters he faced in 1.2 innings of relief.

In the top of the eighth, freshman Michael Byrne came in for his fifth appearance of the year and allowed just one hit in between two strikeouts as he worked a scoreless inning.

Finishing out the mop up duties in the top of the ninth was another freshman in Eddy Demurias. In just his third collegiate outing, Demurias was tagged for one run as the Bulldogs reached double digits on the scoreboard. His finished the final frame with one earned run allowed on two hits, and one walk issued.

Offensively, the only jolt came from the bat of Buddy Reed. In the bottom of the third with runners on first and second, Reed crushed his third home run of the year over the right field fence to narrow the Mississippi State lead to 9-3. The Gators wouldn't put up a crooked number again until the bottom of the eighth, when Jonathan India singled home Mike Kolozsvary.

India had a fantastic night at the plate, going 3-4 with a run scored and his lone RBI near the game's conclusion. Joining him with three hits was Jeremy Vasquez, who finished the night 3-4 with his eighth double of the year.

Final Takeaway:
No. 10 Mississippi State simply outplayed No.1 Florida tonight as the Bulldogs jumped on the Gators early and kept their foots on the gas pedal until the game's final out. Before previewing the rubber match, here are my final tidbits on tonight's tough loss:

• This is Florida's first home loss all season. The 29-game winning streak at the Mac is now over. Florida's five-game winning streak over the Bulldogs has ended as well.
• Florida left 10 runners on base and grounded into three double plays. The opportunities to claw back into this game were there, the Gators simply could not capitalize.
• Five of Mississippi State's batters had two or more hits.
• Coming on in relief, Mississippi State's Ryan Rigby (4-1, 1.23 ERA) was incredible for five innings as he allowed just one earned run on four hits, struck out four, walked one, and hit a batter. His effort would earn him his fourth victory of the year.
• This is Florida's worst home loss since February 21, 2015, when the Orange and Blue lost to the rival Miami Hurricanes by a score of 7-2.
• Despite the home winning streak coming to an end, history was made tonight as the largest crowd ever (6,244) packed the Mac to set a new attendance record! I was glad I could be a part of it!

With a split in the first two games, Florida's final shot at winning the series lies in the hands of junior lefty A.J. Puk (1-2, 3.38). Mississippi State will counter with a lefty of their own in junior southpaw Daniel Brown (2-2, 5.46 ERA).

Game time for the rubber match is set for 4 pm. As has been the case all weekend, the game can be seen on the SEC Network and heard on the Gator IMG Sports Network.

*All stats accredited to FloridaGators.com

UF Baseball: #1 Florida Takes Series Opener Over #10 Mississippi State

The No. 1 Florida Gators (29-3, 8-2 in SEC play) seized the opening game of their weekend series against the No. 10 Mississippi State Bulldogs (21-9-1, 6-4 in SEC play) with an 8-2 victory.

Gator ace Logan Shore (6-0, 2.66 ERA) earned his sixth victory of the season as he threw 91 pitches and allowed two earned runs in 5.2 innings of work. He finished with a stat line of eight hits allowed, four strikeouts, and two hit batsmen.

After Shore's exit with two outs in the top of the sixth inning, lefty Kirby Snead came in and delivered 2.1 strong innings of relief. He allowed just two hits and no runs as he struck out two batters.

In the the top of the ninth, Nick Horvath took the mound and worked past a leadoff single by inducing a ground ball and striking out a batter.

With one out remaining in the game, Coach O'Sullivan pulled Horvath and brought in Frank Rubio to close out the game. Rubio would do his job, as the lone batter he faced popped up to end the contest.

Offensively, the Gator lineup blasted Bulldog starter Dakota Hudson (4-2, 1.68 ERA) as they tagged him for five runs in the fifth inning to seize a commanding 6-2 lead. Two more runs in eighth would push Florida's lead to 8-2 and leave no doubt of a Gator victory.

Leadoff man Dalton Guthrie led all Gator hitters as he went 3-4 with an RBI, a run scored, and a walk. He was one of three Gators to record multiple base knocks in the game.

In the three-hole, JJ Schwarz recorded his second multi-hit game of the month as he went 2-5 and led the team with two RBI's on the night.

Skipping all the way down to the eighth spot of the batting order, Nelson Maldonado also notched his second multi-hit game of the month. The freshman left fielder went 2-4 with two runs scored and the first stolen base of his collegiate career. The only other Gator to score multiple times was fellow freshman Jonathan India, who crossed home twice tonight.

Among those with just one hit, Buddy Reed and Deacon Liput were crucial in the fifth inning. Buddy's bases loaded single gave Florida a 3-2 lead and Deacon's RBI single capped off the five-run inning.

Final Takeaway:
The No.1 Florida Gators were benefactors of the big inning in their win over No. 10 Mississippi State. Before shifting attention to another potential series win at the Mac, here are my final tidbits on tonight's victory:

• Jonathan India kicked off the Gator rally in the bottom of the fifth inning when he faked a bunt and slashed a double in the gap to knot the score up at two. This would be Florida's only extra base hit all game and India's ninth double of the season.
• Logan Shore exited the game briefly in the top of the second inning before returning after about five minutes. I have no idea why he left the game, but fortunately it was not injury-related.
• Ryan Larson, who always comes in as a defensive replacement in the later innings of every game, got his second at-bat of the week tonight. He was hit by a pitch and finished 0-0 with a run scored.
• Clean-up hitter Peter Alonso was the only starter to not record a hit as he finished the night 0-4.
• At the top of the Mississippi State lineup, center fielder Jake Mangum had himself a game as he went 3-5.
• Both offenses showed up as Florida banged out 12 hits and Mississippi State banged out 11.
• The Florida pitching staff fanned just six Bulldogs but walked none, while the Mississippi State pitching staff struck out nine Gators but surrendered two walks.
• Florida has now won 29 straight games at the Mac and the Gators are currently 22-0 at home this season!
• Florida now boasts a five-game winning streak over the Bulldogs dating back to 2013 (this includes on victory in the SEC Tournament as well).

With the series opener underneath their belt, Florida will look to win both their 30th game and their third SEC series of the year behind the arm of sophomore Alex Faedo (6-0, 2.53 ERA). Mississippi State will counter with junior Austin Sexton (3-1, 2.98 ERA).

Game 2 is set for 7 p.m. It can be seen on the SEC Network and heard on the Gator IMG Sports Network.

*All stats accredited to FloridaGators.com

UF Baseball: #3 Florida Sweeps #1 Texas A&M

The No. 3 Florida Gators (27-3, 7-2 in SEC play) completed their sweep of the No.1 Texas A&M Aggies (22-6, 4-5 in SEC play) with a 10-7 victory.

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

UF Baseball: #3 Florida Wins Series vs #1 Texas A&M

The No. 3 Florida Gators (26-3, 6-2 in SEC play) clinched a series victory over the No.1 Texas A&M Aggies (22-5, 4-4 in SEC play) with their 7-2 win tonight.

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

UF Baseball: #3 Florida Takes Series Opener Over #1 Texas A&M

The No. 3 Florida Gators (25-3, 5-2 in SEC play) defeated the No. 1 Texas A&M Aggies (22-4, 4-3 in SEC play) by a score of 7-4 last night.

Gator ace Logan Shore (5-0, 2.59 ERA) toed the rubber for the Friday night start and shut down the Aggie lineup with 4.1 scoreless innings. Unfortunatley, Shore would not receive his sixth win of the year as he did not throw the five innings needed to qualify for the stat.

After yielding three straight hits in the top of the fourth inning, Shore was pulled from the game. He would finish with a stat line of 93 pitches, five strikeouts, five hits allowed, three walks, and one hit batsman.

Once Shore exited, lefty Kirby Snead had a daunting task ahead of him with the bases loaded and just one out. However, the Gators' best reliever worked out of the jam as he induced two ground balls to end the inning. Snead would toss a total of two innings and earn his second win of the season as he allowed just one earned run on one hit while striking out one and walking one.

After Snead's departure, Frank Rubio came in and was lights out in both the seventh and the eighth innings. In the final frame, Frank ran into some trouble as TAMU tagged him for three runs and narrowed the six-run deficit down to 7-4. He would be pulled with one out remaining in the ninth and boasted a final stat line of 2.1 innings pitched, three runs allowed on three hits, three strikeouts, and one walk.

After TAMU cleared the base paths with a two-run home run, lefty Scott Moss came in and could not get the final out as he walked the only batter he faced on four straight pitches. That was all Coach Kevin O'Sullivan needed to see before he pulled Moss in favor of closer Shaun Anderson. The righty induced a ground ball for the final out of the game to notch his fifth save of the season.

Offensively, the Gators were led by Jonathan India. Out of the nine-hole, the freshman went a perfect 4-4 with two doubles, three RBI's, and a run scored. In addition to India's big night, three other Gators had multi-hit games.

Buddy Reed went 2-5 with a double and an RBI out of the two-hole. Peter Alonso went 2-4 with his fifth home run of the season, an RBI, and a run scored. Finally, freshman Deacon Liput went 2-3 with a double, a walk, and a run scored.

Two Gators had just one hit in the contest. Jeremy Vasquez went 1-3 with a double, a walk, an RBI, and two runs scored while Nelson Maldonado went 1-2 with a team-high two walks and two runs scored as well.

Final Takeaway:
The No. 3 Florida Gators showed the country last night why they deserve to regain the top spot in the polls after taking the first game from No. 1 TAMU. Before I preview Game 2, here are my final tidbit's from the opener:

• With their victory tonight, Florida notched their 25th consecutive home win. This is a new school record!
• The Gators outhit the Aggies 12 to 9.
• Florida's pitching staff struck out nine Aggies but struggled with control as they also walked six. TAMU's staff struck out just four Gators and had location issues as well as they walked five batters.
• TAMU committed two errors in the game, one which resulted in a run being scored.
• In the bottom of the fifth inning with one out, Deacon Liput committed a running gaffe on the base paths and got himself doubled up on a fly ball. This cost the Gators a potential run, but luckily it would not affect the game's outcome.
• Shortstop Dalton Guthrie made a fantastic diving play in the top of the fourth for the first out of the inning.
• TAMU didn't put up a crooked number on the scoreboard until the sixth inning when they scored on a sacrifice fly.
• 5,197 were in attendance tonight. This is the third highest home attendance at the Mac this season behind Florida State (5,917) and opening night vs FGCU (5,778).
• Kevin O'Sullivan is now 6-1 when facing the No. 1 team in the country.

With a chance to win the series on Saturday night, Alex Faedo (5-0, 2.70 ERA) will take the mound in his first Saturday start since his gem against Harvard on March 12th. With the lights bright and a potential series-victory on the line, I expect Faedo to deliver a strong outing. His opponent from TAMU will be righty senior Kyle Simonds (5-0, 2.83).

Game 2 is set for 7:30 p.m. It can be seen on ESPNU and heard on the Gator IMG Sports Network.

*All stats accredited to FloridaGators.com