UF Baseball: No. 10 Florida vs Vanderbilt Series Recap

The No. 10 Florida Gators (24-12, 8-7 SEC) were victorious this weekend as they took two out of three games from the Vanderbilt Commodores (22-15, 7-8 SEC) up in Nashville. Here is a recap of each game.

Game 1 (April 13th)
Using a ninth-inning comeback, the No. 10 Florida Gators (23-11, 7-6 SEC) won the series opener by a score of 10-6 over the Vanderbilt Commodores (21-14, 6-7 SEC).

Pitching
Junior ace Alex Faedo (5-1, 2.84 ERA) started this Thursday contest and got touched up a bit against the Commodore offense. Although just two of the them were earned, Faedo gave up six runs on seven hits in six innings of work. He struck out seven Vandy hitters while walking just one.

After 103 pitches, Faedo's night was over with the Gators down 6-4. Taking over pitching duties for the seventh was true freshman Garrett Milchin. He helped keep Vandy at bay as he allowed just one hit and struck out one in two innings of relief.

After Florida rallied from a 6-5 deficit to make it 10-6 in the ninth, sophomore closer Michael Byrne entered to seal the deal. He tossed a scoreless frame while striking out two and allowing a hit. He would induce a fly out for the final out to secure the win. In the process, Garrett Milchin was awarded his second win of both the year and his career.

Batting
Offensively, Florida banged out 17 hits while scoring 10 runs and also mounting their first ninth inning comeback of the season. Before I highlight the many offensive dignitaries on the night, here is a rundown of how the ninth inning went:

Ninth Inning
Down 6-5 entering the inning, Florida had the bottom portion of the lineup hitting. Jonathan India led things off with a single to right field. Christian Hicks then followed suit and moved India to third with a single to right field as well.

Up next was Ryan Larson, one of Florida's hottest hitters of late. He jumped on the first pitch he saw and knotted things up at six with a shot into left field. A Mark Kolozsvary bunt would put runners on second and third, which set up an intentional walk for leadoff man Deacon Liput.

With the bases loaded now, Dalton Guthrie came to the plate and smacked a 2-0 pitch into center field to give Florida a 7-6 advantage. This would prove to be just the calm before the storm, as true freshman Austin Langworthy came up to bat and hit a bases-clearing double down the left field line. It was now 10-6 Florida and all the wind had been taken out of Vanderbilt's sails.

Langworthy would swipe third base, but would not come in to score as JJ Schwarz struck out and Nelson Maldonaldo flew out to right field.

Offensive Performers
Five Gators had multiple hits in the game while all but two had at least a base knock in the contest. The top of the lineup accounted for nearly half of Florida's hits!

Starting in the leadoff spot, sophomore second baseman Deacon Liput went 3-5 with two runs scored, an RBI, and a walk. Behind him in the two-hole, junior shortstop Dalton Guthrie went 2-5 with a double, a run scored, and two RBI's. In the three-hole, center fielder Austin Langworthy made Vandy feel his presence as he went 3-5 with a career-high four RBI's, a walk, and three stolen bases.

Two spots down, sophomore right fielder Nelson Maldonaldo went 2-3 with a run scored, an RBI, and a game-high three walks. Finally is the man who stole the show with a career-day: Ryan Larson. The senior left fielder hit the ball all over the yard as he notched a career-high five hits on a 5-5 performance! He had two doubles, three runs scored, and two RBI's.

For the Gators with one hit, both Jonathan India and Christian Hicks went 1-5 with a run scored.

Final Takeaway
Winning the opener in a series of this magnitude is huge for Florida. To do it in the manner they did as well with a ninth inning comeback makes it even sweeter. Before moving to the Game 2 recap, here are my final tidbits on Florida's series opening victory:

• Dalton Gurthie's double was his fourth of the year, Austin Langworthy's was his third, and Ryan Larson's pair puts him at five on the season.
• Austin Langworthy's three stolen bases are the most he has ever had in one game and give him four on the year. Prior to this game, his only stolen base had come against William & Mary on February 18th.
• Dalton Guthrie had a sacrifice fly in the third inning of this game, giving him three for the year.
• Kolo's sac bunt was his second of the season.
• The Gators made three errors in this game. Christian Hicks made a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt in the bottom of the second inning that gave Vandy a 1-0 lead. Dalton Guthrie made an error in the bottom of the fourth inning on a grounder that eventually led to two Vandy runs and a 4-2 Commodore lead. In the very next inning, Alex Faedo made a bad throw to first base that fortunately did not turn into another run.
• Faedo's lone walk to Will Toffey would be Vandy's only free pass of the game. On the other side, the Gators drew seven walks as a team.
• Both teams registered 10 strikeouts between their starters and the bullpen.
• This is the third time all season that Florida has scored double digit runs in a game.
• Florida trailed the entire game until the ninth inning.
• 3,148 fans were in attendance for this highly touted Thursday night matchup.

*All stats accredited to FloridaGators.com

Game 2 (April 14th)
In the Game 2 contest on Friday night, it was deja vu for the No. 10 Florida Gators (23-12, 7-7 SEC). Similar to last season, Kyle Wright (2-4, 3.98 ERA) went the distance and shut them out as Vanderbilt (22-14, 7-7 SEC) won 2-0 to even the series.

Pitching
Sticking with Wright pitch for pitch was sophomore right-hander Brady Singer (4-2, 1.68 ERA). He went the distance as the road starter, going eight innings on 101 pitches while allowing two runs on 11 hits. He struck out eight Commodores while walking just one.

On the other side, potential Top 10 draft pick Kyle Wright was phenomenal. After tossing a complete game shut out against Florida in Gainesville last season, the junior right-hander again cut through the Gator lineup.

Throwing all nine innings on just 99 pitches, Wright struck out a career-high 13 Gators while allowing only three hits for his second win of the season. He faced 30 batters, which is just three over the minimum. I tip my hat to Wright after a truly marvelous performance!

Batting
As just stated, Kyle Wright shut down the Gator offense on this night. Only three Gators had hits and they were all singles. The culprits were Austin Langworthy, Nelson Maldonaldo, and Mark Kolozsvary. Everyone but Christian Hicks had at least one strikeout. Five Gators (Deacon Liput, Austin Langworthy, JJ Schwarz, Jonathan India, and Kolo) had two strikeouts.

Final Takeaway
Florida just simply could not figure out Kyle Wright. That man was on another level and could not be touched this night. It is hard to even get upset after a loss like this when the opposing pitcher was throwing that good.

I give credit to Brady Singer as well though. He threw a gem himself and made sure Florida would not need to dip into the bullpen during this game.

Before recapping the rubber match, here are my final tidbits on Florida's shutout loss in Game 2:

• This is the first time all season that Florida has been shut out. Their last shutout loss was to Florida State in Super Regionals back in June.
• Going back to last season, Kyle Wright is 2-0 against Florida with 23 strikeouts and zero runs allowed in 18 innings. Truly remarkable!
• This is the third time this season that Brady Singer has gone the distance!
• Vandy picked up both of their runs in the fifth and seventh innings. They went up 1-0 on a throwing error from Kolo in the fifth and then 2-0 on a Jeren Kendall sac fly in the seventh.
• This is the fourth game this season where Florida did not record an extra-base hit.
• Kolo threw out two runners in this game to up his season total to four base stealers wiped off the base paths.
• Not a single Gator hitter drew a walk against Wright. In fact, Wright had three ball counts on just three of the 30 batters he faced. Julian Infante was the only Commodore to earn a free pass against Brady Singer.
• 3,626 fans showed out for this game.

*All stats accredited to FloridaGators.com

Game 3 (April 15th)
In the rubber match, the No. 10 Florida Gators (24-12, 8-7 SEC) won their third straight series over the Vanderbilt Commodores (22-15, 7-8 SEC) with an incredible 20-8 rout.

Pitching
Sophomore right-hander Jackson Kowar (6-0, 3.51 ERA) remained undefeated on the year as he again turned in exactly five innings for the third consecutive game. In those frames, Kowar allowed six earned runs on 10 hits while striking out six and walking two.

After 79 pitches, Kowar was removed with the Gators holding a commanding 13-6 lead as the sixth inning rolled around. Taking his place was junior left-hander Nick Horvath, who did a great job making sure Vandy did not get back into this one. He gave Florida three solid innings of relief where he allowed two earned runs on six hits with two strikeouts.

When the ninth inning finally arrived and Florida was safely ahead 20-8, true freshman right-hander Tyler Dyson entered and mercifully put the Commodores away. After giving up a leadoff single, Dyson zoned in and sandwiched a strikeout between a pop out and a fly out to clinch the series victory.

Batting
Florida's offense was insane. Their 20 runs and 20 hits in this game were both season-highs. Florida scored in every inning except the second and fourth. They put up four in the first, eight in the third, one in the fifth, two in the sixth through eighth innings, and then one final run in the ninth to make it an even 20.

Every starter had at least one hit with all but Austin Langworthy having multi-hit games. I am just going to start with the top of the lineup and work down since I have never written about this prolific of an offensive performance from the Gators.

In the leadoff spot, Deacon Liput posted a 3-7 day with a triple, one run scored, and two RBI's. Liput's triple made it 15-6 Florida while his RBI groundout in the ninth helped the Gators reach the 20-run mark.

Behind him, Dalton Guthrie had himself a day as he went 2-4 with two solo home runs, three runs scored, two RBI's, and three walks. Dalt's first home run kicked off the scoring in the first and his second long ball in the eighth padded the lead at 18-7.

In the three-hole, Austin Langworthy went 1-4 with a double, three runs scored, and an RBI that upped the score to 13-5 in the fifth. He showed great patience like Guthrie as he worked three walks in the game.

In the cleanup spot, Ryan Larson continued to swing it well as he went 2-3 with a double, two runs scored, and two walks. He and Christian Hicks were the only starters without an RBI in the game. Both of them were also pinch hit for in the late stages of the game.

Behind Larson in the five-hole, Nelson Maldonaldo posted a 2-5 day with a home run, two runs scored, four RBI's, and a walk. Nelly jumpstarted things early with a three-run bomb in the first inning to make it 4-0 Florida before later singling in the third to extend the lead to 12-0.

Nelly was one of three Gators to drive in four runs, and that next guy was right behind him in the form of JJ Schwarz. Finally getting in the hit column in the last game of the series, Schwarz went 2-6 with a home run, two runs scored, and four RBI's. Of those four RBI's, his two in the third were the most compelling.

On a 2-2 count, JJ got jammed and broke his ALUMINUM bat as he poked the ball over the shortstop's head to plate both Nelly and Ryan Larson. I had seen an aluminum bat break in middle school ball, but I never fathomed that it could happen at the college level! It was a quite something to witness!

JJ's broken bat single made it 7-0, his solo shot in the seventh put Florida's lead at 16-7, and his ninth-inning ground out scored the 19th run of the contest.

Behind JJ in the seven-hole, Christian Hicks had a 3-5 day with a double and two runs scored. Behind him in the eight-hole, true freshman designated hitter Keenan Bell went 2-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. His single in the third inning kept Florida's rally going as the Gators went up 8-0.

Rounding out the offensive explosion from the nine-hole was junior catch Mark Kolozsvary. Tying his career-high of three hits, Kolo went 3-6 with two doubles, two runs scored, and a career-high four RBI's.

Kolo's first double made it an even 10-0 in the third inning as Bell and Hicks came across to score. In the sixth, his second double gave Florida a 14-6 advantage while his seventh inning single made it 17-7.

Florida pinch hit true freshman Austin Bodrato, sophomore Blake Reese, and Jonathan India in the last two frames of this blowout. Everyone but India (who drew a walk) struck out.

Final Takeaway
This was a great way for Florida to win the series after getting blanked the night before. Hopefully the offense is starting to click now and make Florida the national title frontrunner that many in the country expected them to be.

Taking two of three from Vandy on the road puts Florida in sole possession of second place and 1.5 games behind No. 14 Kentucky (24-12, 9-5 SEC). Before looking ahead to another big SEC at the Mac, here are my final tidbits on the series-clinching victory as well as the Vandy series a a whole:

• This is the most runs that Florida has scored against Vandy since May 1, 1999.
• Florida's 20 runs against Vandy is the most the Commodores have allowed since Tim Corbin took over in 2003.
• With this series win, Florida has now won three of five road series against Vandy since Kevin O'Sullivan took over in 2008.
• In Sully's ten years at the helm, the Gators have won 7 of 10 series over the 'Dores.
• Under Sully, Florida is now 19-11 against Vandy in the regular season.
• Florida is now 6-3 against SEC East opponents.
• This is the fourth game (and second this series) where Florida has put up double digit runs.
• The last time Florida scored 20+ runs in a game was on April 7, 2015, when they crushed the Stetson Hatters 22-2.
• The Commodores honored fallen pitcher Donny Everett in this game. As a a 19-year old freshman, he tragically lost his life in a drowning accident last June. Hopefully he was a man of faith and is in a much better place!
• Austin Langworthy's double was his fourth of the year, Larson's was his sixth, Hicks's was his fourth, and Kolo's pair gave him his first two of the season.
• Deacon Liput's triple was his second of the year and now gives him the team lead for that stat category.
• Dalton Guthrie's home runs put him at three on the year, which ties his combined career total from his freshman and sophomore seasons. He is the first Gator with a multi-homer game this year.
• Nelly's home run gives him two on the season.
• JJ Schwarz's long ball was his fourth of the season and ties him for the team lead with Jonathan India.
• As a team, Florida drew 11 walks while Vandy had just two.
• Despite getting blown out, Vandy still had six guys register multi-hit games on the day (Jeren Kendall, Stephen Scott, Julian Infante, Ethan Paul, Jason Delay, and JJ Bleday).
• Florida was errorless in this game while Vandy recorded one. For the series, Florida finishes with four total errors and Vandy with just the one in the finale.
• Yet again, exactly 3,626 fans were in attendance for this game.

*All stats accredited to FloridaGators.com

Looking Ahead
With their third SEC series win of the year under their belt, the No. 10 Florida Gators (24-12, 8-7 SEC) will prepare for a midweek contest with the North Florida Ospreys (26-13) at the Mac this upcoming Tuesday. One of the true freshmen will get the ball and hopefully Florida will carry over the offensive momentum from the series finale against Vandy.

Florida is 9-4 all-time against the Ospreys in Sully's tenure. They have currently won three straight against UNF and have not lost to them to since the 2013 season. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. The game can be seen on the the SEC Network+ and heard on the Gator IMG Sports Network.

For the weekend series, the No. 11 South Carolina Gamecocks (21-13, 7-7 SEC) come into town fresh off a home series loss against the No. 21 Mississippi State Bulldogs (25-12, 10-4 SEC). The Gators have not dropped a series to the Gamecocks since 2011.

Like always, this three-game bout with South Carolina will be vital in the battle for the SEC East crown. Depending if the Gamecocks salvage the series finale against Mississippi State on Easter Sunday, they may have an even 8-7 conference record coming into this series.

Florida cannot afford to drop this series if they want to keep pace with Kentucky for first place. The same can be said for South Carolina, who are the defending SEC East Division Champions. This will be another Thursday through Saturday series as the thick of exams hits many students during this upcoming week.

Florida's probable starers will be the usual suspects. Alex Faedo will get the ball for the 7:30 p.m. game on Thursday, Brady Singer will throw the 7 p.m. game on Friday, and Jackson Kowar will start the noon game on Saturday.

South Carolina will most likely counter with junior right-hander Clarke Schmidt (4-1, 1.31 ERA), sophomore right-hander Adam Hill (2-3, 2.23 ERA), and junior right-hander Will Crowe (3-3, 3.49 ERA).

Like the Vandy series, Game 1 can be seen on ESPNU, Game 2 can be seen on the SEC Network+, and Game 3 can be seen on ESPN2. All of them can be heard on the Gator IMG Sports Network.

As for Vanderbilt (22-15, 7-8 SEC), they will shake off their third straight series loss to Florida as they hit the road for the upcoming week. They will travel to Murfreesboro to take on the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders (19-17) before heading to Athens for a three-game series against the underachieving Georgia Bulldogs (15-22, 4-11 SEC).

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2017 Gator Softball: March Recap

The No. 3 Florida Gators (38-2, 13-1 SEC) were absolutely dominant in the month of March as they posted a record of 16-1 (8-1 SEC). Their lone loss came in the series finale against the then No. 4 ranked Auburn Tigers (34-6, 8-4 SEC).

The Gators played seven games that ended in five innings while posting ten shutouts throughout the month. They won all three of their series in March (sweeping then No. 24 ranked Missouri and unranked South Carolina while taking two of three from Auburn) while defeating five ranked opponents (No. 23 California, No. 7 UCLA, No. 24 Missouri, No. 4 Auburn, and No. 24 Arkansas).

Here are some notable Gator performances and accolades from this past month:

• 3/2 vs Iowa - Senior left-hander Delanie Gourley throws the first perfect game of her career in a five-inning victory over the Hawkeyes.
• 3/2 vs Long Beach State - Sophomore right-hander Kelly Barnhill throws the third one-hitter of her career.
• On March 6th, Delanie Gourley was honored as Co-SEC Pitcher of the Week after throwing her perfect game, striking out 11 in a complete game effort against No. 7 UCLA, and notching her second save of the year against Northwestern State.
• 3/19 vs South Carolina - Delanie Gourley and Aleshia Ocasio toss the fifth combined no-hitter in school history in a five-inning win over the Gamecocks.
• On March 21st, Delanie Gourley earned her second SEC Pitcher of the Week award. She went 2-0 in the previous week, was a part of the combined no-hitter, and allowed just two hits in 11 innings of work.
• 3/25 vs Auburn - Down 3-2 in the seventh with two outs, the Gators used some timely hitting and Auburn errors to walk off against the Tigers.

And now, here are the Gator stat leaders after a month of play:

Offense

Hits: Amanda Lorenz (44) (Sophomore)

RBI's: Jaimie Hoover (36) (Freshman)

Doubles: Amanda Lorenz/Nicole DeWitt (5) (Junior)

Triples: Jamie Hoover

Home Runs: Amanda Lorenz (7)

Batting Average: Kayli Kvistad (.400)

Slugging Percentage: Amanda Lorenz (.664)

On Base Percentage: Kayli Kvistad (.599)

Stolen Bases: Justine McLean (13) (Senior)

Runs Scored: Nicole DeWitt (38)

Total Bases: Amanda Lorenz (75)

Strikeouts: Jordan Roberts (25) (Freshman)

Walks: Kayli Kvistad (47)

Hit By Pitch: Nicole DeWitt (13)

Sacrifice Bunts: Sophia Reynoso (5)

Sacrifice Flies: Nicole DeWitt (5)

Defense

Assists: Sophia Reynoso (61)

Putouts: Janell Wheaton (303) (Junior)

Errors: Jamie Hoover (4)

Fielding Percentage: Janell Wheaton/Jordan Roberts/Amanda Lorenz/Aleshia Ocasio (1.000)

Pitching

Wins: Kelly Barnhill (16) (Sophomore)

Losses: Delanie Gourley (2)

Strikeouts: Kelly Barnhill (175)

Walks: Kelly Barnhill (21)

Earned Run Average: Kelly Barnhill (0.22)

Shutouts: Kelly Barnhill (6)

Saves: Delanie Gourley/Kelly Barnhill/Katie Chronister (2)

Appearances: Delanie Gourley (21)

Innings Pitched: Delanie Gourley (97.1)

Looking Ahead

After cruising through March,  here's what Florida's schedule looks like for this upcoming month of April:

April

1st: @ No. 24 Arkansas*

2nd: @ No. 24 Arkansas*

5th: North Florida 

8th: Georgia*

9th: Georgia*

10th: Georgia*

12th: No. 2 FSU

14th: @ No.22 Kentucky*

15th: @ No.22 Kentucky*

16th: @ No.22 Kentucky*

19th: UCF

21st: No. 25 Ole Miss*

22nd: No. 25 Ole Miss*

23rd: No. 25 Ole Miss*

28th: @ No. 14 Tennessee*

29th: @ No. 14 Tennessee*

30th: @ No. 14 Tennessee*

Florida has played a little under half their games in April and are 7-0 in the month after walking off against No. 2 Florida State (38-2-1) last night. On a nine-game winning streak, the Gators will prepare to head to Lexington for a three-game set against the No. 22 Kentucky Wildcats (25-11, 5-7).

*All stats accredited to FloridaGators.com

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No. 10 Florida Sweeps No. 25 Florida State

For the second consecutive season, the No. 10 Florida Gators (22-11) have swept the regular season series over the rival No. 25 Florida State Seminoles (21-14) with a 10-7 victory in Tallahassee.

Pitching
Making his first career collegiate start in this game was true freshman Tyler Dyson (1-0, 4.40 ERA). It was his second time facing the 'Noles, who quickly figured him out this go around. Dyson threw just 1.2 innings and allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits while walking and hitting one batter.

When Dyson left the game in the second inning, Florida led 4-2 despite having trailed 2-0 just an inning prior. In his place came fellow true freshman Kirby McMullen. The Ocala product had one of his more rougher outings as he gave up two runs on four FSU hits.

After McMullen gave up two straight hits to lead off the bottom of the fourth, he was pulled for senior Frank Rubio with Florida leading 10-6. Rubio would face just two batters as he allowed an RBI single and issued a four-pitch walk.

Florida head coach Kevin O'Sullivan had seen enough. He pulled Rubio and called on junior left-hander Nick Horvath to give him some innings out of the pen. He had quite a task ahead of him as FSU had the bases loaded down 10-5 with nobody out.

Horvath was unfazed though. He honed in and struck out the side to strand all three Seminole baserunners. Of those three strikeouts, just one came on a full count.

Horvath dug deep and gave Florida three strong innings of one-hit relief. His only strikeouts came in the fourth and his two walks in the seventh is what led to his departure. With runners on first and second with just one out, Horvath's stint came to an end with Florida still up 10-6. It was now true freshman left-hander Austin Langworthy's turn to take the stage.

With FSU sophomore catcher Cal Raleigh up to bat, Langworthy got him to ground into an inning-ending double play on a full count. Another potential FSU rally had been snuffed out. After working a perfect eighth, Langworthy was given the honor of closing this one out against FSU.

The ninth got interesting, as Langworthy allowed back-to-back singles after getting the first out of the inning via a foul pop out. A groundout would move the runners to second and third, but put Florida one out away from the sweep. FSU's senior clean-up hitter Quincy Nieporte blasted a double (his only hit of the game) to cut the Florida lead to 10-7, but Langworthy would induce a fly out from Cal Raleigh to end this one.

It was all over. Florida had won their sixth consecutive regular season game over the Seminoles and fifth straight game overall. Horvath was the winning pitcher, and was credited with his first win of the 2017 campaign. It was just the third career victory at Florida.

Batting
Florida again answered the bell against FSU as they banged out 10 hits to go with their 10 runs. The Gators scored in bunches as they put up four runs in the second inning and six runs in the fourth. Before even highlighting the noteworthy offensive performances for Florida, let me talk about these two big innings for the Gators:

Second Inning
Out of the clean-up spot, Mike Rivera led off the inning getting hit by a pitch. Nelson Maldonaldo flew out for the first out of the inning, then Rivera advanced to second on a past ball. Back in the lineup for the first time since Friday, Jonathan India drew a walk. Right behind him, Austin Langworthy drew a walk to load the bases.

Unlike previous games, the Gators capitalized with the bases loaded as Ryan Larson hit an RBI single into left field to make it 2-1 Florida State. Christian Hicks then singled and the Gators used an errant throw from the right fielder to take a 3-2 lead.

Deacon Liput came up and plated a run on a ground out to second base. Dalton Guthrie then drew a walk and stole second before JJ Schwarz flew out to center field with runners on second and third.

Fourth Inning
When the fourth rolled around, the game was knotted up at 4-4. That was about to change though. Austin Langworthy led off with a single up the middle. Ryan Larson then doubled for his second hit of the game to make it runners on second and third.

Christian Hicks then again copied Larson as he smoked a double to score both runs and give Florida a 6-4 lead. He then advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a Deacon Liput sacrifice fly. It was now 7-4 Gators.

Dalton Guthrie flew out for the second out of the inning, but the Gators would rally. JJ Schwarz doubled and Mike Rivera and Nelson Maldonaldo drew back-to-back walks. With the bases loaded for the second time in the game, Florida again capitalized as Jonathan India roped a bases-clearing double to center field. Austin Langworthy would ground out to end the inning, but it was now 10-4 Florida.

Offensive Performers
Three Gators had multiple hits against the 'Noles tonight. Funny enough, it was the bottom three of the batting order who were the perpetrators. Hitting for the first time since March 11th against Seton Hall, Austin Langworthy played a big role in the seven-hole. He went 2-4 with two runs scored and a walk.

In the eight-hole, Ryan Larson had his hot bat from this past weekend carry over. The senior left fielder went 2-5 with a double, two runs scored, and an RBI.

In the nine-hole, junior third baseman Christian Hicks went 3-5 with a double, one run scored, and a game-high four RBI's.

The remaining Gator batters with one hit were leadoff man Deacon Liput (1-4 with two RBI's, a walk, and a stolen base), JJ Schwarz (1-6 with a double and a run scored), and Jonathan India (1-2 with a double, a run scored, three RBI's, and two walks).

Final Takeaway
Out of all the schools in the state of Florida, Florida State seems to be an opponent that the Gators consistently prepare for in midweek competition. After Stetson blew them out of the water at home last week (though it did not count), Florida showed their fans that it might be worthwhile to keep the faith after this win.

Sweeping Florida State is no easy task. To do it two years in a row speaks volumes about the talent that Florida has developed and attracted these past two seasons. In addition, this series sweep proves that Florida does indeed play either up or down to the level of their opponent.

The aura and tradition of the Florida/Florida State rivalry will get a player more amped for the game than a normal midweek contest against a Jacksonville or Stetson. When state pride is on the line, the Gators will answer the call.

Before briefly previewing the weekend ahead, here are my final tidbits on yet another season sweep over the Florida State Seminoles:

• This is the fourth time in Kevin O'Sullivan's ten-year tenure that the Gators have swept the Seminoles in the season series.
• Florida is now 6-4 against Florida State in Tallahassee.
• Christian Hicks's three hits and four RBI's tonight are both new career-highs!
• Jonathan India's double was his team-leading eighth of the year, JJ Schwarz's was his sixth, Ryan Larson's was his third, and Christian Hicks's was his third as well.
• Deacon Liput still leads the team in stolen bases after swiping his 10th bag in the top of the seventh inning.
• Speaking of Deac, his sac fly was his first of the year.
• This is the first time in Dalton Guthrie's career that he has stolen multiple bases in a game. It puts him at eight on the season which ties his career-best from the previous year.
• Though his hitting streak ended at 11 games tonight, Nelson Maldonaldo did swipe his second bag of the season.
• Dalton Guthrie and Kirby McMullen were responsible for the two Gator errors in the same inning of this game. Dalt made a poor throw to first base with two outs in the bottom of the second, while McMullen failed to field a ball that allowed FSU to score and cut the lead to 4-3.
• Despite the two errors, Florida still trailed FSU in that department as the 'Noles made three errors on the night.
• Although he did not receive the loss this time, Andrew Karp (0-2, 5.35 ERA) did start against the Gators for the third straight time this season.
• As a team, Florida drew eight walks. Jonathan India and Nelly both accounted for two free passes each.
• FSU used a total of seven pitchers against the Gators.
• Nearly 6,000 fans showed out for this game (5,944 was the total).

Looking Ahead
With another FSU sweep in the books, the No. 10 Florida Gators (22-11, 6-6 SEC) will head to Nashville to do battle with the Vanderbilt Commodores (21-13, 6-6 SEC) in a three-game set.

First pitch for each game is set for 9 p.m. on Thursday, 7:30 p.m. on Friday, and 3 p.m. on Saturday. Florida's probable starters will be junior right-hander Alex Faedo (5-1, 2.82 ERA) on Thursday, sophomore right-hander Brady Singer (4-1, 1.60 ERA) on Friday, and sophomore right-hander Jackson Kowar (5-0, 2.72 ERA) on Saturday.

Vandy will most likely go with a combination of junior right-hander Kyle Wright (1-4, 4.81 ERA), sophomore right-hander Patrick Raby (5-3, 2.49 ERA), and true freshman right-hander Drake Fellows (3-1, 2.79 ERA).

The series opener can be seen on ESPNU, Game 2 can be seen on the SEC Network+, and Game 3 can be seen on ESPN2. All three games can be heard on the Gator IMG Sports Network. This is a big SEC matchup and could be a make or break series for the Gators in the SEC East race!

As for Florida State (21-14, 7-8 ACC), they will again have to play another tough weekend series following the familiar feeling of losing to Florida. This time they play host to the No. 4 Clemson Tigers (29-5, 13-2 ACC), who defeated the Seminoles for the ACC Championship in their last meeting back in May.

*All stats accredited to FloridaGators.com

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UF Baseball: No. 7 Florida vs Tennessee Series Recap

Coming off major controversy after the Stetson rainout, the Florida Gators (21-11, 6-6 SEC) dropped their first series to the Tennessee Volunteers (17-12, 3-9 SEC) since the 2008 season. This ends an eight-year streak of series victories over the Vols and is Florida's first home series loss since Mississippi State around this same time last season. Here is a recap of each game.

Game 1 (April 7th)
In the series opener, the No. 7 Florida Gators (21-9, 5-5 SEC) lost a tight one by a score of 7-6 to the Tennessee Volunteers (15-12, 2-8 SEC) in 10 innings.

Pitching
Junior ace Alex Faedo (5-1, 2.82 ERA) took the mound for Florida and may have had one of his roughest home starts of his career. Going 5.2 innings, Faedo allowed six runs (five earned) on 10 hits while walking and hitting one batter. On the upside, he struck out 12 batters in the contest.

With the Gators down 6-4 and Faedo at 97 pitches, he was taken out of the game in favor of true freshman right-hander Garrett Milchin. The Windermere product inherited a runner on first with two outs in the sixth and induced a groundout on his second pitch to end the Tennessee scoring threat.

He would go on to toss 2.1 solid innings of one-hit relief while striking out two Volunteer batters. After Florida knotted things up at 6-6 in the eighth inning, it was up to closer Michael Byrne. The sophomore worked a perfect ninth as he struck out all three batters he faced. In the tenth however, he ran into some trouble.

Tennessee led off the inning with back-to-back singles before moving the runners over with a sacrifice bunt. With one out and the go-ahead runs in scoring position, the Gators issued an intentional walk to eight-hole hitter Reggie Southall to load the bases.

Similar to their March contest against Seton Hall, it would be a sacrifice fly that upended the Gators as pinch hitter Will Heflin smacked a fly ball to right field to plate the go-ahead run. Another intentional walk followed by a strikeout would end the inning and send Florida into the bottom of the tenth needing a rally.

The Gators got a runner on first base, but would fail to do anything as the Vols used a game-ending groundout to take the opener. Byrne would receive his third loss of the 2017 campaign.

Batting
Florida's offense looked better as they banged out 13 hits and scored once in the second, twice in the fourth, once in both the fifth and sixth, and once in the eighth inning. However, they still could not figure out the mojo needed to walk off with the victory in the late innings.

Four Gators had multiple hits in this game with the most surprising being senior left fielder Ryan Larson. Accounting for two of Florida's five extra base hits, Larson went 4-5 with a double, a game-tying solo shot in the eighth, a game-high two RBI's, and two runs scored.

Everybody else in the multi-hit club had two hits a piece. Sophomore leadoff man Deacon Liput went 2-6 with an RBI in the sixth inning and his seventh stolen bag of the year in the same inning.

Back in both the lineup and the field for the first time in a week, junior shortstop Dalton Guthrie rejuvenated his bat a bit with a 2-5 night that included a double and a run scored.

Rounding out the crew was junior catcher Mike Rivera. He went 2-4 with a double and a walk. He joined Larson as the only Gators to score twice in the game.

Among the rest of the offense, the Gators with just one hit were sophomore right fielder Nelson Maldonado (1-4 with a walk), junior third baseman Christian Hicks (1-5 with a run scored in the fourth), and true freshman first baseman Keenan Bell (1-5 with an RBI single in the fourth).

Final Takeaway
After yet another heart-breaking extra innings loss, the Gators sure seemed to have received there comeuppance for wronging Stetson. Before recapping the second game of the series, here are my final tidbits on the opener:

• Florida is now 1-2 in extra inning games this year.
• Dalton Guthrie's double was his third of the season.
• Mike Rivera's double was his sixth of the year.
• Ryan Larson's homer was his third of the year while his double was his second.
• Of Florida's 10 runners left on base, Deacon Liput stranded five of them.
• Larson's four hits in this game tied his career-high, which he registered against Florida Gulf Coast on February 20th, 2016.
• This is the second time that Alex Faedo has struck out 12 batters in a game. Overall, it is the seventh time he has recorded double-digits strikeouts in a game.
• J.J. Schwarz did not play in this game. I do not know the reason why.
• Nelson Maldonado has hit safely now in nine consecutive games.
• As a whole, the Gator pitching staff struck out 18 Vols.

*All stats accredited to FloridaGators.com

Game 2 (April 8th)
In Game 2, another Tennessee streak came to an end as the No. 7 Florida Gators (21-10, 5-6 SEC) lost another extra inning affair to the Tennessee Volunteers (16-12, 3-8 SEC) by a score of 3-2.

Pitching
Sophomore right-hander Brady Singer (4-1, 1.60 ERA) took the bump in this game and did well with what minimum run support he had. Singer worked deep into the game as he threw 105 pitches in 7.1 innings. In those frames, he allowed two earned runs on six hits while walking two batters and striking out eight.

When Singer made his departure with one out in the eighth inning, the game was tied at 2-2. On came Nick Horvath, who inherited just one runner at first base. He generated a groundout that moved the runner to second, intentionally walked a batter, and then used a first-pitch pop out to end the inning.

For the ninth, it was yet again Michael Byrne entering in a tied game. He sandwiched a fly out between two strikeouts in the ninth, but like last night he again ran into trouble in the tenth. Byrne gave up a single in-between two strikeouts, but with two outs clean-up hitter Benito Santiago smacked a double off of him to plate the go-ahead run.

Byrne would strike out the final batter of the inning, but again the Vols had best him in extra innings. In the bottom of the frame, the Gators once more sustained no rally as they went down in order on seven pitches. Byrne was issued his fourth loss of the season, despite impressively striking out five of the eight batters he faced.

Batting
Florida's offense generated double-digit hits yet again with 11 base knocks, but only had two runs in the fourth inning to show for it. Just two Gators had multiple hits in this one.

Back at it with another hot performance was Ryan Larson. He went 3-5 with a trio of singles and one run scored. Joining him was the unlikely source of junior third string catcher Mark Kolozsvary. Kolo went 3-4 with an RBI triple in the fourth inning and a run scored. He essentially represented all phases of Florida's scoring in this game.

The remaining Gators with one hit were sophomore second baseman Blake Reese (1-5), Mike Rivera (1-3 with a game-high two walks), Nelson Maldonaldo (1-4 with a walk), junior third baseman Christian Hicks (1-5), and true freshman first baseman Garrett Milchin (1-5 with an RBI single in the fourth).

Final Takeaway
Florida's baseball reign over Tennessee had reached a somber conclusion after eight years. Before recapping the series finale, here are my final tidbits on another tough extra innings loss:

• Florida is now 1-3 in extra inning games this season.
• Kolo's three-hits are a new career-high for him in a game.
• Garrett Milchin's RBI in this game was the first of his college career!
• Florida led this game at one point 2-1 before Tennessee knotted it up in the sixth.
• Neither JJ Schwarz, Jonathan India, or Deacon Liput played in this game.
• Kolo's triple was the first of both his career and the season.
• Dalton Guthrie stole his sixth base of the season in this game.
• Christian Hicks made his team-leading seventh error of the year after making a bad throw to first base in the top of the fourth inning. A double play would erase his mistake as this was also Florida's only error of the contest.
• Nelson Maldonado upped his hitting streak to 10 games with a single in the fifth inning.
• In addition to banging out three hits, Ryan Larson also was responsible for five of the 12 Gator runners left on base in the game.
• The Gator staff was phenomenal yet again as they struck out 13 Vols.
• 5,776 fans showed out for this Saturday night contest against the Vols, which is the seventh highest attendance in the Mac's history. 

*All stats accredited to FloridaGators.com

Game 3 (April 9th)
In the final game of the series, the No. 7 Florida Gators (21-11, 6-6 SEC) avoided the sweep with a 5-4 win over the Tennessee Volunteers (17-12, 3-9 SEC).

Pitching
Sophomore right-hander Jackson Kowar (5-0, 2.72 ERA) helped Florida right the ship as he tied Alex Faedo with his fifth win of the season. He tossed 87 pitches in five innings, allowed three earned runs on five hits, walked one batter, struck out three, and hit a batter.

When Kowar's outing was finished, Florida led 5-0 and Tennessee had loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth inning. Tasked with cleaning up this mess was Garrett Milchin. He entered and hit the first batter he faced on a 2-1 count. It was now 5-1 Florida with still no one out. The next batter popped up and afterwards the Vols got their second run after the Gators narrowly missed completing a double play.

With first and third now with two outs, the Vols smacked another single to make it 5-3. The Gators, however, were able to end the bleeding as Dalton Guthrie took the cutoff and threw out Will Heflin trying to advance to third base.

In the seventh, Milchin allowed a leadoff single before inducing a pop out. He would then be replaced with fellow true freshman Kirby McMullen for the remainder of the inning. Kirby used a fly out and a strikeout to put the Vols away with six outs to go.

In the eighth, McMullen kicked things off by hitting a batter before Gator head coach Kevin O'Sullivan pulled him. He ran out another true freshman in Andrew Baker and watched as the left-hander gave up back-to-back singles to make it 5-4 Florida. A wild pitch that moved runners to second and third sealed Baker's fate as Sully pulled him for Michael Byrne.

As the losing pitcher in the previous two games, Byrne had a real shot at redemption here. His first batter hit a Texas leaguer and it looked like the game was about to be tied. Somehow though, Dalton Guthrie raced over and made a sliding over-the-shoulder catch to keep the Vols runner at third base.

With one out now, Bynre got settled in and struck out the next batter. After a five-pitch walk, the pressure was really on with the bases loaded and the two-hole Justin Ammons up to bat. With the count going 3-2, Byrne induced a ground out to escape the inning with the lead intact.

In the ninth, Byrne returned to the mound to salvage this series. He needed just 11 pitches to generate three straight fly outs and earn his fifth save of the campaign.

Batting
Florida's offense had eight hits and scored once in both the second and third as well as three times in the fourth before going dormant for the remainder of the game. Like Saturday, two Gators had multi-hit games.

Nelson Maldonado improved his hitting streak to 11 games as he went 2-4 with a walk and a run scored in the second inning. Two spots below him, Christian Hicks went 2-4 with a run scored in the fourth.

For the rest of the lineup, all but three players had a hit. Deacon Liput went 1-3 with an RBI, a run scored in the fourth, two walks, and two stolen bases. JJ Schwarz went 1-4 with an RBI and a run scored in the only game he played this weekend. Mike Rivera went 1-3 with an RBI single in the fourth and two walks. Finally, Ryan Larson cooled off a tad as he went 1-4 with a hit-by-pich on the day.

Final Takeaway
Not getting swept is definitely a good feeling, but dropping a series for the first time in eight years to the worst team in the SEC has the Gator Faithful a tad concerned. Before previewing the week ahead, here are my final thoughts on the finale and the series as a whole:

• JJ Schwarz registered his team-leading fifth sacrifice fly in the fourth inning of this game.
• Jonathan India did not play for the second consecutive game. He finishes the series 0-4 with a strikeout.
• Deacon Liput's stolen base total is now at nine, which leads this team. This is the second time this season that Deac has stolen multiple bases in a game.
• It was Dalton Guthrie's turn in the stranded baserunners department as he was responsible for five of the 12 Gators left on base in this game.
• Though he went hitless the whole weekend, Nick Horvath showed great patience as he drew two walks in this game and three overall in the series.
• This is the first series this year that Michael Byrne has appeared in every game.
• This is just the second time in Kevin O'Sullivan's ten-year tenure that the Gators have dropped a series to the Vols.
• Mark Kolozsvary had a day to forget after his three-hit performance last night as he went 0-3 with three strikeouts.
• Despite the series being loss, nearly 4,000 fans showed up for the series finale.
• Florida still holds an impressive 16-5 record at home and is an even 3-3 at the Mac against SEC opponents this year.
• Jackson Kowar and Nelson Maldonado were responsible for the two Florida errors in this game. Kowar made an bad throw to first base with two outs in the fourth inning and Nelly made a bad throw that allowed runners to advance to second and third in the top of the eighth.
• On that note, Florida had three errors on the weekend while Tennessee had four. The Vols made at least one error in every game.
• This is the third game this year where the Florida Gators have not registered an extra-base hit.
• This is the second consecutive series where every game was decided by one run.

*All stats accredited to FloridaGators.com

Looking Ahead
With this rough weekend behind them, the now No. 10 ranked Florida Gators (21-11, 6-6 SEC) will prepare for their final regular season face-off with the No. 25 Florida State Seminoles (21-13) in Tallahassee this upcoming Tuesday. With the season series already Florida's, hopefully the Gators will not get complacent and come out with some real motivation to sweep their rival for the second straight year.

The game is set for 6 p.m. It can be seen on the ACC Network Extra and heard on the Gator IMG Sports Network. The starting pitcher for Florida will most likely be true freshman Nate Brown (1-0, 3.55 ERA), who has seen action in both games against the 'Noles this year.

With Sully though, always expect the unexpected. I would anticipate FSU will throw Andrew Karp (0-2, 4.84 ERA), who started the past two midweek contests against the Orange and Blue.

For the weekend series, the Gators will hit the road for a tough matchup against the Vanderbilt Commodores (21-12, 6-6 SEC). Do not let the fact that Vandy is unranked fool you. This team is good. They were in back-to-back College World Series Finals in 2014 and 2015 and won it all back in 2014.

They are even in the SEC East with Florida at 6-6, so this is a big series in regards to creating separation and catching up to the leader in the No. 14 Kentucky Wildcats (22-11, 8-4 SEC). Add in the factor that this game is taking place at Hawkins Field -where Vandy is 13-6 and 2-1 in SEC play- and the Gators have quite a mountain to climb. Hawkins may hold just 3,700, but any baseball fan knows a ticket for Vandy-Florida will be tough to find. The place will be rocking all weekend.

Due to the Easter holiday this Sunday, the series will start Thursday and conclude Saturday. The start times for the games are 9 p.m. on Thursday, 7:30 p.m. on Friday, and 3 p.m. on Saturday. Florida's probable starters are the usual suspects as Alex Faedo will throw on Thursday night, Brady Singer will get the ball on Friday night, and Jackson Kowar will finish off the series on Saturday afternoon. It is a short week of rest for everyone, so it will be interesting to see how they respond.

For Vandy, they have quite a staff to counter with. They will most likely trot out the likes of junior right-hander Kyle Wright (1-4, 4.81 ERA), sophomore right-hander Patrick Raby (5-3, 2.49 ERA), and true freshman right-hander Drake Fellows (3-1, 2.79 ERA).

The series opener can be seen on ESPNU, Game 2 can be seen on the SEC Network+, and Game 3 can be seen on ESPN2. All of them can be heard on the Gator IMG Sports Network.

As for Tennessee (17-12, 3-9 SEC), they are still at the bottom of the SEC as the second worst team in the conference. They will ride the momentum of this series win as they head into a road contest against the East Tennessee State Buccaneers (14-15). For their weekend series, they will play host to the No. 13 Auburn Tigers (24-10, 8-4 SEC) in Knoxville. Like Florida's series, these games will go from Thursday through Saturday.

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UF Baseball: No. 9 Florida vs No. 23 Missouri Series Recap

The No. 9 Florida Gators (20-9, 5-4 SEC) earned their first SEC sweep of the season as they defeated the No. 23 Missouri Tigers (21-7, 4-5 SEC) in Columbia. The Gators won all three games by one run, and here is a recap of each game.

Game 1 (March 31st)
In the series opener, the No. 9 Florida Gators (18-9, 3-4 SEC) notched their first SEC road win with a 4-3 victory over the No. 23 Missouri Tigers (21-4, 4-3 SEC).

Pitching
Junior ace Alex Faedo (5-1, 2.18 ERA) set the tone for the weekend as he took the ball for the Friday night start. Tossing 117 pitches in 7.2 innings of work, Faedo allowed three runs (one earned) on seven hits, struck out seven, walked one, and hit three batters.

When Faedo exited with two outs in the eighth inning, Florida held a 4-2 lead. In his place came true freshman left-hander Andrew Baker, who inherited Mizzou runners on first and second. He would face just one batter and give up an RBI single that cut the lead to 4-3. On top of that, the Tigers moved the tying run at third base.

With the game hanging in the balance, Florida head coach Kevin O'Sullivan made a move to the bullpen and brought in sophomore closer Michael Byrne. With the tying run 90 feet away, Byrne remained cool under pressure and registered a three-pitch strikeout to end the threat.

In the ninth, Byrne needed just four pitches as he induced a ground out, a line out, and a long fly out to secure the Game 1 victory and his third save of the season. In the process, Alex Faedo earned his fifth win of the season.

Batting
Florida had nine hits as a team as they scored in the first, third, and sixth innings. Three Gators had multiple hits in the contest.

First was Deacon Liput. Out of the leadoff spot, the sophomore second baseman went 3-5 with a double, a stolen base, and a run scored. He would score the first run of the game on a JJ Schwarz single in the first inning.

Next was Mike Rivera. Going 2-3 on the day, the junior catcher had a two-run blast in the sixth inning to extend the lead to 4-0. It was his second home run of the season. Right behind Rivera, junior shortstop Christian Hicks logged a 2-3 night with his fourth stolen base of the year.

Besides JJ going 1-5, the only other Gator with one hit was sophomore outfielder Nelson Maldonado. He went 1-3 and scored on Rivera's homer.

Final Takeaway
This was a crucial win for the Gators in such a tight game on the road. Before recapping Game 2, here are my final tidbits on the one-run victory:

• Christian Hicks laid down his team-leading fourth sacrifice bunt in the eighth inning of this game.
• Liput's stolen bag in this game was his sixth of the season.
• Nick Horvath had another brutal night at the plate as he went 0-3 with three strikeouts, but he did score the second Florida run of the game in the third inning on a fielder's choice.
• Ryan Larson made the lone Gator error of this game as he misjudged a fly ball in the eighth inning.
• Jonathan India did not play in this game. I do not know what the reason was.
• Making his first batting appearance of the year in the ninth inning, Michael Byrne drew a walk. 
• It seems that fans have still not bought into Missouri as a legitimate baseball program. There were only 1,034 in attendance at Taylor Stadium.

*All stats accredited to FloridaGators.com

Game 2 (April 1st)
The No. 9 Florida Gators (19-9, 4-4 SEC) won their second consecutive SEC series with a 2-1 victory over the No. 23 Missouri Tigers (21-5, 4-4 SEC) on a brisk afternoon.

Pitching
Sophomore right-hander Brady Singer (3-1, 1.47 ERA) replicated his performance from last weekend as he went the distance for the second consecutive game. In those nine hard-earned innings that featured over 121 pitches, Singer allowed one earned run on just three hits while striking out four and walking three. He was masterful in this game and well-deserving of his fourth win of the season.

Batting
Florida again swung the bat well as they banged out eight hits, but only managed to scratch across two runs in the fourth inning.

Trailing 1-0 early after Mizzou tacked one on in the second, the Gators used a Jonathan India solo home run and a Christian Hicks RBI single to take a 2-1 lead that would hold for the remainder of the game.

Hicks again had himself a multi-hit game and was one of two Gators to accomplish the feat. He went 2-4 with his 10th RBI of the season. The other Gator with two hits was JJ Schwarz. Starting to slowly figure it out, JJ went 2-3 with his fifth double of the year and was the one who scored on Hicks's single. He had Florida's only walk in the contest as well.

Joining Jonathan India with one hit in the game, both Nelson Maldonado and Mike Rivera went 1-4 in the game while Nick Horvath went 1-2.

Final Takeaway
This win put the Gators at .500 in SEC play and helped boost their rising confidence with a second straight one-run victory. Before recapping the final game, here are my final tidbits on the series clincher:

• Brady Singer was marvelous in his complete game, but did have some rough patches. He had a throwing error in the first inning and balked in the fifth inning. That balk was Brady's third of the year.
• From the sixth inning on, Singer faced the minimum with a double play helping him out in the eighth inning. 
• India's home run was his team-leading fourth of the season. He also regained the team lead in stolen bases as he swiped his seventh bag of the 2017 campaign.
• Tiger true freshman reliever TJ Sikkema was pretty effective upon entering in the fourth inning. He ate up 5.2 innings and allowed no runs on just two hits while walking one and hitting one.

*All stats accredited to FloridaGators.com

Game 3 (April 2nd)
In the series finale, the No. 9 Florida Gators (20-9, 5-4 SEC) again won by a score of 2-1 to sweep the No. 19 Missouri Tigers (21-7, 4-5 SEC) on the road.

Pitching
Sophomore right-hander Jackson Kowar (4-0, 2.40 ERA) got the ball for Florida and went to work to earn his fourth win of the season. In five innings, he allowed just one earned run on six hits while striking out four, walking five for the second straight game, and hitting a batter.

After a leadoff walk in the sixth, Kowar's day was over on 88 pitches. When he departed, the Gators led 2-1 and had to rely on the bullpen for the remaining four innings. First to take the mound was true freshman left-hander Austin Langworthy.

Seeing his first pitching action since March 8th, Langworthy induced a groundout before allowing the runner to reach second base on a wild pitch. A walk would end Langworthy's day and prompt Kevin O'Sullivan to inset another true freshman in Garrett Milchin to keep the Florida lead intact.

With runners on first and second, Milchin used two groundouts to work out of the jam and keep Florida ahead. In the seventh, Milchin worked past a throwing error with a double play and then bypassed a four-pitch walk with an inning-ending strikeout.

In the eighth, Milchin struck out the first batter of the inning before giving up a double. Looking to stymie any kind of rally, O'Sullivan looked to closer Michael Byrne to finish this game with a five-out save. The sophomore used a ground out and a fly out to still keep Florida ahead by a run.

In the ninth, Byrne barely broke a sweat as he sandwiched a strikeout between a fly out and the game-ending groundout. Florida had completed the sweep and Byrne was awarded his fourth save of the season.

Batting
Florida's offense took a few small steps back as they had only five hits while again scoring two runs. The Gators plated one run each in both the first and second innings before shutting down offensively for the remainder of the game.

JJ Schwarz was the only Gator with multiple hits as he went 2-4 on the day. His first of those two hits was a big one, however, as he belted a solo shot in the first inning to put Florida on the board first.

In the very next inning, Ryan Larson would come through with an RBI double that scored Blake Reese. It was Larson's first double of the season and only hit as he finished 1-3 on the day. The remaining two hits in the Gator lineup came from Nelson Maldonado (1-3) and Mike Rivera (1-4 with a double in the sixth inning).

Final Takeaway
For the Gators to go on the road and take all three games from a surging team like Mizzou was absolutely huge. Not to mention as well that the Gators remained poised in close contests as every game of this series was decided by just one run.

Before previewing the upcoming week, here are my final tidbits on both Game 3 and the series sweep as a whole:

• Jackson Kowar ran into some trouble in the fifth inning as Missouri loaded the bases with no outs and Florida up 2-0. However, he showed some real maturity as he generated a double play ball and a strikeout to limit the damage to just one run.
• Kowar helped himself out in the third inning as he picked off a runner for the second out.
• Nick Horvath had the defensive play of the game in the fourth inning as he fielded a single in center field and threw out the potential game-tying run at the plate. It was Horvath's third assist of the year and ended the inning.
• Blake Reese showed good patience at the plate as he drew two walks in the game. He also nabbed his third stolen base of the year in the contest.
• JJ's homer was his third of the year.
• Mike Rivera's double was his fifth of the season.
• Nelson Maldonado had a hit in every game of the series. He's currently on an eight-game hitting streak!
• Dalton Guthrie was a non-factor against Mizzou as he went 0-4 Friday night and did not play in the last two games.
• Christian Hicks made the lone Gator error of the game as he airmailed a throw in the seventh inning.
• This is the first time since their series against Connecticut in 2014 that the Gators won all three games by just one run.
• Florida is now 12-3 all-time against Missouri and has swept the Tigers in back-to-back seasons. Overall, this is their third sweep of Missouri since the teams starting facing each other in 2013.
• Florida's pitchers combined for seven walks in this game. 
• As a whole, Missouri played better defense than the Gators did as they made just one error to Florida's three. The Gators had a miscue in every game of the series.
• The attendance for the finale was atrocious as only 658 fans showed up.

*All stats accredited to FloridaGators.com

Looking Ahead
Looking at a possible leap into the Top 5 and tied for third place with Mizzou in the SEC East standings, the No. 9 Florida Gators (20-9, 5-4 SEC) are in a great position after their second conference road series of the season. They will now have four straight games at the Mac after improving their road record to 4-6.

First up will be a rematch with the Stetson Hatters (13-17) on Tuesday. In their first meeting on March 21st in DeLand, the Gators needed 11 innings to escape with a 9-8 victory. Hopefully, things will not be as close as freshman Austin Langworthy (1-0, 4.00 ERA) or Nate Brown (1-0, 3.55 ERA) will get the start for the Orange and Blue.

For the weekend series, the Gators will host the rival Tennessee Volunteers (15-10, 1-8 SEC), who are the worst team in the SEC at the moment. Florida has had Tennessee's number on the diamond as they have won eight consecutive series over the Vols. Hopefully the Gators will be able to keep this winning streak against Tennessee intact after the weekend is over.

The weekend starters will be the usual suspects as Alex Faedo throws on Friday night, Brady Singer gets the ball on Saturday night, and Jackson Kowar takes the bump on Sunday afternoon. For Tennessee, they will trot out some combination of senior right-hander Hunter Martin (4-2, 3.10 ERA), freshman right-hander Zach Linginfelter (1-3, 4.88 ERA), junior left-hander Zach Warren (2-2, 5.52 ERA), or sophomore right-hander Will Neely (1-1, 5.55 ERA).

The start times for each game are 5 p.m. on Friday, 6 p.m. on Saturday, and 1 p.m. on Sunday. All of the games can be seen on the SEC Network+ and heard on the Gator IMG Sports Network.

As for the No. 23 Missouri Tigers (21-7, 4-5 SEC), it can be expected that they will drop out of the Top 25 after getting swept at home. Now on a five-game losing streak, they will head up north to play the Illinois Fighting Illini (9-16) in a neutral site game before heading to Athens to take on the Georgia Bulldogs (13-16, 3-6 SEC) in a three-game set.

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2016-17 Gator Basketball: A Year In Review

The Florida Gator Men's Basketball team saw much improvement over the course of the 2016-2017 season. In the second year of the Mike White era, the Gators posted a 27-9 (14-4 SEC) record while making it as far as the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament.

Non-Conference Opponents
Florida put together a good non-conference schedule that gave them a 10th overall ranking in RPI. Six of the 12 non-SEC teams they faced made this year's NCAA Tournament. They were:

• Florida Gulf Coast (26-8, 12-2 ASUN) (Lost in the First Round as No. 14 seed)
• Seton Hall (21-12, 10-8 Big East) (Lost in the First Round as No. 9 seed)
• No. 2 Gonzaga (36-1, 17-1 WCC) (Currently in Final Four)
• Miami (21-12, 10-8 ACC) (Lost in the First Round as No. 8 seed)
• No. 7 Duke (28-9, 11-7 ACC) (Lost in the Round of 32 as No. 2 seed)
• No. 16 Florida State (26-9, 12-6 ACC) (Lost in the Round of 32 as No. 3 seed)

Florida defeated FGCU (80-59), Seton Hall (81-76), and Miami (65-56) while falling to then No. 11 ranked Gonzaga (77-72), then No. 5 ranked Duke (84-74), and Florida State (83-78).

Not a single one of these games were played in the O-Dome, showing Florida's willingness to battle it out on the road (FGCU in Jacksonville and FSU in Tallahassee) and at neutral sites (Gonzaga, Seton Hall, and Miami in Orlando and Duke at MSG ).

In Florida's only other true non-conference road game of the season against an Oklahoma team that made it to the Final Four last year, they ran the Sooners out of the building with a resounding 84-52 rout.

SEC Opponents

Once conference play started in January, the Gators ripped off five straight SEC wins before dropping two straight contests to No. 24 South Carolina on the road and Vanderbilt at the O-Dome. The latter would be Florida's only home loss of this season as they went 9-1 in the friendly confines.

After the Vandy loss, Florida kicked it in to high-gear as they blew out LSU, stopped briefly in Norman to whip the Sooners, and dominated Missouri to set up a highly anticipated matchup with the then No. 8 ranked Kentucky Wildcats in Gainesville.

This game was a laugher. With the Rowdies by their side, Florida whooped Kentucky by a score of 88-66. This was the biggest margin of victory ever for the Gators against the Wildcats. Florida rode this momentum to two more victories before tragedy struck against Auburn on Valentine's Day.

The Gators won the game over the Tigers by 19 points, but in the process lost redshirt junior center John Egbunu to an ACL injury. His season was over, and it looked liked Florida's aspirations for a deep postseason run were gone as well.

After tacking on two more victories (including a 15-point home victory over South Carolina), the Gators brought a nine-game winning streak into their rematch with Kentucky at Rupp Arena. Florida's streak would die in Lexington as the Cats got their revenge and beat the Gators 76-66.

Florida would beat Arkansas by 13 points on Senior Night and yet again lose to Vanderbilt to close out the season. In the SEC Tournament, Florida was a one and done in the quarterfinals as Vanderbilt bested them for a 72-62 overtime victory.

The Gator Faithful began to question how the Gators would fare in the NCAA Tournament after losing to Vanderbilt in back-to-back games and three times overall this season. Before moving on to the Gators' postseason run, here are my final tidbits on SEC play for this season:

• The Gators swept two season series this year against both Georgia and Arkansas.
• All of the SEC teams who defeated Florida (South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Kentucky) made the NCAA Tournament.
• Florida would ultimately finish two games behind Kentucky for second in the SEC Regular Season Standings.

March Madness

Once the NCAA Tournament rolled around, many around the country had the Gators either losing in the First Round or the Round of 32 (I was a member of the latter). Florida proceeded to prove nearly everybody wrong! 

East Tennessee State (First Round)

In their first tournament game since the 2013-2014 season, the Gators came out firing as they beat the ETSU Buccaneers by a score of 80-65 in Orlando. This game was close at times, but Florida predominantly remained in control.

Virginia (Round of 32)

Perhaps the most dominant defensive performance of the entire tournament, Florida completely shut down the Cavalier offense. Florida was able to coast for a majority of the way as they easily won by a score of 65-39.

Wisconsin (Sweet Sixteen)

On to Madison Square Garden now, the Gators would find themselves a part of one the most memorable Sweet Sixteen games in college basketball history. Up eight points with two minutes to play in regulation, the Gators would have the wind taken out of their sails as Wisconsin came back and hit a game-tying three with less than three seconds remaining.

In overtime, Florida overcame a five-point deficit with under two minutes to go due to graduate transfer guard Canyon Barry. He made a bucket, nailed two clutch free throws, and had a track-down block that allowed Florida to tie the game up.

After a foul on Wisconsin with four seconds remaining allowed the Badgers to take an 83-81 lead via free throws, a miracle happened. Junior backup point guard Chris Chiozza received the inbounds pass, dribbled the length of the court, and threw up a floater/prayer from three-point land that swished through the net for the game-winning buzzer beater!

Pandemonium ensued, and Chiozza had etched his name in March Madness lore forever. The Gators, yes the Florida Gators who were supposed to lose in Orlando, were on their way to the Elite Eight! 

South Carolina (Elite Eight)

Facing a familiar opponent in South Carolina, the Gator magic ran out. Similar to the game in Columbia, Florida could not buy a three-point basket in a second half. Despite the three-point struggles, this game was still tied at 63 with three minutes remaining.

The Gators, however, could not muster up enough clutch shots or defensive stops. Their postseason run would conclude with a 77-70 defeat to the Gamecocks. It was an incredible effort from Florida, and to even be in a position to advance to the Final Four in itself had many of the Gator Faithful very proud of this year's squad.

Accolades
Before looking at the season leaders, here are my final tidbits/accolades for the 2016-2017 Gator basketball team:

• Chris Chiozza registered a triple-double for the Gators in the February 2nd contest against Missouri. He had 12 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists, all which came off the bench.
• Canyon Barry made Gator history on February 11th against Texas A&M as he sunk his 39th consecutive free throw. He may get some snide remarks and insults for shooting free throws underhanded, but at the end of the day Canyon is in the Florida record books!
• Florida lost consecutive games just three times (Duke/FSU, South Carolina/Vanderbilt, Vanderbilt/Vanderbilt).
• Florida's win-streak of nine from January 25th to February 25th is their longest since they won 30 straight games from December 10, 2013 to March 29th, 2014, in the 2013-2014 season.
• Florida played three overtime games and in those games they went 2-1 (defeated Georgia and Wisconsin and lost to Vanderbilt).
• The Gators played five ranked opponents the whole season (No. 11 Gonzaga, No. 5 Duke, No. 24 South Carolina, and No's. 8/11 Kentucky)
• In the final AP Top 25 poll, the Gators finished with a final ranking of No. 20.
• Florida reached the NCAA Tournament for the 20th time, Round of 32 for the 15th time, Sweet Sixteen for the 11th time, and Elite Eight for the ninth time in school history.

Among all-conference honors, a few Gators garnered some distinctions that included:

• 2016-2017 SEC Coach of the Year

• Mike White (2nd year at Florida)

• First Team All-SEC

• KeVaughn Allen - Shooting Guard

• Second Team All-SEC

• Kasey Hill - Point Guard

• SEC All-Defensive Team

• Kasey Hill - Point Guard

• SEC Sixth-Man of the Year

• Canyon Barry - Shooting Guard

Now let's take a look at the final stat leaders for the Gators this season:

Offense

Points: KeVaughn Allen (505) (Sophomore)

Assists: Kasey Hill (161) (Senior)

Rebounds: Kevarrius Hayes (69) (Sophomore)

Shooting Percentage (200 attempts min.): Devin Robinson (48%) (Junior)

Three-Pointers: KeVaughn Allen (78)

Three-Point Percentage (100 attempts min.): Justin Leon (40%)

Free Throws: Canyon Barry (113) (Graduate Transfer)

Free Throw Percentage (100 attempts min.): Canyon Barry/KeVaughn Allen (88%)


Defense

Rebounds: Devin Robinson (158)

Blocks: Kevarrius Hayes (60)

Steals: Kasey Hill (60)


Miscellaneous

Personal Fouls: Kasey Hill/Kevarrius Hayes (84)

Minutes: Kasey Hill (1,041)

Turnovers: Kasey Hill (110)


Senior Sendoff
With another Gator basketball season in the books, it is only fitting that I highlight the seniors who will be moving on to bigger and better things upon completing their degrees at the University of Florida.

Kasey Hill

Kasey Hill was a freshman on that 36-3 team that made it to the Final Four. Though he never really lived up to his potential as an incoming McDonald's All-American in his four years at Florida, Hill showed great resolve and patience in the Donovan to White transition.

He never gave up on this program and in return, this program never gave up on him. Kasey's final stats at point guard are as follows:

• 137 games and 3,603 minutes played (9th all-time in school history for minutes)
• A career average of 7.9 points (60% shooting percentage)
• 41 three-pointers made (24% shooting percentage)
• 266 free throws made (60% shooting percentage)
• 329 rebounds (49 offensive and 280 defensive)
• 530 assists (2nd all-time in school history!)
• 182 steals (3rd all-time in school history!)
• 29 blocks
• 304 personal fouls
• 7 foul-outs
• 304 turnovers
• 1,087 points

Thank you, Kasey!


Justin Leon

Justin Leon spent two years playing JUCO ball at Shawnee Community College before transferring in to Florida during Mike White's first year. In his two seasons repping the Orange and Blue at forward, Leon finished with the final numbers of:

• 70 games and 1,311 minutes played
• A career average of 6.4 points (46% shooting percentage)
• 74 three-pointers made (40% shooting percentage)
• 46 free throws made (67% shooting percentage)
• 252 rebounds (95 offensive and 157 defensive)
• 28 assists
• 27 steals
• 10 blocks
• 134 personal fouls
• 1 foul-out
• 49 turnovers
• 448 career points

Thank you, Justin!


Canyon Barry

Aiding the Gators at guard with his underhanded free throw skills for just one season, Canyon Barry joined this year's squad as a graduate transfer studying nuclear engineering. Personally one of my favorite players on the team, Canyon finished his final season of college ball for the Gators with the stats of:

• 35 games and 747 minutes played
• A career average of 11.4 points ((42% shooting percentage)
• 42 three-pointers made (34% shooting percentage)
• 113 free throws made (88% shooting percentage)
• 98 rebounds (29 offensive and 69 defensive)
• 22 assists
• 18 steals
• 13 blocks (with the Block of the Year against Wisconsin)
• 41 personal fouls
• 0 foul-outs
• 31 turnovers
• 399 career points

Thank you, Canyon! Good luck with your master's degree in nuclear engineering!

Schuyler Rimmer

The last of the Florida Gators leaving the program is center Schuyler Rimmer. Originally a transfer from Stanford, Rimmer would come off the bench and contribute every now and then when the situation called for it. Rimmer finished his two-year Gator career with the numbers of:

• 46 games and 273 minutes played
• A career average of 1.3 points (44% shooting percentage)
• 1 three-pointer made (50% shooting percentage)
• 17 free throws made (74% shooting percentage)
• 49 rebounds (19 offensive and 30 defensive)
• 5 assists
• 1 steal
• 9 blocks
• 46 personal fouls
• 0 foul-outs
• 12 turnovers
• 62 career points

Even though you did not play as much as you would have wanted to, thank you Schuyler!

Final Takeaway
This year's Gator basketball team defied even the most optimistic expectations with a second-place SEC finish and a trip to the Elite 8. Keep in mind, this was all accomplished with Florida having their starting center sidelined since mid-February. If we are playing the comparison game (which we always are), Mike White has a leg-up on Gator legend Billy Donovan heading into his third season.

In Donovan's second season at the helm for Florida, the Gators finished sixth in the SEC East with a 14-15 (6-10 SEC) record and missed the NCAA Tournament. Now I am not saying that Mike White is going to surpass Billy D and win back-to-back National Championships anytime soon, but he is definitely building a program that will consistency be in Final Four contention year-in and year-out.

Next year's team will be very decent despite the four seniors leaving and junior forward Devin Robinson reportedly declaring for the draft. Mike White should have a 12-man roster in 2017-2018 consisting of one redshirt senior, one senior (if D-Rob leaves), one redshirt junior, two juniors, one redshirt sophomore, two sophomores, one redshirt freshman, and three incoming freshmen.

Florida basketball is back and on the rise yet again! I'm excited to see what Mike White does with this program in the upcoming years! Thank you to the 2016-2017 Florida Gator Men's Basketball team for a fantastic season and an awesome run in the NCAA Tournament! Go Gators!

*All stats accredited to FloridaGators.com

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