Third-seeded Florida (42-15) and seventh-seeded Alabama (33-24) will battle on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. ET in a winner’s bracket contest at the 2011 SEC Baseball Tournament. The game can be seen in Gainesville and Ocala on Sun Sports (Channels 48/1048 on the Cox Communications’ cable system) and heard on WRUF SportsRadio 850. The Crimson Tide opened the double-elimination event with a 7-4 triumph over Western Division champion and second-seeded Arkansas, while the Gators rallied from a 5-2 deficit to edge sixth-seeded Mississippi State, 7-5.
Sophomore right-hander Hudson Randall (Atlanta, Ga.) (8-3, 2.45) will start for the Gators and oppose Tide junior left-hander Adam Morgan (5-5, 3.89). Randall has claimed both of his career starts against Alabama and has not yielded any runs in 13.1 innings, with 12 hits (11 singles), four strikeouts and three walks. The righty has limited the Tide to a .245 batting average. Randall is seeking his first victory since April 29 after falling at Arkansas (7.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 5 K), getting a no-decision at Vanderbilt (5.0 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 K) and taking the defeat against Kentucky last Friday (4.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K).
UF’s victory over Mississippi State ended a four-game losing streak in opening-round contests in Hoover, including three setbacks in a row under Kevin O’Sullivan. Before Wednesday’s triumph, the Gators’ most recent win in the opening round was a 9-8 decision over Arkansas on May 25, 2005, exactly six years to the day. Florida downed Ole Miss, 10-7, in its second game that year before falling twice to the Rebels (14-1 (7) and 4-2).
Thursday’s matchup will mark the 18th time that Florida has met Alabama during the SEC Tourney - the most times it has faced any opponent. The Tide holds a 10-7 advantage and ousted the Gators last season in the semifinals, 5-2, in a contest shortened to seven innings.
Sophomore Brian Johnson (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) belted a grand slam in the seventh inning to turn a 5-2 deficit into an eventual 7-5 victory for third-seeded Florida (42-15) over MSU (34-22) on the opening day of the SEC Tourney on Wednesday afternoon at Regions Park.
With the Gators trailing by a 5-2 score entering the bottom of the seventh, senior Bryson Smith (Watkinsville, Ga.) was hit by a pitch and junior Preston Tucker (Tampa, Fla.) (2-for-4, two RBI) drew a walk from freshman Taylor Stark to cause a pitching change. Sophomore Luis Pollorena (6-5) came in for Stark (1.0 IP, 2 BB) and surrendered a single into center field to sophomore Mike Zunino (Cape Coral, Fla.) (2-for-5) that loaded the bases with none out. Johnson sent a fly ball into right field that appeared to be headed foul but instead cleared the right-field wall in fair territory to empty the bases and give Florida 6-5 lead. It was Johnson’s fifth homer of the campaign, his third career grand slam and the sixth grand slam for the Orange and Blue this season.
Florida tacked on an insurance run in the eighth on a two-out RBI single by Tucker. Sophomore Cody Dent (Boynton Beach, Fla.) (1-for-2, two walks) had drawn a leadoff walk, was sacrificed to second by sophomore Nolan Fontana (Winter Garden, Fla.) and went to third on a fly-out by Smith. Tucker delivered a base-knock into left field to bring home Dent and put the Gators ahead by two runs but was later thrown out at the plate attempting to score on a single into left field by Zunino.
After sophomore Steven Rodriguez (Miami, Fla.) (3-1) pitched 1.2 scoreless and hitless innings, sophomore Austin Maddox (Jacksonville, Fla.) took the mound in the ninth and set down the first two Bulldogs on fly balls. Senior Cody Freeman kept the game alive with a single into right center and Maddox responded by catching redshirt senior Jarrod Parks looking on strikes to close the contest and register his team-leading fourth save.
Nuggets From Wednesday
*The come-from-behind win was Florida’s 15th of the season and the Gators moved to 6-12 when trailing after six innings. UF boasts a 37-0 record when leading after seven.
*Fontana’s career-high 10-game hitting streak ended with a 0-for-1 performance but he drew three walks to match his season high against Boston College on Feb. 25. Fontana’s bases-loaded free pass in the fourth had tied the game at 2-2.
* Zunino had his team-leading 23rd multiple-hit game, while Tucker (21) and senior Josh Adams (Jacksonville, Fla.) (20) chipped in with a pair of hits apiece.
*Johnson drove in four runs for the second-straight game.
*The Gators have homered in nine of their last 10 games, with 15 dingers in the span.
*UF’s five pitchers recorded 12 strikeouts and issued two walks. Junior Tommy Toledo (Tampa, Fla.) had season-high six K, junior Nick Maronde (Lexington, Ky.) had three and the trio of junior Greg Larson (Longwood, Fla.), Rodriguez and Maddox had one apiece.
*Maddox has now converted both of his save opportunities against Mississippi State this season (0.2 IP on April 10 to preserve 3-1, series-clinching win; scoreless ninth on Wednesday).
*The Gators are now 5-5 in two-run games this season.
*Florida evened its record at 2-2 at neutral sites (wins over Florida Atlantic in Jupiter, Fla., and Mississippi State in Hoover, Ala.; losses to Florida State in Tampa and Jacksonville).
UF-UA Regular-Season Recap: Gators Stemmed Tide
Florida defeated Alabama at McKethan Stadium by scores of 7-0, 9-2 and 2-1 over the weekend of April 22-24. UF’s pitching staff limited the Crimson Tide to three runs and a .216 (21-for-97) batting average on the weekend, while its offense hit .347 (34-for-98) with 11 doubles and four homers. Fontana led the way with a .545 (6-for-11) performance that featured three-hit outings on both Friday and Sunday. Zunino was 5-for-11 (.455), had three extra-base hits (two doubles and a homer) and drove in four runs in game two. All three Gator starting pitchers earned wins in the series: Randall fired 6.1 scoreless innings on Friday, Johnson gave up two runs over five innings on Saturday and freshman RHP Karsten Whitson (Chipley,Fla.) permitted one run over a career-high 6.2 innings with seven strikeouts on Sunday.
Maronde induced a game-ending 4-6-3 double play from Alabama senior pinch hitter Brett Whitaker with a pair of runners aboard to preserve a 2-1 victory in the finale. Whitson registered seven strikeouts and permitted three hits over a career-high 6.2 innings to pick up his second win in league play and Fontana was 3-for-4 and drove in both of UF’s runs. Zunino went 2-for-4, scored twice and drove in four runs to lead the Gators to a 9-2 win on Saturday. With Florida holding a 4-2 lead in the seventh, Zunino cranked a two-out, three-run homer into the left-field bleachers on an 0-2 count and Adams added an RBI double to cap a four-run outburst that clinched UF’s fourth-consecutive SEC series victory. Johnson (6-1) gave up seven hits and two runs over five innings to pick up the decision. The trio of Randall, Maronde and senior Matt Campbell (Tampa, Fla.) combined on a five-hit shutout and UF used a 14-hit offensive attack to notch a 7-0 victory on Friday night. Randall (7-1) scattered four hits over 6.1 innings and was boosted by three RBI and a two-run homer by Tucker, a three-run homer by Adams and a 3-for-5 outing by Fontana. UF’s eighth shutout of the campaign matched the team’s highest total since 1991 and all nine Florida starters had at least one hit. In addition, the Gators blanked the Tide for the first time since 4-0 win on March 20, 1988.
