Senior
Preston Tucker (Tampa, Fla.) delivered a bases-loaded RBI single to snap
a 6-6 tie in the eighth and junior Brian Johnson (Cocoa Beach, Fla.)
added a sacrifice fly later in the inning to lift No. 1 Florida (3-1) to an 8-6
win over Bethune-Cookman (2-2) on Tuesday night at McKethan Stadium.
Junior
Austin Maddox (Jacksonville, Fla.) (1-0) threw two scoreless innings to
earn the victory, junior Mike Zunino (Cape Coral, Fla.) (2-for-3) belted
solo homers in the second and seventh frames and junior Cody Dent
(Boynton Beach, Fla.) went 3-for-3 to help the Gators improve to 26-0 against
the Wildcats.
“They’re
a Regional-type club,” head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “We’ve seen
enough to know over the years how tough it is to play Bethune, but once again
we threw a lot of young pitchers tonight. It’s a good learning experience and
we’ll learn from it and get better from it.”
Bethune-Cookman
grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI triple by senior Alejandro
Sanchez. Making his starting debut, freshman Johnny Magliozzi (East
Milton, Mass.) battled back from a 3-0 count to catch sophomore leadoff batter
Josh Johnson looking on strikes and junior Brandon Turner followed with a
single up the middle. Sanchez drove in Turner with a triple into the
right-field corner and junior David Lee drew a walk for runners on the corners
with one down. Magliozzi had senior Brashad Johnson fly out and freshman Jordan
Taylor ground out to hold the deficit at a run.
Zunino
tied the game in the second with a leadoff homer off sophomore Scott Garner.
His first round-tripper of the season landed in the left-field bleachers and
raised his hitting streak to eight games.
The
Gators plated three runs on four hits in the third to build a 4-1 lead. Making
his first start of the season at third base, Dent opened the frame with a
base-hit but was erased at second base on a fielder’s choice by junior Nolan
Fontana (Winter Garden, Fla.). Senior Daniel Pigott (Ormond Beach,
Fla.) (2-for-4, two runs) moved Florida in front with his first double of the
season that scored Fontana all the way from first base. Zunino drew a two-out walk
for runners on the corners and Johnson’s single into right field scored Pigott
and moved Zunino to third. Freshman Taylor Gushue (Boca Raton, Fla.)
(2-for-5) legged out an infield single that brought home Zunino.
The
Wildcats countered with two runs on three hits in the fourth to close the gap
to 4-3. Taylor (4-for-5) began the inning with a single into left field and
senior Nick Johnson (2-for-5) doubled to put the Wildcats in business. An RBI
grounder by senior Jairo Acevedo scored Taylor and junior Carlos Delgado
stroked a base-knock into center field to bring across Johnson. A grounder by
Josh Johnson advanced Delgado into scoring position and prompted a pitching
change. Freshman Bobby Poyner (Wellington, Fla.) replaced Magliozzi (3.2
IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 K) and induced an inning-ending grounder by Turner to
keep the Gators ahead.
UF
took advantage of a bases-loaded wild pitch in the bottom of the inning to take
a 5-3 lead. Consecutive singles by senior Tyler Thompson (Tequesta,
Fla.) and Dent ended the night for Garner (3.0 IP, 8 H, 5 R) in the fourth. Fontana
moved his teammates into scoring position with his first of three sacrifice
bunts off sophomore Bryan Rivera and Pigott walked to load the bases with one
down. The reliever had Tucker pop out in foul territory but then had an errant
pitch that allowed Thompson to come in for a 5-3 score. Although Zunino
collected his second walk of the contest to re-load the bases, Rivera had
Johnson ground out to end the inning.
After
Poyner retired the first two batters of the inning, Brashad Johnson homered
with two down in the fifth for a 5-4 margin. It was the Wildcats’ first
four-bagger of the season and went to left field.
Freshman
Justin Shafer (Lake Wales, Fla.) replaced Poyner (1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R) and
set down Bethune-Cookman in order on seven pitches in the sixth.
Taylor
roped a two-out, two-run double in the seventh to give the Wildcats a 6-5 lead.
Shafer recorded the first two outs before Lee singled up the middle and Brashad
Johnson had a base-hit through the left side of the infield. Taylor’s double to
deep center plated both of his teammates and another single by Nick Johnson
left runners on the corners and prompted a call to the bullpen. Senior Greg
Larson (Longwood, Fla.) took over for Shafer (1.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R) and
walked Acevedo to load the bases. Fontana made a diving stop on a grounder by
Delgado and fired a strike to first base to hold the score at 6-5.
“They’ve
always had a knack, over the last couple of years, to have some come-alive
two-out RBIs,” O’Sullivan said. “I don’t think we have played a clean game yet.
We have not obviously played our best baseball, but on the same token we’re
playing a lot of new, young guys. We’re getting a lot of experience and we’ll
get better as we go along.”
Zunino
tied the game again in the bottom of the inning with his second homer of the
night, an opposite-field shot over the right-field fence. The 2011 SEC Player
of the Year also had a couple of dingers against Bethune-Cookman last season. Oddly
enough, all five of Florida’s homers this season have been of the solo variety.
Josh
Johnson opened the eighth with an infield single and Maddox replaced Larson
(0.1 IP, 1 H) on the mound. Turner laid down a bunt to push his teammate into
scoring position and Maddox responded by having Sanchez fly out and Lee strike
out looking.
Junior
Gabriel Hernandez (0-1) replaced Rivera (4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R) on the bump and surrendered
a leadoff single to Dent, who notched his career-best third hit of the night.
An attempted sacrifice bunt by Fontana resulted in a fielder’s choice, as Dent
was safe on the throw to second base and Fontana occupied first. A bunt single
by Pigott filled the sacks with none out for Tucker, who put Florida ahead with
an RBI single off junior reliever Jordan Dailey that scored Dent. Although a
grounder by Zunino forced Fontana at home with the first out, a sacrifice fly
by Johnson enabled Pigott’s run to give UF an 8-6 lead.
