Junior Nolan Fontana (Winter Garden,
Fla.) was 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles and the Gator bullpen tossed four
scoreless innings around several jams to lead No. 4 Florida (27-7/8-5 SEC) to a
3-1 series-opening victory over Tennessee (20-14/6-7 SEC) on Friday night. The
crowd of 3,401 fans at Lindsey Nelson Stadium was the 12th-largest in the
facility’s history. Junior Mike Zunino (Cape Coral, Fla.) and Fontana each
had an RBI double in the fifth inning as the Gators plated two runs to snap a
1-1 tie.
Making the first Friday night start of his
career, sophomore right-hander Jonathon Crawford (Okeechobee, Fla.)
(4-1) held the Vols to one run on six hits over five innings to improve to 3-0
in SEC play. Junior Steven Rodriguez (Miami, Fla.) registered four
strikeouts and gave up one hit over two scoreless innings before junior Austin
Maddox (Jacksonville, Fla.) notched his 10th save in 10 opportunities by
pitching the final two frames, with a three strikeouts and a couple of hits. Tennessee
stranded a dozen base-runners on the night.
UT loaded the bases with two down in the
first inning but came away empty-handed. Crawford retired the first two batters
before junior Drew Steckenrider walked, senior Davis Morgan legged out an
infield single and junior Chris Fritts (2-for-3) was plunked to fill the bags.
The righty had freshman Richard Carter ground out to keep the game scoreless.
The Gators put their first three batters on
base in the second against junior Zack Godley (4-2) but could not break the
ice. Fontana and freshman Taylor Gushue (Boca Raton, Fla.) opened the inning
with consecutive singles before junior Brian Johnson (Cocoa Beach, Fla.)
(2-for-4) blooped a base-hit into left center to fill the bags. Godley worked out
of trouble by striking out junior Vickash Ramjit (Miami, Fla.), having
junior Cody Dent (Boynton Beach, Fla.) pop up and senior Daniel
Pigott (Ormond Beach, Fla.) ground out.
The Vols used a two-out single by freshman
Will Maddox (2-for-5) in the bottom of the frame to take a 1-0 lead. Senior
Chris Pierce (2-for-4) led off with a single into right field and was
sacrificed over on a bunt by sophomore Ethan Bennett. Crawford had senior Zach
Osborne ground out and Pierce swiped third with two down. Maddox roped a 1-2
pitch into center field to begin the scoring. After junior Zach Luther beat out
a bunt for two runners aboard and Maddox stole third for runners on the
corners, Crawford fanned Steckenrider.
Florida tied the game in the fourth on an RBI
single by Johnson. Fontana started the frame with a double to the wall in right
field and moved to third on a fly ball to straightaway center field by Gushue. Johnson
sliced a base-knock through the right side to bring across Fontana with the
equalizer.
UF seized a 3-1 lead in the fifth on RBI
doubles by Zunino and Fontana. Freshman Casey Turgeon (Palm Harbor,
Fla.) had a one-out single into right field and stole second base for his
second theft of the campaign and Zunino cranked his team-leading 14th double to
left field to move the visitors in front. Fontana boosted the Gators’ advantage
to 3-1 with his second double of the night with two down into the right-field
corner.
In the sixth, the Vols had runners on second
and third with none out and the bases full with two down but were held at bay. Fritts
began the inning with a single into right field and Rodriguez was called upon
with a 2-1 count to face Carter. The Vols inserted freshman Jared Allen as a
pinch hitter and he drew a walk that was charged to Crawford, who scattered six
hits and permitted one run over five innings, with five strikeouts and three
walks. Soon after, a passed ball enabled both runners to move into scoring
position. Rodriguez caught Pierce looking on strikes and then jammed Bennett on
an infield fly. Osborne was walked intentionally to load the bases and
Rodriguez kept the Gators up by two runs with a crucial inning-ending strikeout
of Maddox.
Senior Preston Tucker (Tampa, Fla.)
drew a leadoff walk in the eighth and Fontana followed his fourth hit of the
night with a single into right field to end the night for Godley, who allowed
nine hits and three runs over seven-plus innings. A bunt attempt by Gushue off
reliever Steckenrider instead forced Tucker at third base and Johnson popped up
to third before a wild pitch enabled Fontana and Gushue to occupy third and second
base, respectively. Ramjit was given an intentional free pass to fill the bases
and Steckenrider picked him off to close the frame.
Fritts started the Vols’ eighth with a single
into right field, prompting a pitching change. Maddox came in for Rodriguez
(2.0 IP, 1 H, 4 K) and struck out Allen before Pierce roped a double into left
field for two men in scoring position. Maddox responded with a strikeout of
senior pinch hitter Wes Walker and Dent made a tremendous defensive stop on a
ball hit by Osborne and fired a bullet over to first base to preserve Florida’s
lead.
Tennessee’s Maddox began the ninth with a
double to right field off Maddox and the reliever caught Luther looking on
strikes. A fly out by Steckenrider pushed the runner to third base but Maddox
had Morgan pop up to Fontana to complete the contest. Each team had nine hits
and neither club committed any errors.
