Vanderbilt (33-25) rallied from a
one-run deficit with five runs on five hits in the top of the ninth and withstood
a furious rally by No. 2 Florida (42-18) in the bottom of the inning to take an
8-6 victory in semifinal action at the 2012 SEC Tournament at Regions Park on
Saturday afternoon. The Commodores will square off against No. 25 Mississippi
State (38-22) in tomorrow’s championship game at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
With the Gators holding a 4-3
advantage entering the ninth, junior Austin Maddox (Jacksonville, Fla.)
(3-3) was called upon to close the game. Freshman pinch hitter Connor
Castellano led off with a double to right field and was sacrificed to third by
junior pinch hitter Andrew Harris. Maddox hit sophomore Tony Kemp (1-for-2, two
runs) for runners on first and third and junior Mike Yastrzemski’s (2-for-4) squeeze
bunt scored Castellano with the tying run and pushed Kemp to second base. Junior
Mike Zunino (Cape Coral, Fla.) threw out Yastrzemski trying to steal for
the second out, with Kemp taking third on the play. Junior Anthony Gomez
(2-for-5, two RBI) put the Commodores on top with an RBI single into left field
that plated Kemp and then stole second base. Sophomore Conrad Gregor was walked
intentionally and Vanderbilt executed a double steal for two runners in scoring
position before Maddox issued another intentional walk to sophomore Spencer Navin
that loaded the bases. The Commodores then pulled off a triple steal, with Gomez
stealing home, Gregor taking third and Navin advancing to second. Freshman Will
Cooper stroked a two-run single into right field that increased his club’s lead
to 8-4 but was thrown out attempting to reach third base to end the frame.
With UF down to its final three
outs, junior Nolan Fontana (Winter Garden, Fla.) (2-for-4) laced a
one-out single into right field but was erased at second base on a fielder’s
choice by senior Preston Tucker (Tampa, Fla.) (1-for-5, three runs).
Junior Mike Zunino (Cape Coral, Fla.) (2-for-5, two runs) followed with
a double down the left-field line to move Tucker to third base and junior Brian
Johnson (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) (4-for-5) collected his fourth hit and fourth
RBI of the day with a single up the middle off of junior Will Clinard (7-2) to
bring the Gators within 8-5. Senior Daniel Pigott (Ormond Beach, Fla.)
singled through the left side to score Zunino with the sixth run and pushed
redshirt freshman pinch runner Connor Mitchell (Tampa, Fla.) into
scoring position. Freshman Casey Turgeon (Palm Harbor, Fla.) (2-for-3)
made it four-straight hits for the Orange and Blue with a base-hit into left
field that loaded the bases with two down and forced a call to the bullpen.
Junior Drew VerHagen came in for Clinard (1.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R) and threw one pitch
that retired freshman Justin Shafer (Lake Wales, Fla.) on a fly ball to
right field to complete the contest and register his second save.
Vanderbilt had grabbed a 2-0 lead
in the top of the first inning against sophomore Karsten Whitson
(Chipley, Fla.) courtesy of one hit and a pair of errors. Kemp began the game
with a double into left center field and wound up scoring when Yastrzemski’s
sacrifice bunt was thrown away by Whitson and junior Vickash Ramjit
(Miami, Fla.) misfired on a relay throw to the plate. With Yastrzemski on
second, a wild pitch moved him to third and Gomez brought him home with an RBI
grounder.
The Gators answered with a
two-out RBI double by Johnson in the home part of the inning to cut the deficit
to 2-1. Tucker had roped a one-out single into right field off of sophomore
starter Kevin Ziomek and came around to score on a hit-and-run when Johnson’s
11th two-bagger of the season landed in left center. Ziomek had Pigott fly out
to left field to complete the inning.
Junior Connor Harrell (2-for-5)
provided Vanderbilt with a 3-1 advantage in the second inning with a double
into right center that scored senior Riley Reynolds, who had led off with a
pinch-hit single up the middle. Junior Jack Lupo laid down a sacrifice bunt
that moved Harrell to third and Whitson responded by having freshman Vince
Conde ground out but then walked Kemp. With runners on the corners and two down,
Kemp moved into scoring position with his 17th stolen base before Whitson had
Yastrzemski ground out.
Although the Commodores loaded
the bases with one down in the third, senior Greg Larson (Longwood,
Fla.) pitched out of the jam. Gregor and Navin had consecutive one-out singles and
a walk to Reynolds loaded the bases, prompting a pitching change. Larson replaced
Whitson (2.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB), tying former Gator Darren O’Day
(2003-06) for second on the school’s all-time list with his 117th appearance. The
righty had Harrell hit into an inning-ending 5-3 double play to keep the Gators
down by a pair of runs.
Johnson tied the game at 3-3 in
the bottom of the stanza with a two-run double into the gap in right center. Fontana
drew a four-pitch walk to start the frame but was erased on a strange
fielder’s choice, as Tucker’s fly ball was lost in the sun but was picked up
quickly enough to throw Fontana out at second base. Zunino doubled to left
field, advancing Tucker to third, and Johnson connected on his season-best second
double of the contest to even the contest. Ziomek (2.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R) retired
Pigott on a line drive to left field and was replaced by freshman Brian Miller,
who surrendered a base-hit into left field by Turgeon for runners on the
corners. The reliever struck out Shafer to preserve the stalemate.
After Larson set down the
Commodores in order for the first time in the game in the top of the fourth, Florida
seized a 4-3 lead on an RBI single by Fontana. Ramjit had started things off
with a bunt single up the third-base line and went to second on a throwing
error on the play by Miller. Freshman Josh Tobias (Greensboro, N.C.)
sacrificed Ramjit to third with a bunt and Fontana smacked a single with the
infield drawn in to plate Ramjit. After Tucker flew out to the warning track in
right field, Fontana was caught stealing for the first time this season after 11-consecutive
thefts.
Gomez had a one-out single up the
middle in the fifth but was gunned down by Zunino trying to steal second.
Gregor earned a free pass with two down and Larson had Navin go down swinging
on strikes.
Larson fanned Conde to begin the
seventh and junior Steven Rodriguez (Miami, Fla.) came in from the
bullpen. Over four strong innings, Larson permitted just one hit and totaled
three strikeouts. Rodriguez plunked Kemp and a base-hit by Yastrzemski that hit
the umpire left two runners aboard with one down. A grounder by Gomez pushed
both runners into scoring position and Rodriguez struck out Gregor to keep the
Gators ahead by a run.
Freshman Jared Miller replaced
Brian Miller (3.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R) prior to Florida’s seventh at bat and induced
three-straight fly-outs. Rodriguez tossed a 1-2-3 eighth and then Pigott
reached on a one-out throwing error by third baseman Conde and stole second. A
walk to Turgeon gave the Gators a pair of runners aboard and Clinard was
summoned to take over for Miller (1.1 IP). After a long battle, Shafer
deposited a base-hit into shallow center field to fill the bags with one down. Clinard
had Ramjit hit into an inning-ending 4-3 double play to hold the margin at 4-3.
