No. 5 Florida (35-12/14-9 SEC) snapped a 1-1
tie on an RBI single by freshman Josh Tobias (Greensboro, N.C.) in the
eighth inning and then tacked on three insurance runs in the ninth to post a
5-1 victory over No. 6 Kentucky (36-11/14-9 SEC) on Friday night at Cliff Hagan
Stadium. With the triumph, the Gators have clinched the weekend series and
moved into a tie with the Wildcats in the league standings. Co-leaders No. 3
South Carolina (34-11) and No. 4 LSU (36-10) are still in action and were each
14-7 in SEC play entering tonight.
Deadlocked at a run apiece entering the
eighth, freshman Casey Turgeon (Palm Harbor, Fla.) (3-for-4) started the
frame with a triple to deep right field, his second three-bagger of the year. After
UK junior starter Jerad Grundy (4-2) had freshman Justin Shafer (Lake Wales,
Fla.) ground out, Tobias sent a 2-2 pitch into right center field to score
Turgeon and give Florida the advantage.
UF added three important runs in the ninth on
a sacrifice fly by junior Brian Johnson (Cocoa Beach, Fla.), a pinch-hit
RBI single by senior Jeff Moyer (Winter Springs, Fla.) and a sacrifice
fly by Shafer. Senior Preston Tucker (Tampa, Fla.) drew a leadoff walk
from senior Alex Phillips and junior Mike Zunino (Cape Coral, Fla.) notched
his SEC-leading 19th double off the wall in left field to put the Gators in
business. Johnson lofted a sacrifice fly to center field that brought in Tucker
and Moyer came through with a pinch-hit single off junior reliever Tim Peterson
to bring across Zunino for a 4-1 lead. Turgeon singled into left field off
freshman A.J. Reed for two runners aboard and one out and the Gators executed a
double steal for a pair of men in scoring position. A sacrifice fly by Shafer to
right field scored Moyer to finalize the 5-1 count.
After sophomore righty Karsten Whitson
(Chipley, Fla.) limited the Wildcats to one run over 4.2 innings, the Gator
bullpen tossed 4.1 innings of scoreless ball to secure the win. Senior Greg
Larson (Longwood, Fla.) entered the contest in relief of freshman Bobby
Poyner (Wellington, Fla.) (1.0 IP, 2 H) in the sixth inning with the bases
full and two down and had a grounder by senior Thomas McCarthy force freshman
Austin Cousino at second base to end the threat. Larson worked 1.1 innings to
improve his season ledger to 6-0 and junior Steven Rodriguez (Miami,
Fla.) set down Kentucky in order in both the eighth and ninth innings and had a
couple of strikeouts to record his second save in as many nights. The Wildcats
left 10 runners on base in suffering their fourth-straight defeat and dropped
an SEC series for just the second time this year.
The Gators seized a 1-0 lead in the first
inning on an RBI single by Tucker off Grundy. Junior Nolan Fontana
(Winter Garden, Fla.) opened the game with a double into right field and was
sacrificed to third by senior Daniel Pigott (Ormond Beach, Fla.). Tucker
sliced a base-hit through the right side to break the ice in the opening frame
for the second-straight night.
Kentucky answered in the bottom of the frame
on a game-tying single into left field by junior Luke Maile (2-for-4) off Whitson.
Leadoff batter Cousino was hit by a pitch and moved into scoring position on a
wild pitch. McCarthy drew a four-pitch walk and Maile delivered a single into
left field that scored Cousino. Whitson had redshirt junior Cameron Flynn fly
out to center field, a fielder’s choice by junior Zac Zellers force McCarthy at
third base and a grounder by sophomore J.T. Riddle retire the side.
Whitson retired the first two Kentucky
hitters in the second before sophomore Matt Reida beat out a bunt single and
Cousino earned a free pass. The right-hander struck out McCarthy to end the
inning.
Maile began the Wildcats’ third at bat with a
single into left field but was erased on a fielder’s choice by Flynn before
Whitson induced an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play on a ball hit by Zellers.
Riddle led off the home part of the fourth
with a single into left center but Whitson made a nice grab of a ball hit by
senior Michael Williams and threw out the lead runner at second base. Sophomore
Paul McConkey (2-for-3) singled into left field to move Williams into scoring
position. Whitson fanned Reida but a wild pitch enabled Williams to take third
and McConkey to occupy second base. An intentional walk to Cousino loaded the
bases with two down and Whitson had McCarthy ground out to strand the runners.
Whitson registered the first two outs in the
fifth and Zellers doubled off the wall in right center to prompt a pitching
change. Over 4.2 innings, Whitson scattered six hits and permitted one run, with
three walks and a pair of strikeouts. Poyner took over on the mound and Zellers
swiped third before the left-hander had Riddle ground out.
Williams started the sixth with a double down
the right-field line and McConkey followed with a bloop single into right field
for runners on the corners. A grounder by Reida was fielded by Johnson, who
fired a strike home to Zunino to nail Williams at the plate. A fielder’s choice
by Cousino forced Reida at second base and left the Wildcats with runners on
the corners and two down. Larson replaced Poyner and had a grounder by McCarthy
to Fontana erase Cousino at second to preserve the stalemate.
Flynn was hit with one down in the seventh but
was gunned down attempting to steal second base. Larson had Zellers ground out
to Tobias to keep the game tied at that point.
