Fueled
by a pair of grand slams and nine RBI by redshirt sophomore Zack Powers
(Seffner, Fla.), No. 13 Florida (2-1) erupted for 14 runs over its final three
at bats to register a 16-5 series-clinching victory over Duke (1-2) on Sunday
afternoon at McKethan Stadium. Powers (2-for-3) joined Preston Tucker as
the lone Gators to belt two grand slams in the same outing, as Tucker had
accomplished the feat on April 8, 2009, against UCF.
Florida
scored four runs on five hits in the sixth inning to turn a 3-2 deficit into a
6-3 advantage, including a game-tying sacrifice fly by Powers and a go-ahead
two-run single by sophomore Josh Tobias (Greensboro, N.C.). Powers delivered
grand slams in both the seventh and eighth innings and the Gator offense totaled
a season-high 13 hits to capture the rubber game of the series with the Blue
Devils. Sophomore right-hander Ryan Harris (Jupiter, Fla.) (1-0) tossed
2.2 scoreless innings to earn the win, while freshman Richie Martin
(Brandon, Fla.) went 2-for-4 with two runs and two stolen bases and senior Cody
Dent (Boynton Beach, Fla.) was 2-for-3 with an RBI single. In addition, the
series attendance of 13,242 for the three games this weekend was the
third-highest on an opening weekend in school history.
“It
was really great to see our bats come alive there in the sixth inning,” head
coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “We had some really, really good at-bats
there. Some guys got some good swings on some pitches there, but personally, as
a team, we probably needed that sixth inning as much as anybody. The bottom line
is, if you put it in play, you’ve got a chance. We hit some balls hard this
weekend and obviously Zack [Powers] had a great day.”
“It’s
great to have a good game like this but it’s greater to be back playing,”
Powers said of missing the 2012 season. “To have a game like this is really
special.”
A
two-out, two-run double by redshirt sophomore Chris Marconcini off sophomore
right-hander Justin Shafer (Lake Wales, Fla.) in the first inning drew
first blood for Duke. Sophomore Andrew Istler opened the game with a single
into left field and junior Mike Rosenfeld drew a one-out walk for two runners
aboard. Shafer had junior Jordan Betts fly out to left field but was then
charged with a balk to advance the runners. Marconcini plated his teammates
with a two-bagger into left field.
The
Gators answered in the home part of the frame on a game-tying, two-run double
by sophomore Taylor Gushue (Boca Raton, Fla.). Martin worked a one-out
walk from freshman right-hander James Marvel, went to second on a balk and stole
third for his first career theft with two down. Shafer earned a free pass for
runners on the corners and Gushue doubled off the wall in right field to clear
the bases for his first two RBI of the campaign.
Although
Duke mounted a two-out rally in the third, as Rosenfeld doubled to the gap in
left center and Betts walked, it could not break the stalemate. Junior Daniel
Gibson (Lutz, Fla.) replaced Shafer (2.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB) and had Marconcini
ground out.
Sophomore
Andy Perez led off the fourth with a base-hit into right field and was
sacrificed to second on a bunt by junior Matt Berezo (2-for-3). Perez stole
third and scored on the play because of a throwing error by Gushue. After junior
Anthony D’Alessandro singled into right field, Gibson induced an inning-ending
6-4-3 double to hold the count at 3-2.
Gushue
started the bottom of the inning with a walk and Marvel had senior Vickash
Ramjit (Miami, Fla.) hit into a 4-6-3 double play. After Powers drew the
Gators’ fourth walk of the afternoon, Marvel jammed Tobias on an infield fly.
A
one-out walk to Blue Devil senior Jeff Kremer prompted a pitching change, with Harris
taking over for Gibson (1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R). The righty forced Kremer at second
base on a fielder’s choice by Rosenfeld and had Betts fly out to right field.
After
Marvel threw four innings in his collegiate debut, giving up two hits and two
runs, freshman Michael Mattuella (0-1) threw a perfect fifth for Duke.
The
Gators erupted for four runs on five hits in the sixth to seize a 6-3
advantage, highlighted by a two-run, two-out single by Tobias that snapped a
3-3 tie. Sophomore Casey Turgeon (Palm Harbor, Fla.) (1-for-3, 3 runs)
and Shafer (1-for-2, 2 runs) began UF’s at bat with back-to-back singles and
sophomore Remy Janco was summoned to replace Matuella (1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R). The
left-hander struck out Gushue and Ramjit greeted junior reliever Robert Huber
with an infield single to load the bases with one down. Powers collected his
first RBI by lofting a sacrifice fly to straightaway center field and Tobias
picked an opportune time for his first hit of the campaign with a single into
left center that brought across Shafer and Ramjit. After Tobias stole second, Dent
put the Orange and Blue up by three runs with a run-scoring single through the
right side of the infield. Freshman Nick Hendrix came in for Huber (0.1, 3 H, 2
R) and had freshman Harrison Bader (Bronxville, N.Y.) fly out to left
field to complete the frame.
Junior
Angelo La Bruna started the seventh with a walk but Harris had Istler ground
into a 6-4-3 double play and Kremer line out to Ramjit in right field.
Powers
expanded the Gators’ lead to 10-3 with a grand slam over the right-field wall
with two down in the bottom of the stanza. It was the first grand slam by
Florida since Brian Johnson connected against Mississippi State in the
opening round of the SEC Tournament on May 25, 2011. Martin began the inning
with a base-hit into right field but was picked off by freshman Kenny Koplove.
Turgeon followed with a walk and freshman pinch hitter Kevin Stypulkowski
(Lake Worth, Fla.) was hit by a pitch before a fly-out to right field by Gushue
moved Turgeon to third and gave Florida runners on the corners with two down.
Ramjit was hit by a pitch to load the bases and senior Ryan Munger took over
for Koplove (0.2 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 2 HBP) and surrendered a grand slam to Powers.
Brezo
narrowed Duke’s deficit to 10-5 in the eighth with a two-out, two-run double off
freshman Jay Carmichael (Cape Coral, Fla.). Betts had doubled down the
right-field line off freshman Mike Vinson (Miami, Fla.) with one down
and Vinson had Marconcini fly out to right field. However, the ball was
misplayed for an error that enabled the Blue Devils to have runners on second
and third. Brezo cleared the bases with a two-bagger into left field.
Florida
countered with six more runs on an RBI single by Stypulkowski, a pinch-hit sacrifice
fly by freshman Christian Dicks (Jacksonville, Fla.) and another grand
slam by Powers to finalize the scoring at 16-5. Dent drew a leadoff walk and a
one-out single by Martin left the Gators with runners on the corners. After
Martin stole second for his second theft of the afternoon, Turgeon walked to
fill the bags. Stypulkowski’s first collegiate hit came on a 0-2 count into
left field to score Dent and Dicks lofted a sac fly to left field to bring in
Martin. Redshirt freshman Cory Reid (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) came through
with his second pinch-hit single in as many days to re-fill the sacks and
Powers emptied them again with a homer to right field. Powers drove in nine
runs this afternoon after totaling seven RBI during his true freshman season of
2011.
