Florida Men's Tennis Defeats Arkansas, 4-0

The Florida men’s tennis team beat Arkansas, 4-0, on Sunday afternoon at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex. The Gators improved to 10-8 on the season and evened their Southeastern Conference record at 4-4. The Razorbacks fell to 12-12 overall and 0-9 in the league.

“It was a good team effort,” said head coach Bryan Shelton after the match. “I thought the guys played well from start to finish today. I think we were kind of on a mission to really come out there and get out of the blocks early in the doubles, and apply pressure early and execute early. I thought our guys did that.”

The Gators claimed the momentum with a solid doubles performance, jumping out to a 4-1 lead on all three courts. Stephane Piro and Bob van Overbeek won 8-3 against No. 35 Manfred Jeske and Mike Nott of Arkansas on court one and seconds later, Billy Federhofer and Gordon Watson clinched the doubles point with an 8-3 win at No. 2 doubles over Hall Fess and Santiago Munoz.

“I thought we played smarter tennis,” said Coach Shelton. “I think we used the lobs effectively in doubles and we used them in singles as well. We just played good, solid, smart tennis.”

Florida’s strong play continued into singles, as Alford won his first eight games against Hoang on court four, and won 6-0, 6-2. Federhofer closed out Ward at No. 3 singles, 6-3, 6-2, to give UF a 3-0 lead overall in the match. Johnson secured the team victory for the Gators, beating Parlic 6-3, 6-2 on court six.

“In singles, we got off to a really good start again, like we did two days ago,” said Coach Shelton. “The difference today was that we just kept playing. When they tried to mount a comeback and get loud and really get fired up, we were able to sustain our level and even raise our level in certain spots.

“I was proud of the guys to be able to bounce back. We’re going to face adversity, we know that. It’s all about what you do when adversity comes, how you respond to it. I liked our response today. I thought we did some really good things out there today.”

Women's Tennis Sweeps Arkansas, Ties For SEC Lead

The University of Florida women’s tennis team swept Arkansas 7-0 and a few hours later found itself tied at the top of the Southeastern Conference standings after Georgia downed Texas A&M, 4-2, on Sunday afternoon.

All three programs sport an 8-1 league record following Sunday’s matches, with the Gator’s lone loss coming to the Aggies and the Bulldogs falling to Florida.

On Sunday at the Billingsley Tennis Center, Florida was impressive on the singles and doubles courts, earning the doubles point with 8-1 wins at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions.

The Gators then raced to early leads on all six singles courts, eventually winning all in straight sets.

Freshmen Danielle Collins and Brianna Morgan both posted double-bagel wins, with Collins downing Kristen Mee, 6-0, 6-0 on court six and Morgan taking care of Vlavia Araujo on court four.

Morgan moved to 20-5 overall this year, including 11-1 in dual match action, while Collins is 23-8.

Olivia Janowicz earned a 6-1, 6-1 win on court five and captured her team-best 27th singles win of the year, while Alexandra Cercone posted a 6-3, 6-2 win at the No. 3 spot., as she earned the 85th singles win of her career.

Sofie Oyen defeated Claudine Paulson, 7-5, 6-3, and improved to 25-7 this season and senior Lauren Embree capped the sweep with a 6-2, 6-1 victory against Yang Pang.

Embree’s win was the 110th of her collegiate singles career, as she won her 14th straight overall singles match, including her 32nd in a row in dual match competition.

The Gators (15-2) return home on Friday, April 5, when the team plays host to Ole Miss, before entertaining Mississippi State on Sunday in Florida’s regular-season home finale, when Embree and fellow senior Caroline Hitimana will be celebrated.

No. 3 Florida Softball Sweeps Ole Miss with 8-0 and 8-7 Wins in Sunday Doubleheader

The Gator softball team used a Sunday doubleheader to sweep its second conference series of the season, taking game one from Ole Miss Friday, 4-1, before weather in the Oxford area forced two games Sunday at the Ole Miss Softball Complex. UF struck with 8-0 and 8-7 victories on the final day of the series for the sweep, as Florida has won all four of its league series thus far in 2013.

UF (35-3, 10-2 SEC) used 17 hits, two doubles, a triple and five home runs through the span of the two games Sunday to sweep the Rebels (19-21, 1-11 SEC).

Sophomore Jessica Damico (Gray Summit, Mo.) led the Gators at the plate with a .429 clip Sunday (3-for-7), while sophomore Briana Little (Middleburg, Fla.) accounted for two of UF’s five long balls. Junior hurler Hannah Rogers (Lake Wales, Fla.) tossed two victories and a save through the weekend set, lowering her ERA to 1.12 on the season and improving to 20-2 in the circle for the Gators thus far in 2013.

Senior Kelsey Horton (Valrico, Fla.) added UF’s eighth grand slam of the year and freshman Kelsey Stewart (Wichita, Kan.) extended her school-record triples tally to seven this season with the Gators’ two wins Sunday.

In game one of the twin bill, the Gators defeated the Rebels, 8-0, to secure the series win over Ole Miss. Rogers earned her second win of the series to improve to 20-2 in the circle for the Orange and Blue, working a complete game with a four-hit shutout and six strikeouts.

The Orange and Blue put up a five spot in the top of the first for the Gators, fueled by a freshman Taylor Schwarz (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) bases loaded walk, while Horton connected for her first grand slam of the season, UF’s eighth of the year, to give Rogers a 5-0 lead to work with in the home half of the frame.

The Gators’ ace struck out the side in the bottom of the first to bring up the second, where the Gators added to the lead.

Damico led off with a double that dropped just fair in left field and Stewart dropped a bunt to advance Damico to third. Next up, junior Stephanie Tofft (Lincoln, Calif.) sent her second blast as a Gator over the right-center fence to extend the UF advantage, 7-0, with one out in the second stanza and chased game one starter Carly Hummel from the circle in favor of Erinn Jayjohn for the Rebels. Jayjohn walked sophomore Lauren Haeger (Peoria, Ariz.) and gave up a base hit to freshman Kirsti Merritt’s (Lake Panasoffkee, Fla.) before getting out of the inning.

The two squads played two innings of scoreless softball in the third and fourth, but Ole Miss connected for its first hit on a Haley Culley infield single in the third, while Londen Ladner connected in the fourth, but the Gators held the Rebels scoreless.

Zeros laced the scoreboard through the fifth and sixth innings, as Rogers added her fourth and fifth Ks in the fifth and sixth innings, respectively.

Little got ahold of a Jayjohn offering and sent her seventh long ball of the season over the left-field fence to lead off the top of the seventh for the Gators, taking the Orange and Blue ahead, 8-0. Schwarz and senior Ensley Gammel (Bakersfield, Calif.) both connected for base hits and quality base running allowed both to move into scoring position with one out, but Jayjohn struck with a strikeout, while Rebel centerfielder RT Cantillo snagged a hard-hit Damico ball to the wall for out number three to retire the side.

Rogers and the defense completed the shutout in the bottom of the seventh, using the Gator righty’s sixth strikeout to end the game and solidify the team’s 14th shutout of the 2013 season.

In game two of the Easter Sunday doubleheader, sophomore Alyssa Bache (Clearwater, Fla.) earned the start and the win in the circle for the Orange and Blue to improve to 6-0 in the circle for Florida. Bache worked four innings before the rain started to fall in Oxford, making for slippery and tough conditions. Rogers came on to close the game out for Bache, adding her second save of the season with three innings of relief.

Florida drew eight walks and connected for seven hits in game two of the doubleheader, including two home runs. All seven base hits came from different Florida players in game two.

The Gators first capitalized on three straight Shelby Jo Fenter walks in the top of the initial stanza to set up UF’s first run on a Little sac fly that plated Stewart from third for the 1-0 Florida lead early. In the top of the third, Florida added three on a blast from Schwarz, her fourth homer of the season, after both Little and Merritt both drew two-out walks to set up the success.

In the bottom of the third, the Gators used a sophomore Aubree Munro (Brea, Calif.) rocket on the base paths to throw out Ole Miss’ Cantillo at second, while Bache worked out of a minor jam with a runner on third, one out for the Rebels, using Munro’s caught stealing and relying on Tofft and Schwarz to team up for the third out of the frame to keep Ole Miss off the board.

Florida’s defense impressed again in the bottom of the fourth with a 5-4-3 double play from Tofft to Damico to Schwarz at first to retire the side, negating a leadoff base hit from Ladner.

In the top of the fifth, the Orange and Blue used a two-run shot from Little, the Gators’ fifth homer of the day after Haeger sent a single down the left-field line to set up the bomb for the 6-0 Florida lead. UF then added two runs in the inning when Merritt crossed after an errant thrown on the Ole Miss catcher, while Stewart sent sophomore Bailey Castro (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) home on a single up the middle for the 8-0 Gator lead.

Ole Miss battled back in the bottom of the fifth with rain pouring down at the Ole Miss Softball Complex to negate UF’s eight-run, mercy-rule lead with a six-run splurge from Brittany Broome and Culley RBI singles and an Allison Brown grand slam before Rogers came on in relief of Bache for her second save of the season.

Rogers effectively retired the Rebels with two groundouts and a fly out to get out of the top of the sixth.

In the home half of the sixth frame, Cantillo made it a one-run ballgame with a RBI single for an 8-7 game, but Rogers and the Gators held on through the seventh for the series sweep to improve to 35-3 and 10-2 in league play.

Shelby Jo Fenter shouldered the loss for Ole Miss in game two (6-8) after giving up UF’s first six runs and three hits, while walking dishing out seven of the Gators’ eight free passes in the contest.

Florida Baseball Takes Series With 4-0 Shutout Of No. 11 Ole Miss

Freshman left-hander Danny Young (Boca Raton, Fla.) and sophomore Johnny Magliozzi (East Milton, Mass.) combined on a four-hit shutout as Florida (13-16/4-5 SEC) claimed the rubber game of its weekend series with No. 11 Ole Miss (23-6/4-5 SEC), 4-0, on Sunday afternoon at McKethan Stadium.

With yesterday’s 7-0 victory, it marked the first time since March 10 & 12, 2010, that the Gators had posted consecutive shutouts. Making his first SEC start, Young (1-2) allowed one hit over 5.1 innings to pick up his first collegiate win and Magliozzi worked the final 3.2 innings to notch his fifth save. Senior Vickash Ramjit (Miami, Fla.) (2-for-4) belted a two-run homer as part of a three-run third inning for UF and sophomore Mike Fahrman (Tampa, Fla.) was 2-for-3.

“We pitched well and Ole Miss has a great lineup,” Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “They’ve got older players in their lineup whom been around the league for two to four years. I don’t remember the last time we had back-to-back shutouts, so it’s pretty remarkable. We hung in there today and Danny Young gave us a really good start, just giving up one hit over five and a third, and then Mags [Johnny Magliozzi] came in and did his thing. We only walked two guys and our offense did just enough. Vick [Vickash Ramjit] was the guy today offensively, his home run put us up two more runs, and he did a really nice job. Overall, this is the kind of weekend we’ve been looking for and waiting for and I’m hoping this will be a nice jumpstart for us.”

“I was able to make good pitches today, get groundouts and let my defense make plays,” Young said. “It’s huge having our offense able to put up runs and knowing as long as you put up zeros, we’re going to win the game.”

The Gators grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a two-out wild pitch by UM sophomore Chris Ellis (1-2) that brought across sophomore Taylor Gushue (Boca Raton, Fla.). Ellis retired the first two batters before Gushue beat out a single to third base and went to second on a throwing error by senior Andrew Mistone. Sophomore Justin Shafer (Lake Wales, Fla.) reached on a fielding error by junior Austin Anderson, with Gushue taking third on the play. Ellis’ first wild pitch of the year enabled Gushue to break the ice and Shafer to occupy second base and then redshirt sophomore Zack Powers (Seffner, Fla.) drew a walk. A fielder’s choice by Ramjit forced Shafer at third for the final out.

Florida loaded the bases with none out in the second inning but came away empty-handed. Sophomore Connor Mitchell (Tampa, Fla.) drew a leadoff walk, Fahrman followed with his second double in as many games into left field and senior Cody Dent (Boynton Beach, Fla.) earned a free pass. Ellis wiggled out of the jam by having sophomore Casey Turgeon (Palm Harbor, Fla.) line out to right field and freshman Harrison Bader (Bronxville, N.Y.) ground into an inning-ending 6-3 double play.

UF extended its lead to 4-0 in the third stanza, highlighted by a two-run homer from Ramjit into the left-field bleachers. Gushue started things off with a walk, went to third on a double into left field by Mitchell and scored on a throwing error by senior Tanner Mathis. After a sacrifice bunt by Powers advanced Shafer to third base, Ramjit deposited a 1-0 pitch from Ellis over the fence for his third homer of the campaign. Junior Aaron Greenwood replaced Ellis (2.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 4 BB) and induced a pair of groundouts to end the inning.

Young issued a leadoff walk to Mathis in the sixth and had Anderson fly out to left field before being replaced by Magliozzi. The right-hander induced back-to-back pop-ups by sophomore Ausin Bousfield and junior Stuart Turner to keep the score at 4-0.

Greenwood had retired 10-consecutive Gators before Fahrman blooped a single into center field with two down in the bottom of the frame and Dent followed with a base-hit through the right side of the infield. Redshirt senior Tanner Bailey came in for Greenwood (3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R) and had Turgeon ground out to complete the inning.

Junior Preston Overbey opened the eighth with a single up the middle but was erased at second base on a fielder’s choice by senior Tanner Mathis. Anderson roped a ground-rule double over the wall in right center field for Rebels on second and third and Magliozzi had Bousfield foul out to Gushue and struck out Turner to preserve the shutout.

Michigan Too Much for Florida as Gators' Season Comes to an End in Elite Eight

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Gators took the court here at Cowboys Stadium on Sunday afternoon with hopes of reaching the Final Four for the first time in six years.

Those hopes were quickly dashed by a Michigan team that came out and couldn't miss, scoring the game's first 13 points on the way to a 79-59 win over Florida in the South Region Final.

Florida (29-8) trailed by as many as 24 points (41-17) in the first half as the Wolverines (30-7) advanced to the Final Four for the first time since the Fab Five days of 1993.

Michigan shot 51 percent in the first half -- 7 of 11 from 3-point range -- to lead 47-30 at halftime. The 47 points were the most given up by the Gators in a half this season.

Michigan freshman guard Nik Stauskas was perfect in the first half, hitting all six of his shots, including a 5-for-5 performance from beyond the arc.

The Gators opened the second half with a spurt and trimmed Michigan's lead to 50-38. But that was as close as Florida would get the rest of the way.

The Gators were led in scoring by Kenny Boynton and Will Yeguete, who scored 13 points each as the Gators fell for the third consecutive season in the Elite Eight.

Editor's note: Check out GatorZone.com later for a more complete report from Sunday's game.

Gators Run World-Leading Times to Sweep 4x4 Relays in Austin

The Gator women’s and men’s 4x400-meter relays wrapped up Saturday in phenomenal fashion, as both relays sprinted out to world-leading times to close the 86th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, presented by State Farm.

“What a day at Texas,” Florida head coach Mike Holloway proclaimed. “I’m very proud of all the Gators. We were very competitive in both 4x1s and to close the meet winning both 4x4s was special. What we saw out there today is a testament to the hard work these young people are putting in at practice every day.”

The women’s 4x400-meter relay, with Robin Reynolds (Miami, Fla.), Lanie Whittaker (Miami, Fla.), Destinee Gause (Reynoldsburg, Ohio) and Ebony Eutsey (Miami, Fla.) in the lineup, ran the fastest time in the world this year with their winning time of 3:27.61. The Gators battled for the top spot with Texas but an impressive third leg by youngster Gause got the Gators out in front on the anchor leg. Eutsey held her position through the final 200 meters and just edged the Longhorns with her anchor leg time of 51.51.

The men’s 4x400-meter relay, competing in the Cleburne Price, Jr. Invitational relay, also finished first in a world-leading 3:02.65. The lineup featured two freshmen and two sophomores, with Najee Glass (Woodbridge, N.J.) leading things off for the Gators. Sophomore Hugh Graham, Jr. (Miami, Fla.), a member of the 2012 SEC and NCAA Champion 4x4, handled duties on the second leg while freshman Arman Hall (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) took over for the third leg. Sophomore Dedric Dukes (Miami, Fla.) fought off an outstanding anchor leg from Texas A&M to clinch the victory in the final race of the Texas Relays.

Florida’s men’s 4x100-meter relay, comprised of Eddie Lovett (West Palm Beach, Fla.), Graham, Jr., Leonardo Seymore (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) and Dukes, turned in a season’s best 38.99 to finish as a runner-up and owns the second-best time in the NCAA this year.

The Gator women’s 4x100-meter relay finished fourth in Saturday’s finals with a time of 44.23, courtesy of Reynolds, Kyra Jefferson (Detroit, Mich.), Gause and Eutsey. 44.23 goes down as the seventh-fastest time in the NCAA this year.

“I want to give a shout out to our strength coach Matt DeLancey for the wonderful work he is doing with our athletes, and to trainer Andy Klock and his staff for their efforts in keeping everyone healthy,” Holloway noted. “I couldn’t be more appreciative to have such incredible support staff.”

“Now we have to get back to Gainesville and get refocused as we prepare to host the Pepsi Florida Relays next weekend. It’s great to be a Florida Gator,” Holloway finished.

No. 10/9 Penn State Upsets No. 2 Florida Lacrosse 16-11

It was a not so happy trip to Happy Valley as No. 2 Florida lacrosse couldn’t overcome a sluggish second half to suffer its first loss of the season at No. 10/9 Penn State, 16-11, on Saturday. The Nittany Lions defeat the Gators for the first time in five meetings between the two teams.  

The Gators (13-1, 1-1 ALC) struggled in the second half, as Penn State outscored the Gators in the period, 10-2. Florida only mustered three shots in the second period, but converting two goals on those shots. Penn State used two scoring streaks in the second half, one six goal run and three-straight goals to close out the game, to overcome the Orange and Blue.

Senior attack Gabi Wiegand (Bay Shore, N.Y.) led the offense with four points including a hat trick on the afternoon.  Sophomore midfielder Shannon Gilroy (Northport, N.Y.), senior midfielder Brittany Dashiell (Bel Air, Md.) and senior attack Ashley Bruns (Ellicot City, Md.) all chipped in two goals apiece to help the Gators score 11 goals on the day.

Taking a 9-6 lead into the break, Florida couldn’t win a draw, as it lost draw controls 15-12 in the game and 9-2 in the second half. The Nittany Lions (7-3, 2-0) took control of the game at the 23:14 mark rattling off six-straight goals using a series of stalls throughout the final period.

“Penn State certainly dominated the draw control and I give all the credit to them because I think they did a great job of isolating us, and we didn’t accomplish what we wanted to today,” Head coach Amanda O’Leary said.

Senior attack Kitty Cullen (Rockville, Md.) scored the final Orange and Blue goal of the game with 5:26 left to play. Senior goalie Mikey Meagher (Liverpool, N.Y.) played the entire game in goal, recording eight saves.

Florida’s offense shined in the first half as Wiegand got started early, scoring the game’s first goal with 28:18 to play on an assist by senior defender Sam Farrell. Farrell made the clear and taking into the offensive half of the field and records her first assist since 2010. 

Dashiell would give the Gators a quick 2-0 lead with a goal of her own but Penn State responded with back-to-back goals at the 26:22 mark.

The Lions would respond with back-to-back goals, knotting the score at two apiece less than six minutes into the contest on goals from Tatum Coffey and Kelly Lechner.

Gilroy helped the Orange and Blue regain the lead with a goal inside the eight meter circle and followed up by finding Wiegand for a 4-2 lead. Florida held their largest lead of the game of three goals twice in the first half. 

“Offensively we did a good job finding the back of the net but again, credit to Penn State for coming out with a good defensive plan,” O’Leary said.

The two teams went nearly goal-for-goal as Bruns would score the final goal of the first half. Florida is now 45-4 in games when leading at the half.  

With the loss, UF snaps a 24 game regular season win streak and 11 game conference win streak that dated back to May 7, 2010.

Florida Continues Thrilling run in WNIT Quarterfinal with win at James Madison, 85-80

Freshman Sydney Moss (Union, Ky.) scored a game-high 27 points, junior Jaterra Bonds (Gainesville, Fla.) added 20 including the last four points from the free throw line with 23.4 seconds remaining and Florida marched into the semifinals of the WNIT after its 85-80 win at James Madison in front of a raucous 2,182 fans at the JMU Convocation Center on Saturday evening.

 The Gators held a 79-77 lead with 1:29 remaining before Tarik Hislop drilled her third three-pointer of the game for her 26th and final point and gave the Dukes the lead with 65 seconds left.

Freshman January Miller (Orlando, Fla.) then drove hard into the paint, put up a tough shot that dropped in and was fouled. She missed the charity toss, but the Gators held the 81-80 lead with 52.7 seconds remaining.

The Dukes (25-11) collected the rebound and Jazmon Gwathmey collected an offensive rebound off of Hislop’s miss at the other end and was fouled putting up a shot with 27.3 seconds left. Fortunately for the Gators, she missed both and Moss corralled the second miss and passed the ball to Bonds, who was fouled with 23.4 seconds left.

Bonds, who on her previous trip to the free throw line set a new Gator season record with 136 makes, calmly converted both ends of the one-and-one and gave Florida an 83-80 lead.

As expected, JMU put the ball in Hislop’s hands, but her long-range shot was off the mark and the ball went out of bounds with the possession to Florida.

Bonds was fouled immediately after catching the in-bound pass and stepped to the line where she clinched the victory after making both attempts with 4.1 seconds remaining.

In a game that featured 16 lead changes and 10 tied scores, the Gators (22-14) overcame their lone senior Jennifer George (Fresno, Calif.) fouling out with 8:25 remaining and sophomore Kayla Lewis (Decatur, Ga.) leaving the game with an injury with 15:59 to play and had just six players to finish the contest.

“Our team is playing with a tremendous amount of determination and heart,” UF head coach Amanda Butler said. “I’m just so proud of their toughness because with Kayla sitting on the bench with her ankle swelling up and Jennifer having to play with four fouls before fouling out with eight minutes left and us just having six players and trying to figure out who to play where. I just think it was a tremendous display of toughness and will and I couldn’t be prouder.”

Moss, who scored in double-figures in her seventh consecutive game, finished one-point shy of her career-best scoring effort that she set at FIU in the WNIT first round. The Gator rookie also collected a team-high nine rebounds, as Florida held the 43-40 rebounding edge.

Bonds dished a team-best five assists, while sinking 8-of-9 free throws, all in the second half.

Freshman Christin Mercer (Douglasville, Ga.) scored 11 points with six rebounds and two steals, while Carlie Needles (Highlands Ranch, Col.) added eight points, including a three-pointer with 2:32 remaining that gave Florida a 76-75 lead.

All eight Gators who suited up for the game scored, the 15th time this season that has occurred and the third time during the team’s four-game WNIT run.

“It’s a very typical team win for us, points and minutes distributed,” Butler said. “January gets the foul driving to the rim and that was huge. We had some really, really big defensive stops with some huge rebounds and exhausted kids on the floor down the stretch.”

Florida next meets the winner of the game between Auburn (19-14) and Drexel (25-10) in the national semifinals on either April 3 or 4 on a campus site to be determined. Auburn hosts the Dragons on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.

This is the second time in program history the Gators have reached the semifinals of a national postseason tournament, not including the 1985 team’s run to the final of the NWIT that was a 16-team event.  Florida reached the Elite 8 of the 1997 NCAA Tournament where the Gators lost to Old Dominion, 53-51, and won four games to advance to the 2000 WNIT championship game and lost to host Wisconsin, 75-74.

“All of our players chose to come to Florida for a reason and they want to make history,” Butler shared.

Florida scored the first two points of the second half from two different trips to the free throw line, before JMU scored the next six points and took the 44-43 lead.

The Gators answered with the next seven points, two from Moss and five from Bonds, as the lead swung back in Florida’s favor.

JMU was able to trim UF’s lead to one point during when George picked up her fourth foul with 14:06 remaining in the second half and left the game with the Gators holding a 50-47 lead. She returned the game at the 12:58 mark.

After the Dukes run, Mercer took a feed from Bonds and finished the bucket to spark a 8-2 run and the Gators held a 60-53 lead with 11:07 to play.

The Dukes refused to fold and ripped off a 6-0 spurt, before the Gators answered with four point from Moss and two from Bonds, as the Gators led 66-59 with 9:27 remaining.

With Florida already having collected seven fouls, Precious Hall went to the line and converted both ends of a one-and-one and ignited a 8-0 run that had the crowd in a frenzy, as the home team took the 67-66 lead with 7:26 remaining, during which George was whistled for her fifth personal and watched the final 8:25 of the game from the bench.

Moss stopped the run with a tough bucket, but Hislop answered the lead swung back and fourth.

Bonds went to the free throw line with 6:33 remaining, where she made one and converted her 136th free throw of the year, passing the Gator’s season record held by Sha Brooks during the 2008-09 season.

Moss again followed with a bucket and gave Florida a 71-60 lead with 5:59 on the clock.

JMU came right back with the next four points in 59 seconds and took a 73-71 lead.

Florida was then whistled for a shot clock violation, but JMU couldn’t take advantage, as Hislop missed a shot and Moss was there for the rebound. Bonds then pulled up for a short shot in the paint with 3:30 left and the game was tied for the 10th time.

Hislop, however, wasn’t finished and canned another fade-away jumper and JMU led 75-73 with 3:13 on the clock.

Both teams missed shots and committed turnovers during the next minute before Needles drilled a three-pointer with 1:29 remaining and Florida regained the lead, 79-77.

Hislop came right back and anwered with a three-pointer 23 seconds later and the Dukes held the 80-79 edge with 66 seconds left.

That’s when Miller drove the lane, made the shot and was fouled, setting the stage for the final minute of play as Florida scored the last six points for the win.

The teams matched each other’s scores for nearly the entire first half that featured six tied scores and four lead changes.

The period started with an offensive barrage, as the Gators were hitting 50 percent (8-16) from the floor and the Dukes 63.6 percent (7-11) through the opening 6:49 of the game and the contest was tied a 18 with 13:11 to play.

After James Madison held a 16-12 lead with 14:26 remaining, Florida used an 18-9 run to take a 30-25 edge, capped by back-to-back three-pointers from Lily Svete (Granger, Ind.). The Dukes called a timeout and successfully halted the run, as Kirby Burkholder converted one of her two three-pointers shortly after the 30-second break.

They were huge. Lily had back-to-back three-pointers in the first half, as well, and when you have a possession ballgame and have a shooter who hits back-to-back threes it causes a coach to call a timeout and then they don’t have one at the end of the game. Those become huge plays, even when they happen 30 minutes earlier.

Moss answered with a pair of free throws, but Gwathmey followed with another from deep for the hosts, who cut the Gator lead to one.

Christin Mercer (Douglasville, Ga.) then put back an offensive rebound before Hislop answered with one for the Dukes.

Moss struck again with the next four points and extended Florida’s lead to five, 38-33, with 2:20 on the clock.

Precious Hall then nailed JMU’s sixth trey of the half, before Miller followed with one for the Gators with 51 seconds remaining.

Kanita Shepherd ended the first half scoring with a bucket in the paint for JMU, as Florida took a 41-38 lead into the locker room.

The Gators shot 43.2 percent during the opening half, including 6-of-10 from the three-point arc, and held the 23-19 rebounding edge.

The Dukes hit 44.1 percent (15-34) from the floor, including 6-of-14 from deep.

Moss led all scorers with 14 points during the first half, while collecting five rebounds.

Crawford Hurls Gem As Florida Squares Series With No. 11 Ole Miss, 7-0

Junior right-hander Jonathon Crawford (Okeechobee, Fla.) twirled a two-hit shutout and was supported by a pair of three-run innings as Florida (12-16/3-5 SEC) evened its weekend series with No. 11 Ole Miss (23-5/4-4 SEC), 7-0, on Saturday afternoon at McKethan Stadium. Crawford (1-4) set a season high with eight strikeouts and permitted just two singles in registering his second career complete game and second shutout, first since his 4-0 no-hitter against Bethune-Cookman on June 1 in the 2012 NCAA Gainesville Regional. The shutout was the first of the year for the Gators and ended a four-game losing streak.

“We needed that,” Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “We needed to do a good job saving our bullpen for the deciding game tomorrow, and Jonathon Crawford was as sharp as he’s been all year long.”

“Whether a hit is 75 feet or 400 feet, they all count the same in the scorebook. We’ll take it; we’re battling. We’ve done a really great job the last two games and their starter yesterday [Bobby Wahl] struck out just one. We faced another outstanding starter today, [Mike] Mayers, and he struck out one. We’re battling with two strikes, we just need to do a better job with offensive counts, but with two strikes we’ve done a really good job this weekend.”

“I felt really comfortable,” Crawford said. “I had my fastball and slider going for me. I have always liked pitching in the warm weather but I don’t think it has an effect on how well I pitch. The weeks in-between starts I just worked a lot to find my rhythm.”

“I felt really well in the bullpen. The focus was there and everything was in rhythm. As a pitcher, it is always great to pitch with a lead. It takes a bunch of pressure off you. It’s good to go out there and attack their hitters.”

The Gators plated three runs on four hits against junior Mike Mayers (2-3) on the second inning, with an RBI single by sophomore Connor Mitchell (Tampa, Fla.) (1-for-4, two RBI) and a two-run double by sophomore Mike Fahrman (Tampa, Fla.). Sophomore Justin Shafer (Lake Wales, Fla.) (1-for-4, two runs) had led off with an infield hit and senior Vickash Ramjit (Miami, Fla.) (3-for-4) reached on a bunt single with one down to put the Gators in business. Mitchell opened the scoring with a base-hit through the right side and Fahrman made his first career hit and RBI count with a double down the right-field line. Senior Cody Dent (Boynton Beach, Fla.) sacrificed Fahrman to third base with a bunt and Mayers had sophomore Casey Turgeon (Palm Harbor, Fla.) pop up to hold the Rebels’ deficit at 3-0.

Crawford retired the first nine Rebel hitters of the contest before senior Tanner Mathis began the fourth with a single into left field. Sophomore Auston Bousfield reached on a fielding error by Dent but then Crawford induced a 3-6-1 double play from junior Austin Anderson that pushed Mathis to third base. The right-hander struck out junior Stuart Turner to end the frame.

Crawford recorded the first two outs of the sixth before Mathis drew a walk and Bousfield punched a single into left field. Another free pass to Anderson filled the bags and Crawford struck out Turner for the second time to preserve the 3-0 lead for the Gators.

“It was a big pitch,” O’Sullivan said about the inning-ending strikeout. “It was one of those money pitches that decide the game. It was probably his best breaking ball of the season, to be honest with you.”

In the bottom of the stanza, Florida expanded its advantage to 6-0 with three runs on three hits in two UM errors. Freshman Harrison Bader (Bronxville, N.Y.) (2-for-4) led off with his first career homer into the left-field bleachers to provide Florida with a 4-0 margin. Although sophomore Taylor Gushue (Boca Raton, Fla.) followed with a walk and was picked off, Shafer reached on a fielding error and moved to second on a failed pickoff attempt.  The Gators tacked on another run on an RBI single into center field by redshirt sophomore Zack Powers (Seffner, Fla.) that brought home Shafer. Ramjit singled through the left side to advance Powers to third and prompt a pitching change. Junior Jeremy Massie replaced Mayers (5.1 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 4 ER) and Mitchell collected his second RBI of the game with a grounder to first base to give the hosts a 6-0 cushion.

Gushue boosted UF’s lead to 7-0 with a two-out double down the left-field line in the seventh that scored Turgeon, who had drawn a one-out walk and moved to second on a grounder by Bader. The two-bagger was Gushue’s fourth of the campaign.

More School Records Fall on Florida's way to a Sixth Place Finish at the 2013 NCAA Championships

The University of Florida men’s swimming and diving team finished the season with a sixth place finish at the 2013 NCAA Championships at the IU Natatorium. The Gators collected a national title, 38 All-America honors and four school records over the course of the three day meet.

“We had a really good morning,” said Head Coach Gregg Troy. “We got people where we wanted them to be, just ran a little short on gas. We thought maybe we could be fourth today, but great effort by our guys and I am really proud to be around them. We needed one more scoring swim but we just didn’t quite get what we needed.”

UF finished the meet with 285.5 points. It was the 14^th-consecutive year that Florida has finished in the top-10 at the NCAA Championships, all coming under current head coach Gregg Troy.

Finishing the 2013 NCAA Championships with three second place finishes in as many events was junior Marcin Cieslak (Warsaw, Poland). His swim in the 200 fly set a new UF record as he touched the wall in 1:40.62. It capped off a stellar meet as he did not finish lower than second in an individual event and was part of the school record setting and NCAA Champ 800 free relay. Cieslak had the most All-America honors on the team and personal-best seven during the three day meet.

The 200 fly was a strong event for the Gators with two more swimmers taking to the water in the championship final. Redshirt junior Sebastien Rousseau (Cape Town, South Africa) scored a fourth place finish in the event after posting a time of 1:42.20. He earned his third All-America honor of the meet and ninth of his career.

Grabbing a sixth place finish in the 200 fly was senior Cameron Martin (Clearwater, Fla.) who stopped the clock at 1:43.35 to earn the seventh All-America honor of his career. The swim closed out his excellent career as a Florida Gator.

In yet another school record setting swim, sophomore Matt Elliott (Peoria, Ill.) continued to cut time as the day went on. He had set the school record earlier today in the 200 breast, but came out in the finals and did one better finishing in a time of 1:53.79. He finished sixth in the event to earn his third All-America honor this week.

Senior Jason Taylor (Plant City, Fla.) closed out his career as a Gator with a personal-best performance in the 1,650 free. Taylor cut seven seconds off of his best time as he stopped the clock at 14:55.74 to finish 16th overall in the event and earn an honorable mention All-America honor, the first of his career.

Two other Gators dove in for the mile as freshman Arthur Frayler (Fort Washington, Pa.) and sophomore Carlos Omana (Miami, Fla.) finished 21^st and 36^th respectively. Frayler touched the wall in a time of 14:57.95 and Omana stopped the clock in 15:28.68.

Making his first appearance in an individual final was freshman Corey Main (Auckland, New Zealand). Main swam in the consolation final of the 200 back and finished in a time of 1:41.91 to place 13^th overall in the event. He earned honorable mention All-America, the third for him at the NCAAs.

Florida closed out the meet with a sixth place finish in the 400 free relay. Junior Brad deBorde (Longwood, Fla.) dove in the water to leadoff the group. He laid down his personal-best 100 free time with a 42.74 to start the race. deBorde was a key member of four of the five relays and earned the second most All-America honors on the team with six.

Next in the water was Rousseau, who had competed in the 200 fly earlier in the night. He was followed by Cieslak who split 42.59 to round out his outstanding performance this week and then sophomore Matthew Curby (Oviedo, Fla.) anchored the relay as they combined for a time of 2:51.74.

With the conclusion of the 2013 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, the Florida men have finished their 2012-13 season with a sixth place finish. It was the 13^th-consecutive top-10 finish for the Orange and Blue.

“It has been a tremendous season for these guys. Didn’t finish quite where we wanted to be at the end, but I have no problems with it. This is a tremendous group to be with and I am proud of the way they raced out there

Florida survives Cinderella FGCU, 62-50

ARLINGTON, Texas — It's on to the Elite Eight, again.

Florida sent Florida Gulf Coast University back to “Dunk City,” overcoming some shaky early moments to knock off the 15th-seeded Eagles 62-50 before 40,640 at Cowboys Stadium.

The crowd, which included former Gator center Joakim Noah and former UF wide receiver David Nelson, watched Florida hold an opponent under 60 points for the 25th time this season.

Florida (29-7) advanced to the Elite Eight for the third straight season. The third-seeded Gators will face fourth-seeded Michigan (29-7), which beat Kansas 87-85 in overtime. The Wolverines rallied back from an 11-point deficit late in the second half to pull off the upset against the top-seeded Jayhawks. The start time will be 2:20 p.m. on Sunday on CBS.

Senior guard Mike Rosario led Florida with 15 points, with Scottie Wilbekin adding 13 points and Casey Prather scoring 11 points off the bench. Florida also got a big lift defensively off the bench from Will Yeguete, who finished with two points, four rebounds and four steals.

Up 30-26 at halftime, Florida started the second half on a 7-0 run, going ahead 37-26 on a drive in the lane from Rosario. From there, Florida maintained its lead. The Gators also did an excellent job on the boards, outrebounding Florida Gulf Coast 35-28 and scoring 16 second-chance points.

But knocking out the Cinderella story Eagles wasn't easy. With a torrid start from the floor, FGCU built an early 15-4 lead. The Eagles hit 5 of their first 6 shot attempts, including back-to-back 3-pointers from Bernard Thompson and Chase Fieler.

The Gators struggled early from the field early, making just 2 of their first 8 attempts and 4 of their first 20. Two of Florida's first three baskets came on putbacks. The Gators tried to pound the ball inside to Patric Young and Erik Murphy, but failed to convert around the basket.

Casey Prather provided a lift for the Gators with a dunk in transition, and a Mike Rosario 3-pointer cut FGCU's lead to 21-14. Murphy then decked FGCU guard Christophe Varidel behind the 3-point line, picking up his second foul.

But after Varidel made all three free throws to put FGCU up 24-14, the Gators answered with a 16-0 run. Freshman guard Michael Frazier II started the run with back-to-back 3-pointers, then Prather followed with a putback to cut FGCU's lead to 24-22. Scottie Wilbekin followed with a jumper in the lane to tie the score at 24 and Florida took its first lead of the half, 27-24, on a Rosario 3-pointer.

Kenny Boynton's three-point play off a loose ball scramble put Florida up 30-24 with 56.8 seconds left in the first half. But a putback from FGCU guard Sherwood Brown cut Florida's lead to 30-26 at halftime.

Florida shot 34.4 percent from the field in the first half, but was strong on the offensive boards. The Gators scored 11 second-chance points in the first half and outrebounded FGCU 16-14. Florida also outscored FGCU 11-8 off turnovers.

No. 2 W-Tennis Begins Road Trip with Impressive 4-0 Win at LSU

The second-ranked Florida women’s tennis team opened its road swing with an impressive 4-0 shutout against LSU at W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium on Friday evening.

The Gators (14-2, 7-1 SEC) began the match by winning the doubles point, as the UF’s No. 3 pair of Danielle Collins (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and Olivia Janowicz (Palm Bay, Fla.) blanked Kaitlin Burns and Ella Taylor, 8-0, before 20th-ranked Lauren Embree (Marco Island, Fla.) and Sofie Oyen (Belgium) clinched the initial point of the dual match with an 8-5 win against Mary Jeremiah and Ariel Morton.

Florida then jumped out to win the first set on all six singles courts, as Collins, Oyen and Caroline Hitimana (Belgium) polished off the victory with straight-set victories on courts six, two and five, respectively.

The win for Hitimana was her 31st straight dual match singles victory, as the Gator senior improved to 44-4 all-time in dual match singles play, including a 20-1 record in SEC action.

“I was really pleased with today’s win,” UF head coach Roland Thornqvist said. “I thought we were fantastic on the singles court. We were focused and played smart, efficient tennis. Danielle has been out for the last few matches and was super in her return to the lineup.”

Florida Men's Tennis Falls to LSU, 4-2

The Florida men’s tennis team lost to LSU, 4-2, on Friday night at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex. The Gators fall to 9-8 on the season and 3-4 in the Southeastern Conference, while the Tigers improved to 9-7 and 3-4 in the league.

“To LSU’s credit, they fought really hard and they hung in there,” said head coach Bryan Shelton. “They didn’t go away. We’ve just got to do a better job of closing. We’ve got to be able to finish the game, finish the match. We had too many games where we had 15-40 on their serve, or 0-40, or 0-30, and we’re not converting. That comes down to mentally being a little bit tougher out there.”

The doubles competition was tightly contested, with the two teams splitting the top two courts. Stephane Piro and Bob van Overbeek beat LSU’s Roger Anderson and Olivier Borsos, 8-5, on court one, but the Tigers responded with an 8-4 win on court two.

The deciding match on court three went back-and-forth. LSU’s Boris Arias and Chris Simpson jumped out to a 4-1 lead. Down a couple of breaks, the Gators’ Mike Alford and Florent Diep fought back to even the match at 7-7. After both sides held serve, the Tigers’ duo won a tiebreaker to claim the doubles point.

In singles, Alford evened the match with a 6-3, 6-3 win on court four over Mark Bowtell. At No. 3 singles, Borsos beat Federhofer, 6-4, 6-4, to give LSU a 2-1 lead in the match. Next off was court one, where the Tigers’ Simpson battled back after dropping the first set to win 2-6, 6-4, 7-5.

Luke Johnson, inserted into the lineup at No. 6 singles, rebounded after losing the first set in a tiebreaker to defeat Harrison Kennedy, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 7-5. With the Gators trailing 3-2, LSU’s Arias secured the victory for the Tigers with a three-set win over Watson on court five, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

No. 3 Florida Softball Opens Series at Ole Miss With 4-1 Victory

The No. 3 Florida softball team opened the series at Ole Miss with a 4-1 victory Friday night at the Ole Miss Softball Complex, as junior Stephanie Tofft (Lincoln, Calif.) and sophomore Jessica Damico (Gray Summit, Mo.) each drove in two runs, while freshman Taylore Fuller (Trenton, Fla.) was 2-for-3 at the plate for the Gators.

Florida (33-3, 8-2 SEC) made it eight straight wins over Ole Miss (19-19, 1-9 SEC) Friday with its 37th all-time victory over the Rebels, 16th in Oxford, to open the three-game conference set.

The Gators put up seven hits in the contest, Tofft and Fuller with two each.

Junior ace Hannah Rogers (Lake Wales, Fla.) led the way in the circle for the Orange and Blue with her 13th complete game of the season. Rogers fanned five, gave up one run and two hits to improve to 19-2 overall on the year. Carly Hummel (8-11) shouldered the loss for the Rebels after giving up UF’s seven hits and four earned runs, also going the distance. Hummel finished the evening with six Ks and dished out one free pass.

The Gators were off to a quick start in the top of the first, as freshman Kelsey Stewart (Wichita, Kan.) dropped a leadoff bunt single, then swiped her 26th stolen base of the season to set up a Tofft RBI double to deep center for the early 1-0 lead. For Tofft, the two-bagger was her team-leading 11th of the year.

Rogers went to work in the circle in the home half of the stanza, retiring the Rebels using an efficient six pitches for three up, three down to bring up the second.

With two down in the top of the second and senior Kelsey Horton (Valrico, Fla.) on first after the team’s 45th hit-by-pitch of the season, Damico went yard with her fifth long ball of the season – a two-run shot – to extend the Gator advantage, 3-0.

On defense, Rogers faced just 10 Ole Miss batters through the first three innings and fourteen through four, walking one in the second and giving up Ole Miss’ first hit of the game in the bottom of the fourth, while retiring the remaining 12. The Rebels drew their second walk of the contest in the bottom of the fifth, while the Gators’ righty faced just four in the stanza.

The Rebels made a push in the bottom of the sixth with runners on first and second after a RT Cantillo walk and Brittany Broome bunt single, while Cantillo and Broome moved to second and third with one down after a sacrifice bunt. Londen Ladner then connected for a sac fly to center to narrow the Gators’ margin, 3-1, heading to the seventh.

Florida added one run for insurance in the top of the seventh after a leadoff single through the left side for Fuller followed by a Damico sac bunt to move Fuller into scoring position at second. With two down in the top of the final frame, Tofft knocked her second RBI base hit of the contest, sending a single to center to plate Fuller for the 4-1 Gator lead heading to the home half of the seventh.

Rogers retired Natalie Nimmo, pinch hitter Lauren Lindsey and Marina Parra in order in the bottom of the seventh to solidify UF’s eighth conference win of the season.

No. 11 Ole Miss Claims Series Opener In 11 Innings Over Florida Baseball, 4-3

No. 11 Ole Miss (23-4/4-3 SEC) worked 11 innings and notched a 4-3 series-opening victory over Florida (11-16/2-5 SEC) on Friday night at McKethan Stadium. Junior Aaron Greenwood (3-0) threw two scoreless innings and gave up one hit to pick up the win for the Rebels, while senior Brett Huber collected his seventh save of the season as the Gators stranded the tying run on second base.

Junior Will Allen (2-for-5) started the 11th inning with a double into left center field and was replaced by junior pinch runner Austin Wilson. Sophomore Will Jamison laid down a bunt and sophomore Johnny Magliozzi (East Milton, Mass.) (2-1) attempted to throw Wilson out at third base. However, an errant throw allowed Wilson to score the go-ahead run and Jamison to reach base. Magliozzi caught junior Preston Overbey looking on strikes and had senior Tanner Mathis ground into an inning-ending 6-3 double play.

Sophomore Josh Tobias (Greensboro, N.C.) led off the bottom of the inning with a four-pitch walk from Huber but was erased at second base on senior Cody Dent’s (Boynton Beach, Fla.) sacrifice attempt. After sophomore Casey Turgeon (Palm Harbor, Fla.) flew out to center field, Dent advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch. Huber responded by having freshman Harrison Bader (Bronxville, N.Y.) ground out to complete the contest.

“We just have to get a big at-bat when we need it,” Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “It’s as simple as that. We scored two runs in the fourth inning, then we go 0-2 on their leadoff hitter in the fifth, give up a 0-2 hit, then we walk the next guy and end up giving them a run. Once again, the little things have been hurting us.”

“[Daniel] Gibson was really good tonight. I thought Mags [Johnny Magliozzi] was good. Our relief [pitchers] did a nice job, but once again, we put ourselves in that position in the ninth and 10th where we just needed one hit and the game would have been over. There are positives, and we need to stress the positives. We are playing better, but there’s no consolation for finishing close.”

Ole Miss grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a sacrifice fly by junior Austin Anderson. Senior Tanner Mathis opened the game with a double into left field off of freshman righty Jay Carmichael (Cape Coral, Fla.) and was sacrificed to third base on a bunt by sophomore Auston Bousfield. Anderson’s fly ball to left field brought home Mathis with the first run. With two down, junior Stuart Turner drew a walk and senior Andrew Mistone (2-for-4) singled through the left side of the infield. Carmichael ended the frame with a strikeout of sophomore Sikes Orvis.

The Rebels loaded the bases with one out in the second, as Allen had a leadoff single, was sacrificed to second by Jamison and Overbey and Matthis were hit by pitches. Carmichael worked out of the jam by having Bousfield line out to Dent and Anderson fly out to right field.

Turgeon singled up the middle with two down in the third and Bader drew a walk. However, junior Bobby Wahl had sophomore Taylor Gushue (Boca Raton, Fla.) (2-for-5) ground out to preserve the Rebels’ 1-0 advantage.

After Carmichael struck out Allen to start the fourth, Jamison earned a free pass. Carmichael struck out Overbey for the second out, with Jamison swiping second base on the play. Heads-up base-running resulted in a 2-0 lead for Ole Miss, as Jamison scored on a wild pitch from second base.

The Gators tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the frame with a pair of sacrifice flies. Sophomore Justin Shafer (Lake Wales, Fla.) (3-for-5) led off with his team-leading 11th double down the left-field line and went to third on a wild pitch by Wahl. Redshirt sophomore Zack Powers (Seffner, Fla.) walked for Gators on the corners and senior Vickash Ramjit (Miami, Fla.) delivered his team-leading fifth sacrifice fly of the year into center field to narrow the deficit to 2-1. Sophomore Connor Mitchell (Tampa, Fla.) blooped a single into left field for two runners aboard and Tobias reached on a fielder’s choice and Mitchell was safe at second base on a fielding error by Anderson to load the bases with one out. Dent lofted a sacrifice fly into right field, his second of the season, that plated Powers with the equalizer. Mitchell was thrown out at home plate to complete the inning after Tobias was caught in a run-down in between first and second base trying to enable his teammate to score.

Ole Miss re-claimed the lead in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Orvis. Anderson singled up the middle and Turner walked before Mistone moved both of his teammates into scoring position with a bunt, prompting a pitching change. Junior Daniel Gibson (Lutz, Fla.) replaced Carmichael (4.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 3 K) and Orvis lofted his first pitch into left field for a sacrifice fly to bring home Anderson.

In the home part of the stanza, Bader stroked a one-out single into left field and stole second base his team-high fifth theft. A grounder by Gushue nudged Bader to third and a strong throw by Mistone from third base on Shafer’s bunt kept the Rebels in front.

Dent doubled down the right-field line with one out in the seventh and Wahl countered with a strikeout of Turgeon, his first of the night. The right-hander then picked Dent off second base to hold the score at 3-2.  

Gushue delivered a one-out double into the right-field corner, ending the night for Wahl (7.1 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER). Shafer greeted redshirt senior Tanner Bailey with an infield single for runners on the corners and Powers came through with a single into center field to score Gushue with the tying run. A grounder by Ramjit advanced Shafer and Powers and freshman Matt Denny relieved Bailey (01. IP, 2 H). The left-hander hit sophomore pinch hitter Mike Fahrman (Tampa, Fla.) to load the bases but then had Tobias fly out to right field.

Gibson recorded the first out in the ninth and was replaced by Magliozzi. Over a career-high four innings in which he surrendered zero runs and had three strikeouts, Gibson yielded two hits. Soon after, Magliozzi retired both Rebels he faced and was boosted by a tremendous stop and throw by Dent that closed the inning.

Dent walked on four pitches and Greenwood was summoned to replace Bailey. Turgeon laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Dent into scoring position and Greenwood struck out Bader and had Gushue fly out to right field to provide the fans with free baseball.   

After Magliozzi retired the side in order in the 10th, Shafer led off with a base-hit into right field and was sacrificed to second on a bunt by Powers. Greenwood set down Ramjit on a grounder, moving Shafer to third, and struck out freshman pinch hitter Kevin Stypulkowski (Lake Worth, Fla.) to send the game to the 11th.