Florida (5-7) used a four-run third inning
and solid pitching to collect a 6-3 victory in the decisive third game of its
weekend series against No. 21 Miami (10-2) on Sunday afternoon at McKethan
Stadium. The Gators have taken the last four regular-season series against the
Hurricanes: 2010 (2-1), 2011 (3-0), 2012 (3-0) and 2013 (2-1). In addition, Kevin
O’Sullivan improved to 17-7 in his tenure versus UM after two-straight
triumphs to claim the series and UF has now collected 13 wins in the past 14
meetings between the Sunshine State rivals.
Sophomore Justin Shafer (Lake Wales,
Fla.) went 3-for-4 this afternoon and finished 7-for-12 (.583) in the series,
while freshman right-hander Jay Carmichael (Cape Coral, Fla.) (1-1) picked
up his first collegiate win with two scoreless innings in relief of freshman
starter Eric Hanhold (Palm Harbor, Fla.). Freshman Harrison Bader
(Bronxville, N.Y.) was 2-for-4 with his first collegiate RBI.
“These
Sunday games are tough – it was a deciding game,” head coach Kevin O’Sullivan
said. “For us, it was the difference between two games in the standings: we
could have gone down to four games under .500 or two under .500. It was a big
game for us, it’s a rivalry weekend and I was awfully proud at the way we
bounced back today and this weekend in general after a tough Friday-night loss.”
“We
scored four in the eighth last night and battled back, and then today we jumped
out there early and put some good swings on the ball, but we do have some
things to work on. I’m a little disappointed that we didn’t put any runs on the
board after the fourth inning, but those things can be corrected. I want them
to enjoy the win. It’s been a tough go the first part of this season, but when
you get the chance to win a series against a really good team, a rival, you
have to feel good about things.”
“These
are two great wins,” Shafer said. “To take the series against a great Miami
team, they hadn’t lost all year - that’s big for us. Just like losing is
contagious, so is winning. Hopefully, we keep it rolling; we’ve got five games
this next week. We feel pretty good but we still have a lot to work on; we’re
going to keep getting better.”
Senior Chantz Mack opened the scoring for the
Hurricanes in the first inning with an RBI grounder off Hanhold. Freshman Ricky
Eusebio (2-for-5) began the game with a single into right field and stole
second before taking third on a fly out by junior Alex Hernandez. Mack’s
grounder to second base broke the ice.
Helped by a two-out error, the Gators notched
the equalizer in the bottom of the frame against sophomore Andrew Suarez (1-1).
Sophomore Casey Turgeon (Palm Harbor, Fla.) (1-for-3, two runs) singled
with one down and Shafer raised his hitting streak to 10 games with a double
into left center field. Suarez struck out redshirt sophomore Zack Powers
(Seffner, Fla.) but then had an errant throw to second base trying to pick
Shafer off, enabling Turgeon to come home with the tying run. Shafer advanced
to third on a passed ball and Suarez had senior Vickash Ramjit (Miami,
Fla.) ground out to first base to keep the game tied.
Miami had runners on the corners with one
down in the second inning but was unable to score. Junior Brad Fieger drew a
leadoff walk, moved to second on a grounder by senior Alex San Juan and went to
third on a wild pitch by Hanhold. After senior Michael Broad was hit by a pitch,
the Gators threw out Fieger at the plate on a 1-6-3-2 putout and had freshman
Brandon Lopez ground out.
Following a perfect third inning by Hanhold,
the Gators exploded for four runs on three hits to build a 5-1 advantage. Freshman
Richie Martin (Brandon, Fla.) extended his hitting streak to 10 games
with a leadoff double and has now reached base in all 12 games this year.
Turgeon earned a free pass for two runners aboard and a one-out throwing error
by Suarez allowed Martin to score the go-ahead run from second base. After Powers
walked for runners on first and third, sophomore Taylor Gushue (Boca
Raton, Fla.) delivered a sacrifice fly to the warning track in left field to
bring home Turgeon with the Gators’ third run. Ramjit came through with a
two-out RBI single to score Powers and Bader tallied his first career RBI with
his first triple to drive in Ramjit and end the afternoon for Suarez (2.2 IP, 5
H, 5 R) in favor of senior Eric Whaley.
The Gators increased their lead to 6-1 in the
fourth on a two-out RBI double by Shafer. Reid led off with his first career
double to right field and was sacrificed to third on a bunt by senior pinch
hitter Cody Dent (Boynton Beach, Fla.). Shafer came through with a
two-bagger to center field and advanced to third on an error by Eusebio.
After a one-out single by Lopez and a walk to
sophomore Garrett Kennedy in the fifth, Hanhold (4.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R) was replaced
by Carmichael. The rookie struck out Eusebio and then Hernandez singled into
center field to score Lopez for a 6-2 count. Mack was plunked to load the bases
with two down and freshman David Thompson was called out at close play at first
base to complete the frame.
In the seventh, Kennedy walked with one down
and sophomore Ryan Harris (Jupiter, Fla.) was summoned from the bullpen
for Carmichael (2.0 IP, 1 H). After Eusebio singled through the left side,
Harris had Hernandez ground into an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play to end the
threat.
Kennedy finalized the scoring in the ninth at
6-3 with a two-out solo homer off of sophomore Johnny Magliozzi (East
Milton, Mass.). UF had a 9-6 advantage in hits and did not commit any errors
this afternoon.
