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.
