FORT MYERS — Sophomore Josh Tobias snapped a 1-1 tie with an RBI
single in the sixth inning and Florida (20-18) added three more runs in
the seventh inning to post a 5-3 victory over FGCU (20-13) on Tuesday.
Sophomore
left-hander Bobby Poyner (1-0) allowed one run and four hits over a
career-high 5.1 innings to lift the Gators to their sixth consecutive
victory, while sophomore Taylor Gushue (2 for 4) delivered a two-run
double in the seventh, senior Vickash Ramjit (2 for 4) chipped in with a
two-out RBI single in the seventh and sophomore Justin Shafer went 2
for 5. Sophomore Johnny Magliozzi had three strikeouts over the final
1.2 innings to secure his ninth save in 10 opportunities this season.
The Gators overcame five errors, leading to two unearned runs, in
downing the Eagles in the teams' fourth meeting of the year.
Sophomore
Casey Turgeon opened the game with a single into shallow center field
off of senior Danny Patrick but was thrown out trying to steal second
base. Gushue drew a two-out walk and advanced to third on Shafer's
team-leading 14th double. Patrick kept the Gators scoreless by having
redshirt sophomore Zack Powers fly out to center field.
Florida loaded the bases with one down in the fourth and tied the contest on an RBI single by freshman Harrison Bader.
The
Gators tacked on three more runs in the seventh, highlighted by a
two-run double by Gushue and two-out RBI single by Ramjit, to expand
the count to 5-1.
With the Eagles down to their final three outs,
Magliozzi worked a perfect ninth and notched a pair of strikeouts to
send the Gators home winners. Florida had an 11-5 advantage in hits.
The Gators return to SEC play on Friday night with their first-ever trip to Missouri .
