Junior
Michael Davis belted a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to
turn a 3-1 deficit for second-seeded Austin Peay (46-13) into an eventual 4-3
victory over third-seeded Florida (29-29) in the opening game of the NCAA
Bloomington Regional on Friday afternoon at Bart Kaufman Field.
With
its 16th-straight triumph, the longest winning streak in the nation, the Govs
advance to tomorrow’s winner’s bracket contest against either top-seeded
Indiana (43-14) or fourth-seeded Valparaiso (31-26) at 6 p.m. Meanwhile, the
Gators will play either the Hoosiers or Crusaders in an elimination game at 2
p.m. on ESPN3.
Florida
sophomore Justin Shafer (Lake Wales, Fla.) had erased a 1-0 lead for
Austin Peay with a three-run dinger in the sixth inning that had moved the
Orange and Blue in front. After sophomore right-hander Ryan Harris
(Jupiter, Fla.) (5-4) replaced junior southpaw Daniel Gibson (Lutz,
Fla.) (0.2 IP) prior to the home part of the eighth, junior Craig Massoni
(2-for-4) blooped a leadoff single into right field and senior Reed Harper
bounced a single off of Harris’ leg for two runners aboard. A fielder’s choice
by senior Cody Hudson erased Harper at second base and moved Massoni to third
base before Hudson swiped second to give the Govs a pair of runners in scoring
position. Davis then stepped to the plate and delivered his fifth homer of the
year over the wall in left field to provide APSU with a 4-3 advantage.
Senior
Tyler Rogers, the Division I leader in saves, took the mound for the ninth
after a pair of scoreless frames by junior Kacy Kemmer (6-0) and plunked Shafer
to start the Gators’ final at bat. The righty had senior Vickash Ramjit
(Miami, Fla.) ground into a 4-6-3 double play and had sophomore Josh Tobias
(Greensboro, N.C.) ground out to secure his 22nd save. Junior righty Jonathon
Crawford (Okeechobee, Fla.) was not involved in the decision after
permitting one run on four hits in 6.1 innings.
The
Govs put their first two runners of the game aboard against but were kept at
bay by Crawford. After redshirt sophomore Dylan Riner drew a leadoff walk,
junior Jordan Hankins (2-for-4) punched a single into left field. Crawford
worked out of the jam by having Massoni ground into a 5-3 double play and then
had Harper ground out to Tobias.
Austin
Peay opened the scoring in the fourth inning on an RBI grounder by Hudson that
brought across Hankins, who had started the frame with a double into the gap in
right center field. A ground ball by Massoni advanced Hankins to third base and
Harper earned a free pass for runners on the corners with one down. Hudson
broke the ice with a grounder to senior shortstop Cody Dent (Boynton
Beach, Fla.) that scored Hankins. Although Harper swiped third, Crawford struck
out Davis to hold the Gators’ deficit at one run.
Tobias
began the fifth with a base-hit through the left side of the infield off of
junior starter Zach Hall and was sacrificed into scoring position by freshman Harrison
Bader (Bronxville, N.Y.) (2-for-2). Hall responded by having freshman Brady
Roberson (Royal Palm Beach, Fla.) and Dent each fly out.
In
the bottom of the frame, junior P.J. Torres (2-for-4) reached on a one-out
throwing error by Dent and was sacrificed to second base on a bunt by sophomore
Brett Carlson. Riner was plunked for two Govs aboard and Crawford responded
with an inning-ending strikeout of Hankins to hold the score at 1-0.
Consecutive
one-out walks to sophomores Casey Turgeon (Palm Harbor, Fla.) and Taylor
Gushue (Boca Raton, Fla.) in the sixth inning prompted a pitching change,
as redshirt junior Lee Ridenhour took over for Hall. Shafer greeted the
reliever with a towering three-run homer to left field to give the Gators their
first lead of the afternoon. It was his fifth big fly of the campaign to tie
Gushue and Turgeon for the team lead and was his first round-tripper since
April 26 against Tennessee. Over 5.1 innings, Hall gave up three hits and was
charged with two runs, with three strikeouts and three walks.
In
the seventh, Torres singled to right field with one down and took second base
on a fielding error by Dent that enabled Carlson to reach on a fielder’s
choice. Gibson was summoned to the bullpen for Crawford (6.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 5 K,
4 BB) and stunted the potential rally with a strikeout of Riner before having
Hankins fly out to right center field.
Austin
Peay held an 8-5 edge in hits and did not commit any errors, while the Gators
had a couple of fielding miscues.
