Fourth-seeded
Valparaiso (32-27) overcame a 4-1 deficit with four runs in the seventh inning
to eliminate third-seeded Florida (29-30), 5-4, from the 2013 NCAA Bloomington
Regional on Saturday afternoon at Bart Kaufman Field.
The
Crusaders will play the loser of tonight’s winner’s bracket matchup between
top-seeded Indiana (44-14) and second-seeded Austin Peay (46-13) on Sunday at 1
p.m. in another elimination game that will be carried on ESPN3.
With
the Gators holding a 4-1 advantage, sophomore starter Johnny Magliozzi
(East Milton, Mass.) had retired seven-straight Crusaders before senior Billy Cribbs
opened the seventh with a single into center field. Junior Bryce Hara worked a
walk and senior Andrew Bain blooped a single into left center that loaded the
bags and prompted a pitching change.
Junior
Daniel Gibson (Lutz, Fla.) came in for Magliozzi (6.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 6 K,
3 BB) and an error by sophomore third baseman Josh Tobias (Greensboro,
N.C.) on a grounder by sophomore Spencer Mahoney (1-for-3, two runs) enabled
Cribbs to score for a 4-2 count. A walk to senior Tanner Vavra brought home
Hara and another free pass to senior John Loeffler scored Bain with the tying
run.
Sophomore
Ryan Harris (Jupiter, Fla.) replaced Gibson (2-1) and a fielder’s choice
by junior Chris Manning to second base drove in Mahoney for a 5-4 advantage for
Valparaiso. After Manning stole second base, Harris fanned redshirt junior Andy
Burns and had sophomore Mark Johnson foul out to freshman Harrison Bader (Bronxville,
N.Y.) in left field to hold the Gators’ deficit at one run.
Tobias
(4-for-4) set a career-best with his fourth hit of the outing, a one-out single
in the eighth inning into left field off of senior Kyle Wormington (6-7) and
redshirt sophomore Zack Powers (Seffner, Fla.) followed with a walk. The
righty responded with a strikeout of freshman pinch hitter Christian Dicks
(Jacksonville, Fla.) and Burns made a tremendous defensive play at third base
to retire freshman Richie Martin (Brandon, Fla.) and keep the Crusaders
in front.
With
the Gators down to their final three outs in the ninth, sophomore Casey
Turgeon (Palm Harbor, Fla.) started the frame with a walk and sophomore Justin
Shafer (Lake Wales, Fla.) (3-for-5) stroked a single into left field.
Senior Vickash Ramjit (Miami, Fla.) laid down a sacrifice bunt to move
both runners into scoring position and Wormington countered with a strikeout of
sophomore Taylor Gushue (Boca Raton, Fla.). Bader (2-for-5, two runs)
battled in his at bat but grounded out to third base to complete the contest.
Martin
had opened the game with a single into center field and Turgeon walked on four
pitches to put the Gators in business. However, senior right-hander Chris DeBoo
(5.0 IP, 10 H, 4 R) worked out of the jam by striking out Shafer and having Ramjit
and Gushue pop up.
Mahoney
had provided Valparaiso with a quick lead in the home part of the frame with a
one-out homer off of Magliozzi in the first inning. It was his first career
round-tripper and was carried out of the park over the left-field fence by the
swirling winds. Magliozzi countered with two strikeouts to finish the frame
with three punch-outs.
Although
Valparaiso loaded the bases with two down in the second inning, Magliozzi was
able to put a zero on the board. Junior Elliott Martin had stroked a one-out
double down the right-field line and Johnson grounded out to hold the runner. A
wild pitch enabled Martin to take third base and Cribbs drew a walk before Hara
was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Magliozzi induced an inning-ending
grounder by Bain that kept the Gators down by just a run.
UF
mounted a two-out rally in the third, as Shafer singled through the left side
of the infield and Ramjit was plunked. DeBoo jammed Gushue on an infield fly to
complete the stanza.
The
Crusaders threatened again in the bottom of the stanza, putting runners on the
corners with one down, but were unable to score. Mahoney started things off
with a free pass and was sacrificed to second base on a bunt by Vavra. After Loeffler
deposited a base-hit into right field that pushed Mahoney to third base, Magliozzi
struck out Manning and Shafer made a running catch in foul territory on a fly
ball by Martin to close the inning.
Florida
erupted for five hits in the fourth, highlighted by a game-tying double by Tobias
and a two-run double by senior Cody Dent (Boynton Beach, Fla.), to seize
a 3-1 advantage. Bader led off with an infield single to raise his hitting
streak to a career-high nine games and Tobias followed with his fifth
two-bagger of the campaign to tie the contest. Powers sliced a single into
right field that nudged Tobias to third base and Dent delivered a
bases-clearing double to put the Orange and Blue on top. It was his third
double and fourth extra-base hit of the season. After Martin popped up a bunt
attempt, Turgeon poked a base-hit into right field to give Florida runners on
the corners with one down. DeBoo prevented further issues by having Shafer
ground into a 6-3 double play.
The
Gators tacked on another run in the fifth inning on a two-out RBI single by
Tobias for a 4-1 lead. With two down, Bader singled into right field and
notched his team-leading 15th stolen base. Tobias then matched his career high
of three hits in an outing with a base-knock into left field to give UF a
three-run margin.
