Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – After sweeping FGCU at McKethan Stadium to begin the 2016 campaign, No. 1 Florida (3-0) kicks off a five-game week by hosting Eastern Michigan (3-1) at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. The Gators will meet the Eagles again on Wednesday night  at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, the spring training home of the Detroit Tigers, before visiting No. 6 Miami (3-0) starting on Friday night in Coral Gables.  
 
The game can be heard through FloridaGators.com and on the Gator IMG Sports Network with Jeff Cardozo and Steve Russell. Although there will be no live video provided, live stats will be available through FloridaGators.com and fans can also follow updates of each game on @GatorsBB, the official Twitter account of the Gator baseball team.
 
QUICK HITS ABOUT THE GATORS

• With the series sweep of FGCU, Florida improved to 9-0 in season-opening series under Kevin O'Sullivan, including six sweeps.
• No. 1 Florida (3-0) kicked off its 102nd season of competition by taking all three games from preseason Atlantic Sun Conference favorite FGCU at McKethan Stadium by scores of 4-2, 8-4 and 12-3.
• The weekend attendance of 14,570 fans established a Gator record for Opening Weekend and the crowd of 5,778 on Friday set a new standard for Opening Night.
• Members of the Gators' 1996 SEC Championship team that advanced to that season's NCAA College World Series were on hand for Friday night's festivities and a brunch on Saturday morning, while former standout Mark Ellis delivered the ceremonial first pitch to raise the curtain on the season.
• The Gators batted .330 (32-for-97) in the sweep of the Eagles, out-scored FGCU, 24-8, and totaled eight doubles, two homers and a pair of triples.
• UF was 7-for-8 on the basepaths, drew 12 walks and struck out 11 times.
• On the pitching side, Kevin O'Sullivan's club compiled a 1.67 earned run average, with 35 strikeouts and five walks in 27 innings, while holding FGCU to a .194 (19-for-98) clip.
• Freshman second baseman Deacon Liput enjoyed a solid collegiate debut by posting team highs in batting average (.556), RBI (7) and doubles (2) and playing flawless defense.
• Junior left fielder Ryan Larson hit .455 (5-for-11) during the series and was a career-best 4-for-4 with three runs as UF came from behind in Saturday's game.
• Liput had a pair of two-run doubles and sophomore right-hander Alex Faedo matched his career high of seven strikeouts as Florida posted a 12-3 victory over FGCU on Sunday afternoon to complete the series.
• Liput drove in a career-high four runs with a pair of two-run doubles, while sophomore shortstop Dalton Guthrie (.385) was 3-for-4 and scored twice out of the leadoff spot.
• Sophomore catcher Mike Rivera (.333, 5 RBI) tallied three RBI and sophomore catcher Mark Kolozsvary cranked his first career homer with a two-run bomb in the eighth inning.
• Liput and freshman third baseman Jonathan India drove in three runs apiece and Larson was 4-for-4 as Florida clinched the series on Saturday, 8-4.
• In addition to the offensive production from its 7-9 hitters, the Gator bullpen tossed five scoreless and hitless innings behind the trio of freshman RHP Brady Singer (1-0, 3.0 IP, 3 K), sophomore LHP Nick Horvath (1.0 IP, 1 K) and junior RHP Frank Rubio (1.0 IP, 2 K).
• UF trailed entering the sixth inning before Liput (2-for-4) cranked a two-run triple to give the hosts a lead that they would not relinquish.
• The Gators had five players turn in multiple-hit outings as part of the squad's 15-hit total without striking out, while their pitching staff did not permit any earned runs to the Eagles and tallied a dozen strikeouts.
• Junior LHP A.J. Puk totaled six strikeouts and permitted four hits and four runs (none earned) over four innings in his season debut.
• Junior RHP Logan Shore yielded one run over five innings on Friday night and earned the win on Opening Night for the second year in a row as Florida started the campaign with a 4-2 victory

 
DRAWING THE STARTS
Junior Dane Dunning (0-0, 9.00) will be making his first start of the season for the Gators and will oppose Eastern Michigan junior righty Kevin Shul (0-0, 0.00). The Gator right-hander collected the save on Opening Night in which he worked the ninth inning (1 H. 1 R, 1 ER, 1 K). Sophomore Scott Moss (0-0, 0.00), who returned to the Gators' lineup after missing the past two seasons, will make his collegiate starting debut on Wednesday night versus an Eagles' hurler to be announced.
 
SERIES NUGGETS
Head coach Kevin O'Sullivan is 4-0 (1.000) against Eastern Michigan, while the Gators have claimed five of the six meetings all-time. The teams last met on Feb. 24-25, 2009, with Florida picking up a pair of victories at McKethan Stadium (12-0, 17-6). Florida batted .427 (35-for-82) over the two games and totaled 10 extra-base hits (five doubles, three homers and two triples). Current student assistant coach Josh Adams went 6-for-9 (.667) with four runs and Riley Cooper belted his first career grand slam in game two and established a personal best with four RBI. The Gators' Director of Baseball Operations, Buddy Munroe, blasted a three-run homer in the sixth inning of game two.
 
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