Florida Gators

Postgame Video
Highlights
Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan
Dane Dunning, Alex Faedo and Buddy Reed discuss today's game

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Junior Buddy Reed went 3-for-4 and junior Shaun Anderson picked up his second save in as many days as No. 1 Florida held off Missouri, 7-5, to sweep its SEC opening series on Sunday afternoon. The Gators (21-1/3-0 SEC) extended their winning streak to 15 games and have captured their last 23 contests at McKethan Stadium, one shy of the school record. The Tigers (14-9/0-3 SEC) pulled to within 6-5 with a four-run sixth inning before being kept at bay by four Florida relievers.
 
Sophomore right-hander Alex Faedo (5-0) struck out nine batters over 5.2 innings to earn the decision and was followed to the mound by junior Kirby Snead (0.2 IP, 2 H), sophomore Scott Moss (0.1 IP), junior Dane Dunning (1.1 IP, 2 K) and Anderson (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 K). Anderson won the series opener on Friday and saved the final two victories over Mizzou.
 
Reed provided the Gators with a quick lead in the first inning with a two-run homer off of senior Austin Tribby (2-2). Sophomore Dalton Guthrie (2-for-4) won a nine-pitch battle with a leadoff single into left field and Reed sent a ball into the left-field bleachers for his second homer of the year.
 
Freshman Connor Brumfield cut the deficit in half in the third inning with a two-out infield single that scored sophomore Brett Bond (2-for-4). Faedo had struck out five straight batters before yielding a one-out double to Bond. Freshman Ian Nelson advanced his teammate with a grounder and Brumfield's RBI single brought home Bond.
 
Florida answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning to build a 5-1 lead. Reed had a one-out single, stole second and went to third on a wild pitch before sophomore JJ Schwarz earned his second walk of the day for runners on the corners. Junior Peter Alonso increased his hitting streak to seven games with an RBI double down the left-field line to score Reed and sophomore Mike Rivera plated both Schwarz and Alonso with a two-out double off of the left-field wall.
 
Freshman Nelson Maldonado started the Gators' fourth with a leadoff triple against sophomore reliever Cole Bartlett and scored on a sac fly into left field by Guthrie.
 
The Tigers rallied with four runs on the four hits in the sixth to pull within 6-5. Nelson started things of by being hit by a pitch and was sacrificed to second by Brumfield. A base-hit into center by junior Ryan Howard left runners on first and third and junior Jake Ring delivered an RBI double into right center to score Nelson. After a run-scoring grounder by sophomore Trey Harris brought in Howard, senior Zach Lavy roped a double to drive in Ring. Snead replaced Faedo (5.2 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 9 K, 0 BB) and yielded an RBI single to freshman Brian Sharp (2-for-4) that reduced Mizzou's deficit to one run. However, sophomore Mark Kolozsvary threw out Sharp trying to stretch the single into a double to end the frame.
 
The Gators threatened in the home part of the frame by loading the bases with two down but came away empty-handed. Sophomore Jeremy Vasquez led off with a single, Guthrie legged out an infield hit with two down and Reed earned a free pass to prompt a pitching change. Freshman Liam Carter took over for Bartlett (2.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R) and had Schwarz fly out to straightaway center field.
 
A one-out double by Bond in the seventh brought Moss in for Snead. The left-hander had Nelson ground out and then walked Brumfield, bringing Dunning into the fray with two on and two down. The righty caught Howard looking on strikes to keep the Orange and Blue in front.
 
Ring was plunked to open the eighth and was sacrificed to second by Harris. Dunning jammed Howard on a pop-up in foul territory and then struck out Sharp to preserve the lead. Schwarz came through with a two-out RBI double in the bottom of the inning to score freshman Jonathan India with an insurance run.
                                                      
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan
Opening Statement:
"First of all, compliment Missouri. They very easily could have not battled for the rest of the second half of the ballgame. They were down 6-1 and put together a really good inning there in the sixth off of Alex (Faedo) and Kirby (Snead) and had some really good swings with two outs. They came to play this weekend. It was a very hard-fought weekend. I thought that our pitching was good, other than the sixth inning. Alex (Faedo) was really good. He threw some really good changeups today. Scott Moss came in and got a first-pitch out. It was good to get him back out there. (Dane) Dunning was outstanding. I think that's the role we're going to see him in moving forward. In (Shaun) Anderson, I think we've found our guy at the end of the game. There were a lot of positives for the weekend. I thought Buddy (Reed) put a really good swing on in the first inning. We had some really good at bats. We just did enough. All in all, it was a really good weekend against a really good, scrappy Missouri team."
 
On the importance of adding runs early:
"I felt that vibe that we were going to score some runs today. Baseball is a funny game, and you just don't know how it's going to go. You're up 5-1 after three and 6-1 after four, and the next thing you know, you bring in your closer in the ninth. You've just got to keep plugging along and tacking up runs."
 
Junior right-hander Dane Dunning
On coming out of the bullpen:
"I felt really good out there. I just went out there, trusted my defense and trusted my stuff. I mean it's the same mentality as when I start, just go out there, try to pound strikes and help the team win."
 
Junior center fielder Buddy Reed
On going 3-for-4 this afternoon:
"It's not about me, it's about the team. I know guys are going to pick me up even when I'm not doing well, and when I'm doing well, I'm going to have to pick other guys up. It's always a team effort start to finish - pitching, offense and defense. We had a great game, Missouri came out did their thing, definitely gave us a challenge this weekend, and I'm just glad we got the sweep. We're going to take this into Tuesday."
 
Postgame Notes

• Florida increased its winning streak to 15 games and has won 23 straight games at McKethan Stadium, dating back to last season.
• UF improved to 14-4 against Missouri, including 10-1 in Gainesville and is now 6-0 against the Tigers at home under Kevin O'Sullivan.
• The Gators are 4-1 in games decided by two runs.
• The Orange and Blue has totaled four weekend sweeps this year – FGCU, Dartmouth, Harvard and Missouri.
• Alex Faedo collected his fifth win of the season and now has 45 strikeouts and four walks in 31 innings.
• Coming out of the bullpen, Shaun Anderson earned two saves and picked up a win this weekend. The righty has 21 strikeouts without issuing any walks in 15.2 innings spanning 11 appearances.
• UF's pitching staff totaled 44 strikeouts over the three games, it most in a weekend series during O'Sullivan's nine-year tenure. The previous high had been 31 against Auburn during the 2009 season.
• Florida totaled four homers in the series, its most on a weekend this year.
• Deacon Liput failed to reach base for the first time this year.
• The Gators played error-free ball for the 11th time in 2016.

 
Up Next
The Gators complete their nine-game homestand against No. 20 Florida Atlantic (15-3) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Jeff Cardozo and Steve Russell have the call on the Gator IMG Sports Network and the game will be streamed on SEC Network+ through the Watch ESPN app.
 
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