Florida Gators

 
VIDEO
Highlights from the Gators' series-clinching victory
Kevin O'Sullivan Postgame
Interviews with P. Alonso, A. Faedo and R. Larson
 
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Sophomore Alex Faedo tossed 5.2 scoreless innings and junior Peter Alonso belted a two-run homer as No. 2 Florida notched a 4-1 victory over Georgia on Saturday afternoon at McKethan Stadium.
 
In taking the final two games of the series, the Gators (36-6/13-5 SEC) have claimed eight of their nine series with the Bulldogs (21-20/7-11 SEC) under Kevin O'Sullivan. Faedo (8-1) yielded two hits and totaled six strikeouts to earn the win, while UF's trio of starters allowed one run over 21.1 innings this weekend and registered 22 strikeouts.
 
With the Bulldogs down by four runs in the ninth, senior Daniel Nichols led off with a double into right center, junior Stephen Wrenn walked and freshman TJ Talley reached on a fielding error to load the bases with none out. Junior Shaun Anderson replaced junior Dane Dunning (0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R) and freshman Patrick Sullivan had a pinch-hit sacrifice fly into right field to score Nichols. Anderson responded with consecutive strikeouts to secure the series victory and collect his ninth save.
 
Alonso (2-for-4, two runs) put Florida on top with a two-run homer to straightaway center field in the first inning. Sophomore Dalton Guthrie led off with a single into right field and was sacrificed over by freshman Deacon Liput. A fly ball by sophomore JJ Schwarz moved Guthrie to third and Alonso connected on his team-leading ninth homer off of sophomore Bo Tucker (3-4). It marked the third straight day that the Gators scored in the opening frame.
 
UF increased its lead to 3-0 in the second on a two-out infield single by junior Ryan Larson (2-for-3) that brought across freshman Jonathan India. India had drawn a leadoff walk, gone to second on a passed ball and taken third on a wild pitch.
 
Back-to-back doubles with two down resulted in a 4-0 lead in the third inning for the hosts. Tucker set down the first two Gators before Alonso doubled to center and junior Buddy Reed (2-for-4) followed with a two-bagger to nearly the same spot to drive in his teammate.
 
Although Georgia put its first two runners aboard in the fifth, Faedo escaped the jam unscathed. Nichols was hit by a pitch and Wrenn drew a walk but then Faedo had Talley fly out to right, struck out sophomore Mitchell Webb and had senior Nick King pop up in foul territory.
 
The Bulldogs threatened again in the sixth, as junior Trevor Kieboom walked and sophomore Keegan McGovern singled with one down. A fielder's choice by freshman Michael Curry erased McGovern at second base and brought junior Kirby Snead into the game for Faedo (5.2 IP, 2 H, 6 K, 2 BB). Making his SEC-best 26th appearance, the southpaw struck out Nichols to strand the runners.   
 
King opened the eighth with a base-hit and Weber flew out to left field before Kieboom singled through the left side. After Snead (2.0 IP, 2 H, 3 K) struck out McGovern, Dunning had a grounder by Curry force Kieboom to end the frame.
 
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan
Opening Statement:
"Today was an important game for us. This is the time of the year where everyone is fighting for their lives and fighting to get into the tournament. With nine of our last 12 games on the road, this was a game we need to win. Let's be honest, it was that way. The players have a lot on their plate right now. They have final exams coming up this week. They're regular students as well, and they have a lot of things on their mind. It was good for them to get through today and to get a series win. I look forward to the homestretch here."

On bringing in Shaun Anderson in the ninth inning:
"It doesn't get more difficult than that, to be honest with you. He had the tying run at the plate and a left-handed batter up. They all did well. Dane Dunning came in the inning before and got a big out. Kirby Snead came out of the bullpen and got a big out. Alex Faedo pitched well. They all did what they needed to do. The walk in the ninth inning is something that we can work on. As long as we keep the tying run from getting to the plate, we're going to win."
 
Sophomore right-hander Alex Faedo
On taking the series:
"In the SEC it's always great to take a series. We really don't want to drop any at home. They (Georgia) played really hard the whole weekend and they beat us on Thursday so we just had to make sure we had to bare down and win the next two games. It was really important for us."
 
Junior first baseman Peter Alonso
On his home run in the first inning:
"I knew it was out. It kind of felt like one of the ones in Omaha, one of those ones where you just square it up and go for it. I felt it off the bat."
 
Junior outfielder Ryan Larson
On winning the series:
"It's big, like Sully just said, any time you win a series at home it's a big accomplishment, especially against your rival, Georgia. Now, we have nine of our last 12 on the road, so it was big to come back and win."
 
Postgame Notes

• Kevin O'Sullivan is 21-8 against Georgia, including 12-3 at McKethan Stadium.
• Florida scored twice in the first inning, its third game in a row scoring in the opening frame.
• Peter Alonso hit his ninth home run of the year in the first inning, it was also his first homer against Georgia.
• Alonso had his 16th multi-hit game, with a double and a home run.
• Ryan Larson's stolen base in the second inning was his second of the season.
• Larson had his second multi-hit game of the year, with a single in the second inning and another in the fourth inning.
• Buddy Reed's double and triple pushed him to 14 multi-hit games this season.
• Seven of the nine Gator hitters reached base on Saturday afternoon.
• Shaun Anderson made his 20th appearance of the year and struck out two batters en route to his ninth save. 

 
Up Next
Florida breaks for semester exams and returns to action next Friday at No. 8 South Carolina at 7 p.m. Jeff Cardozo and Steve Russell have the call on the Gator IMG Sports Network and the game will be shown on the SEC Network with Ben McDonald and Dave Neal and streamed through the Watch ESPN app.
 
Follow the Gators
FloridaGators.com
Twitter
Instagram
Facebook