Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Timely hitting paired with a solid pitching performance from six different pitchers led the No. 1 Florida baseball team to a 7-1 win over Bethune-Cookman on Tuesday night at Alfred A. McKethan Stadium. With the win, the Gators improve to 38-7 on the season with a 24-1 mark in non-conference play.
 
Starter Scott Moss (2-0) was in command through the first three innings, keeping the Wildcat bats at bay to pick up his second victory on the season in a controlled start. The lefty finished the night with three innings of scoreless work without allowing a hit and tallying two strikeouts.
 
Offensively, the Gators bats came to life early with a run in the first and a five-run second inning. Back-to-back singles from junior Buddy Reed (3-for-4, 2 runs) and sophomore J.J. Schwarz (2-for-3, 2 runs) put UF on the board, 1-0, in the bottom of the first.
 
The Orange and Blue extended the lead to 6-0 with a trio of hits, one walk, and two Wildcat errors in the second. Sophomore Mike Rivera got things going with a single to right field and was pushed over to second on a fielder's choice error, which came off the bat of sophomore Jeremy Vasquez.

Newcomer Nelson Maldonado (1-for-3, 3 RBI) came up big for the Gators, connecting on his sixth homer this season to propel UF to the 6-0 advantage.
 
Junior Frank Rubio took over the pitching responsibilities in the top of the fourth and worked two innings of one-run ball. Rubio's lone run came early with a solo shot off BCU's Michael Cruz, his 16th home run of the season.
 
Schwarz capped off UF's offensive attack in the bottom of the sixth with a solo shot to finalize the 7-1 win.

Freshman Brady Singer relieved Rubio in the sixth and tossed two innings of no-hit ball. Juniors Kirby Snead, Dane Dunning, and Shaun Anderson closed things out on the hill. The trio teamed up for two innings of shutout work and held the Wildcats hitless.
     
BCU's German Hernandez (4-4) started tonight's contest and was charged with the loss after six innings of work where he allowed seven runs on nine hits. The Wildcats are now 23-23 on the season.
 

Postgame Quotes:

Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan
Opening Statement:
"It was a better night offensively. It's a long season and we haven't been swinging the bats as well as we'd like lately -- but it's baseball. I wish we'd click on all cylinders for 56 games, you pitch great for 56, play great defense and hit great, but that's just not reality. We had some good work today and with some guys individually yesterday -- it's a work in progress; it's just that simple. I thought we were a little bit more aggressive tonight. It's a step in the right direction. The pitching was outstanding tonight, and it's good to get all those guys out there who needed a little work before we head to Knoxville. Overall, it was a good game."
 
On Florida's clean defense:
"Dalton didn't have the night he wanted offensively, and for him to make that play there in the ninth -- that's an unbelievable play. The ability to stay in the game and be able to not take your bat out on defense is what makes really good players. Most players will hang their heads, not be into it and not be as focused. I thought (Jonathan) India was really good defensively tonight. I really thought he had some good reads. He read some hops really well over there and played really good defense."

Junior outfielder Buddy Reed
On tonight's offense:
"We've really stressed getting the offense rolling early these past few games. Our pitching (staff) has been holding up their end of the games. As a team, offensively, we need to get it going. We did that tonight."
 
Freshman outfielder Nelson Maldonado
On Florida's pitching staff:
"It makes it a lot easier for the hitters since we can depend on the pitching staff. They come out throwing strong every day and hitting their spots."
 

Postgame Notes:

• The Florida Gators are now 26-3 in the friendly confines of McKethan Stadium during the 2016 season.
• Florida holds a 30-0 advantage in the all-time series, with 29 of the wins coming Gainesville. Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan is 10-0 against the Wildcats.
• Florida improved to 13-0 in mid-week contests this season and have claimed 24 of their 25 non-conference outings in the 2016 season.
• With no errors this evening, the Orange and Blue are 21-5 when playing error-free this year and have committed zero errors in 12 of their last 14 games.
• After tagging Bethune-Cookman RHP German Hernandez for seven runs, Florida improved their record vs. right-handed starters to 29-5.
• Florida has outscored opponents by a 42-17 margin in the first inning this season. They're 18-1 when scoring in the opening frame and 25-3 when scoring first.
• A 7-1 win tonight was the Gators' seventh win when the team scores seven runs in a ball game.
• With his stolen base in the first inning, junior Buddy Reed has now recorded 21 stolen bases in 23 attempts, the most by a Florida Gator since Matt Dendecker had 23 in 2010.
• JJ Schwarz recorded his 40th and 41st RBIs on the season against the Wildcats, including his sixth home run in the 2016 campaign.
• Freshman Nelson Maldonado continued his solid hitting with a home run in the second inning to record three RBIs and is now 9-for-16 in his last four games.
• The three RBI mark is the fourth time in his young career that Maldonado has recorded three RBIs in a ball game.
• With a win over the Wildcats, the Gators boosted their record to 16-1 against in-state competition this year, having faced FGCU (3-0), Miami (2-1), UCF (2-0), North Florida (2-0), Florida State (3-0), Florida Atlantic (1-0), Jacksonville (2-0) and Bethune-Cookman (1-0).

 

Up Next

The Gators return to action Friday at 6 p.m. ET, when they travel to Knoxville, Tenn. for a three-game series against the Tennessee Volunteers. Jeff Cardozo and Steve Russell have the call on the Gator IMG Sports Network and all three games will be shown live on SEC Network+ and the Watch ESPN app.
 

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