Freshman reliever Tyler Dyson made his CWS debut by closing Tuesday night's win against Louisville. (Photo: Courtney Culbreath/UAA Communications)
CWS Notebook: Gators Striking 'Em Out, Dyson Rises, More Tidbits from Omaha
Thursday, June 22, 2017 | Baseball, Scott Carter
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The UF baseball team is one win from playing in the CWS championship series.
By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
OMAHA, Neb. – The Gators finished off Louisville on Tuesday night in fitting fashion this postseason, with freshman reliever Tyler Dyson striking out Colin Lyman and Josh Stowers to polish off Florida's 5-1 win.
Florida pitchers have blown away hitters in the NCAA Tournament.
In nine postseason games, including wins against Texas Christian and Louisville here at the College World Series, the Gators have averaged 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings (115 Ks in 87 innings).
The Gators set a school record with 23 strikeouts in their 11-inning win over Wake Forest in the first game of the Gainesville Super Regional and have struck out 10 or more batters in six of nine NCAA Tournament games, including five in a row.
What do you do with an extra off day? Sit around and tell jokes... bad jokes. pic.twitter.com/zjWzSrZsd9
The trend has continued in Omaha as Florida pitchers have 26 strikeouts in 18 innings, including 11 from starter Alex Faedo on Sunday and nine by Brady Singer in Tuesday's win over Louisville.
"They feed off each other's energy,'' Dyson said. "Seeing what they've been doing, how they have been attacking the hitters, I've paid close attention."
The Gators set a program record in 2016 with 671 strikeouts and 9.85 strikeouts per nine innings. Florida has 607 strikeouts this season, an average of 8.78 per nine innings.
They have picked up the pace of late. The Gators have a rematch against TCU on Friday (8 p.m. ET on ESPN) after the Horned Frogs defeated Louisville, 4-3, on Thursday at TD Ameritrade Park.
"You've got to pitch mad and you've got to pitch to win,'' Singer said. "Faedo set the tone and I followed it up. Our staff has been great all year. We're in it to win it."
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THE DYSON BRIDGE
Dyson was not eligible for his third career save in Tuesday's outing (1 1/3 IP, 2 SO) against the Cardinals but continued his recent surge with another sharp performance. Dyson entered after Brendan McKay's two-out double in the eighth and retired all four batters he faced.
Dyson has pitched 8 2/3 scoreless innings over three appearances in the NCAA Tournament, allowing only two hits and striking out 12. The freshman right-hander from Bradenton, Fla., has earned the confidence of head coach Kevin O'Sullivan to serve as the bridge between the starter and closer Michael Byrne, or to close out a victory like Tuesday.
"Sully called it. He said somebody is going to step up and I knew exactly who he was talking about,'' catcher Mike Rivera said. "Dyson is the future of this team. He is going to be the guy, maybe next year. He has a phenomenal arm and he's raw. In the beginning, I just remember him overthinking. He has a God-given arm. He's a two-pitch mix guy in the high 90s. He's dangerous."
Dyson did not look like a freshman making his first CWS appearance Tuesday. He was back in Gainesville a year ago during the CWS watching the Gators on television. He threw 24 pitches, 16 for strikes.
"It was fun,'' Dyson said. "Growing up I watched the College World Series. That's why I wanted to come to school here, just to get to experience this. It's been a dream come true, but you can't be content with on just getting here."
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SINGER PRAISE
Singer drew hefty praise after his win over Louisville. He took the mound as focused as he has been all season, showing no signs of nerves in his first CWS start.
"I think I was a little bit more locked in because it's Omaha and because I'm playing in front of 20,000,'' he said. "It was an awesome experience, something I'll cherish forever and tell my kids about one day. I just tried to have fun and clear out my mind."
Singer retired 16 of the first 17 batters he faced and set down 11 consecutive Cardinals at one point.
"You can always tell with Brady,'' Gators second baseman Deacon Liput said. "His competitive spirit, even if he's not feeling it that day, will always drive him through. I knew from the first inning that he was on. I knew it was going to be one of those games."
Starter Brady Singer tossed seven strong innings in his first CWS start. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Staff Photographer)
Afterward, Singer drew comparisons to Faedo, Detroit's first-round pick in last week's MLB Draft.
That's fine with Singer.
"You always try to beat Faedo,'' he said. "He is one of the best pitchers in the game."
Faedo and Singer combined for 14 innings in Florida's first two games in Omaha, surrendering just eight hits, one run and 20 strikeouts.
By pitching the Gators to two consecutive wins, the duo has put the Gators in good shape to advance to the championship series for the first time since 2011 if they can beat TCU one more time.
"You saw two big leaguers,'' O'Sullivan said. "We're fortunate. Faedo is a big leaguer and so is Brady. They both pitched great."
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WET N' WILD
When Liput returned to the dugout after his three-run homer against Louisville, he performed a new tradition started by Gators trainer Jon Michelini and his staff.
Liput got to dump a cooler of ice water over the head of graduate assistant trainer Aaron Hoeing.
"Our trainers do a phenomenal job of keeping us loose in the dugout. They're always having a lot of fun. It helps us relax and understand that it is a game and no matter how tight the situation, we've still got to enjoy it and still got to have fun."
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QUOTE OF NOTE I
"I was a little mad. I don't understand that rule. It's not Little League. If I want to stand in there, I should be able to stand in there. If the pitcher wants to throw right there, I'm going to wear it. I feel like I didn't move that much. I felt like it was going to hit me in the neck and he actually hit me in the elbow because it was a slider. It's happened already before here. I think the umpires are a little too stingy about it." – Rivera on home plate umpire Troy Fullwood, who ruled Rivera did not move to get out of the way and called him back to the plate after Rivera was hit on the elbow by Louisville starter Kade McClure on Tuesday
QUOTE OF NOTE II
"That was probably one of the best feelings I've ever had playing the game of baseball. It's the most exciting experience I've had in a while." – Liput on his three-run homer that put the Gators up 4-0 in the fourth inning Tuesday
QUOTE OF NOTE III
"We're excited we're 2-0. We're not foolish enough to not know that we have a long way to go in this thing.'' – O'Sullivan
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EXTRA BASES
UF's pitchers have allowed one run or less in five of the last six games. The Gators have a 1.74 ERA over that span (11 earned runs in 57 innings) … O'Sullivan improved to 8-8 all-time in six trips to the CWS with Tuesday's win … The Gators will try to get more from the top of their lineup on Friday against TCU. The Gators' first four hitters in the lineup went 0-for-14 on Tuesday. The rest of the lineup went 5-for-18 with four RBIs … Gators SS Dalton Guthrie needs one hit to tie Mike Zunino and Preston Tucker for the most career hits at the CWS. Zunino and Tucker each had nine … The Gators have hit 11 of the 62 all-time CWS home runs (17 percent) hit since the event moved to TD Ameritrade Park in 2011.
