Saturday, March 24
Gainesville, FL
12 PM
Florida Gators
20-5, 3-2
17
vs
2
Arkansas
17-6, 4-1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Arkansas
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
2
8
2
Florida
4
2
6
0
0
5
0
0
X
17
15
0
Gators Trounce No. 4 Arkansas
Saturday, March 24, 2018 | Baseball
WHAT HAPPENED: Florida bounced back in a big way after a tough series-opening loss on Friday night.
The Gators jumped out to a 12-0 lead after just three innings and cruised the rest of the way to beat No. 4 Arkansas 17-2 on Saturday afternoon at McKethan Stadium.
The scoring started in the first inning. After the first three UF batters reached base, Jonathan India launched a grand slam to the opposite field.
It was India's ninth home run of the season and the first grand slam of his career.
The Gators extended the lead in the second with a pair of runs on two hits to make it 6-0.
In the third, Florida doubled its lead with six runs in the frame. Austin Langworthy and Deacon Liput had RBI singles and Keenan Bell roped a RBI double.
Arkansas broke up the shutout in the fourth inning on a two-run homer from Grant Koch.
The Gators poured it on in the sixth, with five more runs on four hits. Bell and Liput had RBI singles and Maldonado lined a two-run double to left center to make it 17-2.
On the mound, starter Jackson Kowar was sharp, scattering four hits over six innings of work. He allowed a two-run home run and three singles, none of which left the infield.
Kirby McMullen (2.0 innings) and Connor Churchill (1.0 inning) finished off the Razorbacks.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Deacon Liput – Liput continued his hot hitting on Saturday, going 4-for-5 with 3 RBI. Over the last three games, he is 10-for-13 (.769) and is up to .341 for the season.
STANDOUT STAT: 10 – With a grand slam in his first at bat, Jonathan India extended his hitting streak to a career high 10 games. During the hitting streak, India is hitting .594 (19-32) with 5 home runs and 12 RBI.
FROM THE COACH: Head coach Kevin O'Sullivan on moving Deacon Liput to the leadoff spot:
"Really it came down to two things; Deacon's been swinging the bat really well, he had a four-hit night on Wednesday and the home run last night and he picked up where he left off yesterday. And with the way Wil Dalton's been swinging the bat with double digit home runs now, we've just been leaving some RBI opportunities out there. You make some moves, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.
On today's game: "It comes down to the players playing and I thought they came out today with tremendous focus after a tough loss yesterday. Obviously the big swing by Jonathan there in the first inning was good for us. We kind of needed that because last night was a tough loss."
UP NEXT: The Gators and Razorbacks will wrap up the weekend series with a game Sunday at noon on SEC Network.
The Gators jumped out to a 12-0 lead after just three innings and cruised the rest of the way to beat No. 4 Arkansas 17-2 on Saturday afternoon at McKethan Stadium.
The scoring started in the first inning. After the first three UF batters reached base, Jonathan India launched a grand slam to the opposite field.
It was India's ninth home run of the season and the first grand slam of his career.
The Gators extended the lead in the second with a pair of runs on two hits to make it 6-0.
In the third, Florida doubled its lead with six runs in the frame. Austin Langworthy and Deacon Liput had RBI singles and Keenan Bell roped a RBI double.
Arkansas broke up the shutout in the fourth inning on a two-run homer from Grant Koch.
The Gators poured it on in the sixth, with five more runs on four hits. Bell and Liput had RBI singles and Maldonado lined a two-run double to left center to make it 17-2.
On the mound, starter Jackson Kowar was sharp, scattering four hits over six innings of work. He allowed a two-run home run and three singles, none of which left the infield.
Kirby McMullen (2.0 innings) and Connor Churchill (1.0 inning) finished off the Razorbacks.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Deacon Liput – Liput continued his hot hitting on Saturday, going 4-for-5 with 3 RBI. Over the last three games, he is 10-for-13 (.769) and is up to .341 for the season.
STANDOUT STAT: 10 – With a grand slam in his first at bat, Jonathan India extended his hitting streak to a career high 10 games. During the hitting streak, India is hitting .594 (19-32) with 5 home runs and 12 RBI.
FROM THE COACH: Head coach Kevin O'Sullivan on moving Deacon Liput to the leadoff spot:
"Really it came down to two things; Deacon's been swinging the bat really well, he had a four-hit night on Wednesday and the home run last night and he picked up where he left off yesterday. And with the way Wil Dalton's been swinging the bat with double digit home runs now, we've just been leaving some RBI opportunities out there. You make some moves, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.
On today's game: "It comes down to the players playing and I thought they came out today with tremendous focus after a tough loss yesterday. Obviously the big swing by Jonathan there in the first inning was good for us. We kind of needed that because last night was a tough loss."
UP NEXT: The Gators and Razorbacks will wrap up the weekend series with a game Sunday at noon on SEC Network.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kowar, Jackson (4-1)
L: Isaiah Campbell (2-3)
Batting:
HR: Grant Koch 1
RBI: Grant Koch 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Heston Kjerstad 1 ; Grant Koch 1
Batting:
2B: Maldonado, Nelson 1 ; Dalton, Wil 1 ; Bell, Keenan 1
HR: India, Jonathan 1
RBI: Liput, Deacon 3 ; Maldonado, Nelson 2 ; India, Jonathan 4 ; Langworthy, Austin 1 ; Bell, Keenan 2 ; Horvath, Nick 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Liput, Deacon 3 ; Maldonado, Nelson 2 ; Dalton, Wil 2 ; India, Jonathan 3 ; Reese, Blake 2 ; Langworthy, Austin 2 ; Bell, Keenan 1 ; Horvath, Nick 2
HBP: Reese, Blake 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
3
H
4
RBI
3
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
2
R
3
H
2
RBI
4
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
OF/1B
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF/LHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
OF/RHP
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