WHAT HAPPENED: No. 2 Florida beat No. 8 Vanderbilt 8-2 on Sunday afternoon to sweep the weekend series over the Commodores.
Florida has now won six-straight games over Top 10-ranked opponents, outscoring them 49-14 in those six games.
It is the first time since 2012 that Vanderbilt has been swept in a SEC weekend series, snapping a streak of 59-straight series without being swept.
The Gators picked up where they left off on Saturday, pushing four runs across in the first inning. A two-run double from
Wil Dalton opened the scoring and back-to-back hits from
Austin Langworthy and
Blake Reese added two more runs to make it 4-0.
Vanderbilt cut the deficit to two in the third inning with a home run from Ethan Paul, but Florida responded in the bottom frame as Dalton hit a solo home run to right field.
In the fourth, a two-run home run from
Jonathan India made it 7-2. India and Dalton now sit atop the SEC rankings with 11 home runs apiece.
Keenan Bell followed with a home run in the fifth inning to make it 8-2. Bell has homered in two-straight games and has five homers on the season.
On the mound, starter
Tyler Dyson allowed four hits and two runs over 4.1 innings. Freshmen
Jordan Butler and
Jack Leftwich combined for 4.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Jordan Butler – Butler entered Sunday's game with the bases loaded and just one out in the fifth inning. He struck out the first batter and got a grounder to end the inning without allowing a run across. On the season, he has pitched 11.1 innings out of the pen without allowing a run.
FROM THE COACH: Head coach Kevin O'Sullivan on the weekend sweep: "We played at a high level; defensively, we pitched really well – which we've done all year long for the most part – and offensively I think we had some really good at bats with two outs this weekend.
"Today, jumping out early and scoring four in the first really says a lot about our team's maturity. Oftentimes you come out a little flat [in game three] because you're satisfied with two wins on the weekend. We talked about it yesterday after the game, if you want to win the league it always comes down to one game. If you have an opportunity to win the weekend or get a sweep you have to take advantage of it. We certainly were focused today."
STANDOUT STAT: 36 / 6 – The Florida pitching staff combined for 36 strikeouts with just six walks in three games against Vanderbilt, posting a 2.33 earned run average and limiting the Commodores to a .163 batting average.
UP NEXT: Florida wraps up its homestand Tuesday night against Florida Gulf Coast at 6 p.m. The Gators will hit the road next weekend for a three-game series at Tennessee beginning Friday night.
