No. 23 Gators Host Alabama In Key SEC Series
Thursday, March 26, 2009 | Baseball
No. 23 Florida (15-8) welcomes Western Division rival Alabama (16-7) to town for a three-game series at McKethan Stadium. The Gators and Crimson Tide are both 3-3 in league play, as UF swept Tennessee last weekend and UA dropped two of three on the road at No. 12 Ole Miss (7-8, 2-5, 19-6).
Junior Jeff Barfield (Perry, Ga.) (2-0, 1.17) will draw the start in Friday's opener at 6:30 p.m. and oppose Alabama senior right-hander Austin Hyatt (4-0, 2.85). Freshman LHP Nick Maronde (Lexington, Ky.) (1-1, 1.88) will face Crimson Tide freshman left-hander Adam Morgan (3-1, 3.10) on Saturday at 4 p.m., live on FSN Florida, while senior RHP Patrick Keating (Harrisburg, Ill.) and junior southpaw Del Howell (2-0, 0.00) will square off in Sunday's finale at 1 p.m.
Redshirt freshman Justin Poovey (Granite Falls, N.C.) threw a career-high 4.2 scoreless innings to lead the Gators to a 5-3 win over UNF on Wednesday night. The right-hander (2-0) allowed three singles and matched a season high with three strikeouts. Junior Matt den Dekker (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) went 2-for-4 with two runs and belted his fourth homer as UF forged a split of the home-and-home series. The hosts plated two runs on two hits and three Osprey errors in the fifth to build a 4-1 lead before UNF closed the gap to 5-3 in the eighth. Junior Billy Bullock (Balm, Fla.) pitched a scoreless ninth to notch his fourth save and lowered his ERA to 2.25.
The Gators' eight-game home winning streak is their longest of the season and the squad's longest since taking 10 straight decisions from March 8-29, 2008. UF claimed its first five outings at McKethan Stadium this season before being swept by No. 10 Miami (Fla.) between Feb. 27-March 1 and falling short in a mid-week matchup with Florida Atlantic on March 4. The Orange and Blue is 13-4 at home and 2-4 on the road.
Sophomore Josh Adams (Jacksonville, Fla.) and den Dekker extended their respective hitting streaks to eight games in the last meeting with UNF. den Dekker is 13-for-31 (.419) over the span with 11 runs, five RBI and three stolen bases, while Adams is 11-for-32 (.344) with six runs, four RBI and three walks. Adams' skein is now a career best, while den Dekker has had a hit in 13-straight games twice, most recently from April 26-May 21, 2008.
Senior left-hander Stephen Locke (Tampa, Fla.) made his season debut versus UNF on Wednesday and threw two innings while on a pitch count, totaling two strikeouts and giving up one hit and an unearned run. Last season, Locke rated second on the Gators behind Keating (14) with 12 starts. He turned in a 5-2 ledger and registered a 3.17 earned run average in a career-high 21 appearances, striking out 46 batters and allowing 13 walks in 82.1 innings. He had the lowest ERA of any Florida pitcher in SEC play with a 2.91 mark and twirled the first two complete games of his career against fifth-ranked Georgia (April 26) and Alabama (May 10). Locke also collected saves versus Tennessee (April 6) and Arkansas (April 12).
After splitting the first two games at Alabama last May, Florida suffered a difficult, 8-7 loss in Sunday's rubber game. Brandon McArthur (Seffner, Fla.) and den Dekker were each 6-for-14 (.429) against the Crimson Tide. On Sunday, McArthur belted his first homer since Feb. 9, 2007 and matched a season high with three RBI. UF held a 7-2 lead with two outs in the eighth before the Tide countered with five runs in that frame to tie the score. Although right fielder Riley Cooper (Clearwater, Fla.) robbed Matt Bentley of a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth, pinch runner Jeff Texada scored from second base with the winning run on the sacrifice fly. Keating received his second-straight no-decision after working 7.1 innings in which he scattered seven hits and was charged with four runs (three earned). Cole Figueroa went 3-for-5, scored three runs and clubbed his seventh homer.
Locke hurled his second career complete game to help the Gators to a 6-2 win on Saturday. The left-hander scattered seven hits and gave up one earned run. He surrendered six singles and one double and went the distance on 96 pitches. McArthur and den Dekker were each 3-for-5 as UF exceeded its win total from last year with its 30th victory. Down to its final strike in the top of the ninth on Friday, Florida used a bases-loaded, two-run single by Barnes to seize a 6-5 lead. However, the Tide answered with a two-run walk-off double in the home part of the inning by pinch hitter Del Howell to grab a 7-6 decision.
Gator Bytes
· Nine of the Gators' 14 wins this year have been of the come-from-behind variety. Last season's club had 10 comeback victories in its total of 34 triumphs.
· The Orange and Blue is 11-2 (.846) against unranked opponents and the club's four victories over Top-25 foes are the most in the conference.
· The Gators rank 12th overall in the SEC in batting average (.278), third in earned run average (3.37) and 12th in fielding percentage (.957). However, in league games only, the Gators are fourth in hitting (.286), fourth in pitching (4.06) and 12th in defense (.946).
· Senior Avery Barnes (High Springs, Fla.) is the league leader with four triples and freshman Preston Tucker (Tampa, Fla.) is tied for second in sacrifice flies (three). Barnes has reached as the leadoff hitter in an inning 18 times in 32 opportunities for a .565 percentage.
· Since moving to the leadoff spot last Wednesday at UCF, den Dekker is 10-for-25 (.400) and scored nine runs.
· Barfield is first in the SEC in earned run average (1.17), fewest runs allowed (five) and earned runs allowed (three) and is 10th in opposing batting average (.227).
· Freshman LHP Alex Panteliodis (Tampa, Fla.) has picked off a league-best five runners, including three against Duquesne on March 6.
· Florida is a perfect 11-0 when leading after six innings and is 1-5 when trailing after six.
· The Gators' starting pitchers have eight wins and the relievers have seven. The starters enter the Alabama series with five no-decisions in a row since freshman Anthony DeSclafani (Freehold, N.J.) had five innings of one-run ball in a 7-3 victory at UCF on March 18.
· UF has 29 doubles and been hit 27 times, including six by den Dekker. The club's total of 15 homers is equal to the season total of Alabama slugger Kent Matthes.
· Adams is batting .364 (12-for-33) against lefties, .370 (17-for-46) against right-handers and is 20-for-47 (.426) with runner on base.
· Bullock had limited righties to a .184 (9-for-49) clip and opponents are just 6-for-34 (.176) against him with runners aboard.
· Junior southpaw Tony Davis (Cooper City, Fla.) has held lefties to a 1-for-12 (.083) showing at the plate.
· Sixteen of the Gators' 40 errors this season have come from third base, where five different players have seen time.
Florida-Alabama Series Tidbits
· The home team has emerged victorious in the last four series, all by 2-1 margins (2005, UF; 2006, UA; 2007, UF, 2008).
· There has not been a sweep since the Crimson Tide won all three in Tuscaloosa from April 5-7, 2002 (4-1, 7-2, 6-5).
· Florida has captured the last three sets in Gainesville (2003, 2005, 2007) since dropping all three games during the 1999 season.
· Four of the last five meetings have been decided by two runs or less, with UA taking three.
-UF-
