No. 9 Gators To Meet Arkansas At SEC Tourney
Monday, May 18, 2009 | Baseball
After capturing its first SEC Eastern Division title since 2005, No. 11 Florida (38-18) drew the second seed in the 2009 SEC Tournament and will meet seventh-seeded Arkansas (32-20) in the opening contest of the double-elimination event on Wednesday at 11 a.m. in Hoover, Ala. The game will be will be televised on CSS and shown live on Cox in the Gainesville area.
The Gators will be making their league-leading 29th appearance at the SEC Tourney and are 46-48 (.489) all-time at the event. In the lone meeting between Florida and Arkansas in SEC postseason play, the Orange and Blue posted a 9-8 win in the first round on May 25, 2005.
Florida was the third seed at last season's tourney and dropped a 7-3 decision to sixth-seeded Vanderbilt before being ousted in an elimination game by seventh-seed South Carolina, 11-3. It was the first time since 1995 that the Gators did not win at least one game in the SEC Tourney.
Senior Stephen Locke (Tampa, Fla.) (4-1, 4.88) is scheduled to make his team-best 10th start on Wednesday against UA junior Dallas Keuchel (7-3, 3.89). Over 51.2 innings this season, the Gator left-hander has 41 strikeouts and issued 13 walks. Locke has worked at least 7.1 innings in four of his last six starts and did not pitch against Arkansas when the clubs met in March. All four of his victories this year are versus SEC foes: Auburn (April 11), Ole Miss (April 18), South Carolina (April 24) and Kentucky (May 14).
Locke will be seeing his first action at Regions Park since starting UF's first-round contest against Arkansas on May 25, 2005 as a true freshman. Opposing Nick Schmidt, who later became a first-round pick of the San Diego Padres in the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft, Locke was not part of the decision after a 5.1-inning stint in which he gave up nine hits and five runs (four earned). At the time, the Tampa native matched his career high of seven strikeouts.
Florida dropped all three games at Arkansas to begin Southeastern Conference play, 11-4, 8-4 and 4-2. It was the first time since 2001 that UF had been swept in its opening league series. The Gators were limited to a .222 (22-for-99) batting average by the Hogs and out-scored 23-10 in the series, although senior outfielder Avery Barnes (High Springs, Fla.) was 6-for-13 (.462) and sophomore outfielder Riley Cooper (Clearwater, Fla.) was 4-for-9 (.444).
Freshman LHP Nick Maronde (Lexington, Ky.) had a then-career-high five strikeouts in the finale, when he scattered five hits and gave up two runs (one earned) over five innings. Junior RHP Jeff Barfield (Perry, Ga.) worked 5.2 innings in relief of freshman LHP Alex Panteliodis (Tampa, Fla.) on Saturday. Junior RHP Billy Bullock (Balm, Fla.) made his first and only start of the campaign in the opener and took the loss after 3.1 innings in which he permitted four hits and six runs, although just two were earned. The Gators committed seven errors during the series, including a season-high five in the finale.
Florida defeated Kentucky twice in three meetings last weekend to capture its first SEC Eastern Division title in four years. It was also the SEC-leading 19th divisional crown for the program. The Gators finished league play with a 19-11 record, one game behind co-champions LSU and Ole Miss, who were both 20-10. UF was 12-3 against its East counterparts and posted sweeps of Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee. Only five teams in school history have won more SEC games than this year's squad (21-1988; 21-1998; 20-1996; 20-2002; 20-2005). Four of the five Gator teams that have won more SEC contests than this year's squad have advanced to the NCAA College World Series (1988, 1996, 1998, 2005). UF's 38 regular-season victories are its most in four years.
Barnes hit .500 (6-for-12) with seven runs and had an on-base percentage of .600 against Kentucky. The left fielder matched his career high of four hits in the opener, when he was 4-for-5 and tallied three runs. He scored twice in Friday's one-run loss and went 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI single on Senior Day as Florida rallied for 13-9 victory to take the series. In his seven career games versus Kentucky, Barnes was 15-for-28 (.536) with 13 runs, four RBI, three stolen bases and a triple. In SEC games only, he led the league in batting average (.382), hits (50) and runs (40) and was tied for fourth in triples (two). He occupies Florida's top spot with a .360 overall clip, 77 hits, 63 runs and six triples and also has a career-high 38 RBI.
Freshman Preston Tucker (Tampa, Fla.) (.338 overall, .350 SEC) drove in six runs during the UK series, giving him 71 on the season to break the UF freshman record previously held by Brad Wilkerson (68, 1996). The rookie first baseman totaled 40 RBI in 29 SEC games.
Four unearned runs in the seventh by the visitors paved the way to Saturday's 13-9 Florida victory. Junior shortstop Mike Mooney (Loxahatchee, Fla.) (.331) snapped an 8-8 tie with a bases-loaded, two-out single and Tucker (2-for-5) followed with a two-run double to help the Gators take the rubber game of the series. Panteliodis (6-5, 4.01) notched the win with 1.1 scoreless innings and freshman Tyler Thompson (Tequesta, Fla.) (.286) was a career-high 4-for-4, belted his first career homer and also contributed career bests in RBI (three) and runs (three).
An eight-run third inning keyed Kentucky to an 8-7 victory on Friday night that evened the series. The Gators scored four runs in the ninth to pull within one and had the potential tying run on third base before sophomore Logan Darnell recorded the final two outs. With UF trailing, 8-4, Tucker belted what looked to be a game-tying grand slam to deep left field that freshman Chad Wright snared with a phenomenal catch at the wall.
Last Thursday, Locke (4-1) worked 7.1 innings for his fourth league win, sophomore Josh Adams (Jacksonville, Fla.) (.341, 46 RBI) had two-run singles in both the fifth and sixth innings and Barnes was 4-for-5 with three runs as UF clinched the East with a 10-3 triumph. Florida's bullpen finished the series with a 2.13 earned run average, giving up three earned runs over 12.2 innings.
Gator Bytes
· Head coach Kevin O'Sullivan is seeking his first postseason win, as the Gators were 0-2 at the 2008 SEC Tournament and then dropped a pair of games at the NCAA Tallahassee Regional last May.
· The Gators have five SEC Tournament Championships (1981, 1982, 1984, 1988, 1991) and five runner-up performances (1977, 1979, 1992, 1996, 2000).
· Out of Florida's 38 victories, 24 (12 in the SEC) have been of the come-from-behind variety.
· According to Boyd's World Pseudo-RPI's updated on Sunday morning, Florida boasts the highest RPI of any SEC team with a ranking of sixth. The teams in UF's side of the bracket in Hoover, Arkansas (13), Ole Miss (14) and Georgia (19), are among the six league schools in the Top-25 listing.
· Arkansas has claimed eight of its last nine encounters with Florida and is riding a four-game winning streak in the series.
· The Orange and Blue is 17-3 (.850) when scoring in the first inning and plated runs in the initial frame during all three games against Kentucky.
· UF was pretty consistent over the two halves of the SEC season - going 9-6 in the first five series and 10-5 in the final five sets.
· In the SEC statistics, the Gators' pitching staff is second in earned run average (4.20), their offense is sixth in batting average (.306) and fielding percentage is ninth (.967). Through the 30 league games, UF's offense (.312) and pitching (4.65) were second and the .969 fielding percentage was eighth.
· Florida played two neutral-site games at minor league parks this spring and was 1-1. On March 31, it was on the short end of a 3-2 score in five innings against Florida State at The Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville, home of the Class AA Jacksonville Suns. On April 21, the Gators routed Florida Gulf Coast, 12-3, at Hammond Stadium in Ft. Myers, home of the Class A Advanced Ft. Myers Miracle.
· The Gators have not committed multiple errors in the last five outings and are 14-2 (.875) when playing mistake-free this season.
· Tucker leads the Gators with 19 multiple-RBI games and is second behind Barnes (22) for the top spot with 21 multiple-hit games. UF is 31-11 (.738) when the rookie starts at first base.
· Entering last weekend, Tucker was one point behind Barnes for the team lead in batting average as the slugger already occupies the top spot in RBI (71) and homers (11). The last Gator player to win the team's “Triple Crown” was Matt LaPorta in 2007, when he hit .402, bashed 20 homers and drove in 52 runs.
· Bullock's 11 saves are second in the SEC behind the 12 apiece by Auburn's Austin Hubbard and LSU's Matty Ott. Bullock's save total is the most since Josh Fogg tied the school record held by Danny Wheeler (1994) with 13 in 1998.
· Tucker's 71 RBI are the most by a UF player since LaPorta had 79 in 2005 and the school record of 80 was set by Ryan Shealy in 2002.
· Mooney enters the SEC Tourney on a season-best six-game hitting streak in which he is 6-for-22 (.273) with seven runs and five RBI.
· Adams is batting .375 (30-for-80) against left-handers, while Barnes is at .346 (27-for-78) and senior Brandon McArthur (Seffner, Fla.) has a .333 (23-for-69) average.
· Florida has a .348 (31-for-89) average with the bases loaded, with 92 RBI and five grand slams. Tucker has driven in 19 runs and is 6-for-13 (.462) with the sacks full, McArthur is 5-for-11 (.455) with 11 RBI and junior Jonathan Pigott (Ormond Beach, Fla.) is 3-for-6 (.500) with 12 RBI.
· Pigott has started the last 11 games in right field and has responded with a team-best .386 (17-for-44) average with 12 RBI, five walks and three extra-base hits during the stretch.
· Florida's starting pitchers are 18-11 with a 5.06 earned run average in 261.2 innings, with 189 strikeouts and 69 walks. Locke (4-1, 4.88) and Panteliodis (4-3, 5.18) each have four wins when drawing a start.
· The Gator bullpen is 20-7 with a 3.24 ERA and has collected 13 saves in 233.2 innings, with 185 K and 95 walks. Junior Tony Davis (Cooper City, Fla.) (5-0, 2.65) is second behind Bullock (2-1, 11 saves, 1.17) in relief innings pitched and has held the opposition to a .200 clip.
· Opposing left-handed hitters are just 9-for-50 (.180) against Davis, who has limited foes to a 6-for-45 (.133) average with two outs.
· Florida's top hitters at the 2008 SEC Tournament were Cole Figueroa (4-for-7, .571) and McArthur (3-for-7, .429). Current senior Patrick Keating (Harrisburg, Ill.) suffered his only loss of last season after being tagged for the loss in game one by Vanderbilt, when he surrendered nine hits and six runs over six innings. Bullock started game two against South Carolina and was knocked out after 1.1 innings in which he gave up six hits and five runs.
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