No. 7 Baseball Opens Season By Hosting USF
Thursday, February 18, 2010 | Baseball
The University of Florida baseball team will raise the curtain on its 96th season at 6:30 p.m. on Friday when it hosts USF in the opener of a three-game series at McKethan Stadium. The Gators and Bulls will also meet at 2 p.m. on Saturday and at noon on Sunday. All three matchups will be carried live on GatorVision Online.
The Orange and Blue is found among the top 10 of the four major collegiate baseball polls: seventh in Baseball America, ninth in both Collegiate Baseball and USA Today/ESPN Coaches' and 10th in the NCBWA. This was the highest preseason ranking for the squad since 2006, when Florida began second in three of the four listings following its runner-up performance at the 2005 NCAA College World Series.
UF went 42-22 overall last season and captured the SEC's Eastern Division title for the first time since 2005, finishing one game behind eventual national champion LSU and Ole Miss for the league crown. In reaching the 40-win plateau for the 18th time in school history, the Gators claimed the NCAA Gainesville Regional and advanced to Super Regionals for the first time in four years.
Third-year head coach Kevin O'Sullivan's team was predicted to finish first in the SEC's Eastern Division, as voted by the league's 12 baseball coaches in the 19th annual preseason SEC poll released on Wednesday. Defending national champion LSU, ranked No. 2 nationally in multiple preseason polls, was chosen to win the 2010 SEC Championship by a 5-4 vote over the Gators.
UF's pitching staff will receive a huge boost with the return of right-hander Tommy Toledo (Tampa, Fla.), who took a medical redshirt during the 2009 campaign while recovering from shoulder surgery. As a true freshman in 2008, he tied for third on the squad with 11 starts and was 4-4 with a 4.40 earned run average in 15 appearances. Over 59.1 innings, the righty gave up 60 hits and 36 runs (29 earned), with 32 walks and 30 strikeouts. Toledo will start Friday's opener against USF junior right-hander Randy Fontanez, the 2010 Big East Preseason Pitcher of the Year who was 7-3 with a 3.09 ERA last spring.
In a matchup of freshmen on Saturday, Florida left-hander Brian Johnson (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) will oppose Bulls' right-hander Ray Delphey. Sunday's finale will feature either sophomore left-hander Alex Panteliodis (Tampa, Fla.) or sophomore righty Anthony DeSclafani (Freehold, N.J.) on the hill for the hosts against USF junior left-hander Andrew Barbosa.
Panteliodis and DeSclafani tied for the team lead in victories last season. Panteliodis was 6-5 with a 4.38 ERA, tallied 43 strikeouts and yielded 16 walks in 63.2 innings. Meanwhile, his classmate was 6-3 with a 4.98 ERA and his 11 starts were second on the squad. DeSclafani struck out 47 batters and permitted 16 walks in 65 innings.
Florida returned 20 letterwinners off of last season's club, including 10 pitchers and five players who saw the majority of time at their position. The Gators return a solid nucleus that includes two-time first-team All-SEC second baseman Josh Adams (Jacksonville, Fla.) (.342, 52 RBI, 11 2B, 8 HR), two-time SEC All-Defensive Team member center fielder Matt den Dekker (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) (.296, 63 R, 37 RBI, 17-18 SB), 2009 SEC Co-Freshman of the Year and NCBWA Freshman Hitter of the Year first baseman Preston Tucker (Tampa, Fla.) (.364, 85 RBI, 15 HR, 13 2B) and SEC All-Tourney and NCAA Gainesville Regional All-Tourney choice outfielder Jonathan Pigott (Ormond Beach, Fla.) (.357, 32 RBI, 31 R).
The Gators' incoming class was ranked as the best in the nation by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball. Ten of the squad's 11 recruits hail from the talent-laden Sunshine State and the group features five pitchers, three infielders, a pair of catchers and an outfielder. Nine of the players achieved all-state recognition during their senior prep seasons and infielder Bryson Smith (Watkinsville, Ga.) was recognized as the 2009 American Baseball Coaches Association's Division I Player of the Year in the National Junior College Athletic Association. Smith was unanimously selected as the Georgia Junior College Athletic Association/Region 17 Player of the Year and was also named a first-team Division I All-American after hitting .467 with a school-record 21 home runs and 90 RBI.
The Gators had seven signees from last June's Major League Baseball Draft who are now enrolled in school, as Johnson was chosen in the 27th round with the 817th choice by the Los Angeles Dodgers, right-hander Michael Heller (Bradenton, Fla.) was taken in the 29th round with the 865th pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates, catcher Mike Zunino (Cape Coral, Fla.) was tabbed 873rd overall in the 30th round by the Oakland Athletics, Smith was chosen by the Cleveland Indians in the 30th round with the 905th choice, catcher Austin Maddox (Jacksonville, Fla.) was taken in the 37th round by the Tampa Bay Rays at number 1,129, right-hander Hudson Randall (Atlanta, Ga.) was chosen by the Kansas City Royals with the 1,382nd pick in the 46th round and left-handed hurler Steven Rodriguez (Miami, Fla.) went 1,451st overall to the Houston Astros during the 48th round. In addition, den Dekker (16th round, Pittsburgh) and left-hander Kevin Chapman (Coral Springs, Fla.) (50th round, Chicago White Sox) elected to remain in school.
A whopping five Gators were named to Baseball America's top-10 list of newcomers for the SEC: Maddox (No. 2), Heller (No. 4), Zunino (No. 5), Johnson (No. 8) and Randall (No. 9). Tennessee was the only other program with multiple players on the list.
Opening Weekend Trends
· USF's visit marks the second-consecutive season that UF has opened the year against an opponent from the Big East Conference, as Louisville visited Gainesville last February.
· Florida has started on the right foot with sweeps the past two seasons, downing Siena over the weekend of Feb. 22-24, 2008, by scores of 10-7, 4-0 and 13-6, before handling No. 8 Louisville between Feb. 20-22, 2009 (6-3, 10-4, 3-2).
· Dating back to 2002, the Gators hold a 7-1 record in opening weekend series at home. Included in the total are victories over Charleston Southern (2-0 in 2002, 2-1 in 2005), Mercer (2-0 in 2003), Gardner-Webb (2-0 in 2004), Cincinnati (3-0 in 2006), Siena (3-0 in 2008) and Louisville (3-0 in 2009). UF dropped the first two games to VMI in 2007 before salvaging the finale, an ominous start to what turned out to be a 29-30 performance, the program's first losing season since 1990.
· Florida has not opened against an in-state opponent since dropping a 14-5 decision to Miami on Feb. 3, 2001, in Gainesville and its last weekend series versus Sunshine State competition was a two-game sweep of the Hurricanes at home over Feb. 6-7, 1999 (7-4, 14-12).
· Adams will be making his third-consecutive Opening Day start at his third different position. In his collegiate debut to start '08, the Jacksonville native started in center field and was 2-for-5 with two RBI against Siena. Last season, he drew the assignment on the hot corner in the win over Louisville and went 2-for-4 with a run. This time around he will be UF's second baseman.
· Adams begins the weekend on a career-high 13-game hitting streak in which he is 20-for-52 (.385) with 14 RBI and 12 runs.
· Nolan Fontana (Winter Garden, Fla.) will become the first Gator freshman to start at shortstop on Opening Day since Justin Tordi in 2003, while Zunino will become the first UF rookie to start behind the plate since Brian Jeroloman in 2004.
· Toledo was also a weekend starter as a true freshman in 2008 and emerged victorious with a five-inning stint in which he gave up five hits and two runs and totaled five strikeouts in a 13-6 win over Siena that completed UF's sweep.
· As freshmen, left-handers Panteliodis and Nick Maronde (Lexington, Ky.) started the second and third games, respectively, against Louisville last February. Panteliodis limited the Cardinals to two runs on five hits over six innings and picked up the win. Maronde was not involved in the decision despite 6.1 innings of work in which he allowed five hits and two first-inning runs, although neither was earned.
· With the number of Gator freshmen hoping for their first action versus USF, it was on March 5, 2008 during Coach O'Sullivan's initial season that Chris Freshcorn belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer against Campbell on the first pitch he saw as a collegian.
This weekend's series will mark the first time since Feb. 16-18, 1990, that the Gators and Bulls have met over three-straight days. Oddly enough, each of those three contests was played in a different city. USF notched a 3-2 victory in the opener played at Red McEwen Field before UF evened the series with a 2-1 triumph in St. Petersburg. The Gators posted a 6-2 win in Sunday's rubber game held at McKethan Stadium.
Florida will be facing Sunshine State foes USF and Florida State four times apiece this season. Following this weekend's set, the Gators will travel to Tampa for a mid-week matchup on April 21 against the Bulls. UF will tussle with the Seminoles in four different locations: Tampa (March 2), Gainesville (March 16), Jacksonville (March 30) and Tallahassee (April 13). UF wound up facing Miami five times last year, three times during the regular season and twice during the NCAA Gainesville Regional.
UF's 30 wins at home last season were the most since the 2005 squad went 32-11 (.744). The school record for victories at McKethan Stadium occurred in 1998, when that Gator juggernaught steamrolled to a 35-5 (.875) showing en route to the SEC's Eastern Division and regular-season titles, the NCAA South I Regional crown and a berth in the College World Series. O'Sullivan sports a 57-16 (.781) record at home and the Gators are 16-3 (.842) in regular-season series under his tutelage.
Florida has compiled a 62-26 (.705) record against the 12 schools in the Big East and has never faced Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Rutgers or Seton Hall. The Gators hold a 45-23 (.662) advantage over their most frequent foe, USF, and have also posted winning marks against Cincinnati (3-0), Connecticut (2-0), Louisville (4-1), Notre Dame (4-1), St. John's (1-0), Villanova (2-1) and West Virginia (1-0).
UF sports a 54-40-1 (.574) record in its previous 95 opening day contests, including a 34-20-1 (.627) record at home. The Gators have claimed 21 of their last 27 lid-lifters and 15 of their last 18 season debuts in Gainesville. UF has started the year on its own turf in 12 of the past 13 seasons, with the lone exception a 12-6 victory at Hawaii on Jan. 20, 2000.
O'Sullivan enjoyed a successful start to his head coaching career on Feb. 22, 2008, with a 10-7 victory over Siena in front of 3,408 fans at McKethan Stadium. The Gators rallied from deficits of 5-0 and 6-5 and snapped a 6-6 tie in the sixth with a two-run triple by Brandon McArthur. Adams later added a two-out, two-RBI single in the frame as the hosts sent 10 batters to the plate. Making the first relief appearance of his career, righty Billy Bullock limited the Saints to one run and three hits over six innings and equaled his personal best of six strikeouts to pick up the win.
Behind a seven-inning stint and a career-high seven strikeouts by right-hander Patrick Keating, UF enjoyed a successful 2009 debut with a 6-3 victory over eighth-ranked Louisville on Feb. 20. Bullock closed the game with a pair of scoreless innings to notch his first career save. Holding a slim 4-3 lead in the seventh, the Gators tacked on two insurance runs to capture their opener for the sixth time in the past eight years. Adams went 2-for-4 with a run, while McArthur roped a two-run triple into right center field.
In the last meeting between UF and USF, Mike Mooney delivered a walk-off single with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th to lift the Gators to a 5-4 decision over the Bulls on April 22, 2009, at McKethan Stadium. UF had tied the game with a pair of runs in the ninth to send the game into extra innings.
In the decisive frame, Hampton Tignor (Sarasota, Fla.) drew a one-out walk from Joe Cole and Tyler Thompson (Tequesta, Fla.) delivered a pinch-hit single into right field. Avery Barnes came through with an infield hit to load the sacks and Mooney sent Cole's next pitch into left field to drive in Tignor with the winning run. Maronde collected the win as UF's fifth pitcher of the night. McArthur had opened the scoring with a solo homer to begin the second, his first big fly since May 15, 2008 against Vanderbilt, a span of 44 games.
--UF--
