No. 7 Baseball Wraps Up Series At No. 6 FSU
Tuesday, April 13, 2010 | Baseball
After capturing its first series at Tennessee since 2002, No. 7 Florida (23-8/8-4 SEC) continues its eight-game road trip in Tallahassee on Tuesday night against No. 6 Florida State (25-7/10-5 ACC). Game time from Dick Howser Stadium will be at 6 p.m. The Gators and Seminoles have already met three times this year, with FSU emerging victorious twice (10-5 in Tampa on March 2 and 7-2 in Jacksonville on March 30) and UF posting an 8-5 decision at McKethan Stadium on March 16.
In its last meeting with Florida State two weeks ago, the Gators suffered a 7-2 setback in front of a sellout crowd of 9,276 fans at The Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. The Seminoles took advantage of a season-high five UF errors that led to five unearned runs to take a 2-1 advantage in the regular-season series.
Sophomore Brian Busch twirled 4.1 scoreless innings and totaled six strikeouts to earn the win in relief of junior Geoff Parker (4.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER). Sophomore Tyler Thompson (Tequesta, Fla.) provided the Gators with a 2-1 lead in the second inning with his first homer since May 16, 2009, against Kentucky and freshman Austin Maddox (Jacksonville, Fla.) went 2-for-4. Freshman Hudson Randall (Atlanta, Ga.) was on the hook for the loss after giving up an unearned run on one hit in 2.1 innings. It was the first time all season that a member of the Gator bullpen suffered a defeat after a 7-0 start. Senior Jeff Barfield (Perry, Ga.) worked two innings, allowing three hits and an unearned run, in his first start since April 21, 2009, versus Florida Gulf Coast.
During the teams' meeting in Gainesville, the Gators limited Florida State to one hit over the final seven innings and overcame a pair of three-run deficits en route to an 8-5 victory on March 16. Sophomore left-hander Nick Maronde (Lexington, Ky.) threw two scoreless and hitless innings to earn the win and junior southpaw Kevin Chapman (Coral Springs, Fla.) kept the Seminoles off the scoreboard over the final three frames to pick up his third save. Sophomore Preston Tucker (Tampa, Fla.) (2-for-3) continued his torrid stretch by driving in four runs. Freshman Kamm Washington (Boynton Beach, Fla.) (3-for-4) matched his career high of three hits and scored a career-high three runs. Senior Matt den Dekker (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) (3-for-5) scored twice, while junior Josh Adams (Jacksonville, Fla.) (2-for-4) belted a two-run homer in the first inning and added an RBI single in the fourth inning. Head coach Kevin O'Sullivan improved to 3-0 versus the Seminoles in Gainesville.
A seven-run first inning powered Florida State to a 10-5 win over Florida on March 2 in at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. The Seminoles exploded out of the gates with seven runs on six hits and two hit batters in the first inning, chasing sophomore starter Anthony DeSclafani (Freehold, N.J.) before he recorded an out. Freshman Mike Zunino (Cape Coral, Fla.) belted his first career homer in the third inning to put the Gators on the board and UF rallied in the ninth with four runs on six hits to reduce the deficit to five runs. FSU's Daniel Bennett had sophomore Daniel Pigott (Ormond Beach, Fla.) pop up with the bases full to end the game. One positive was that Florida's bullpen totaled 10 strikeouts.
In the squads' last encounter in Tallahassee, a five-run first inning and three homers powered UF to a 10-2 victory on April 14, 2009, in front of 6,345 fans at Dick Howser Stadium. The win enabled the Gators to claim the regular-season series between the Sunshine State rivals. Making his collegiate starting debut, right-hander Greg Larson (Longwood, Fla.) (3-1) limited the Seminoles to one hit over a career-high 4.1 innings before reaching a predetermined pitch count. UF raced out to a 10-0 lead before the hosts got on the board in the seventh.
The Gators sent nine batters to the plate and tallied five runs on four hits in the first stanza against Bo O'Dell, highlighted by a three-run homer from Avery Barnes (4-for-5). den Dekker (2-for-4, two runs) was hit by a pitch to begin the game and Daniel Pigott followed with an infield single. Barnes sent a 2-0 pitch over the right-field fence for his sixth homer. Tucker poked a base-hit and Adams (2-for-4, two runs) stroked a single into left for a pair of runners aboard. A fielder's choice by Brandon McArthur erased Tucker at third base and a walk to Buddy Munroe loaded the bases with one down. Teddy Foster (2-for-3, three RBI) lofted his first sacrifice fly of the year and McArthur later came home on a wild pitch for a 5-0 lead. O'Dell was lifted after an inning in which he threw 37 pitches.
Foster belted a two-run homer in the sixth and Adams delivered a two-run shot in the seventh for a 10-run cushion. Tony Davis worked 2.2 innings, giving up three hits and two runs, before Billy Bullock registered four strikeouts in two scoreless frames to close the game.
Over the weekend, Florida split its first two games against Eastern Division rival Tennessee before notching a decisive win in Sunday's finale that secured its first series success at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in eight years. Sophomore Alex Panteliodis (Tampa, Fla.) worked a career-high eight innings to lead the Gators to a 4-2 victory in Friday's opener. The left-hander (6-1, 1.99) gave up six hits and two runs to pick up the win, while Chapman (1-0, 1.21) collected his sixth save by registering the final three outs. Panteliodis is 2-1 with a 2.48 earned run average in four SEC starts covering 29.0 innings. Daniel Pigott (.262, 17 RBI) drove in a pair of runs and had his first career triple as the Gators kicked off their extended road trip with their first series-opening win in Knoxville since April 12, 2002.
Behind the strong pitching of senior Stephen McCray and an opportunistic offense that scored seven runs with two outs, UT evened the series with a 12-4 victory on Saturday. Maddox (.356, 37 RBI) went 3-for-5 and had his first multiple-homer game with a pair of solo shots in the setback. He leads the Gators in slugging percentage (.629), multiple-hit games (15), multi-RBI games (11), doubles (nine) and homers (nine)… Freshman shortstop Nolan Fontana (Winter Garden, Fla.) (.287, 10 RBI) committed his first error after 127 consecutive successful chances in game two.
Later named the SEC's Freshman of the Week, Randall (3-3, 3.98) held Tennessee without a hit until the sixth inning and Florida erupted for a season-high seven runs in the sixth to cruise to a 9-1 victory on Sunday. Over a career-high eight innings, Randall limited the Vols to four singles and a run and matched his personal-best of six strikeouts. He was supported by an offense that banged out 13 hits, including a season-high seven doubles. Sophomore Jerico Weitzel (Ridgway, Pa.) (3-for-4, two runs) had a career-high three doubles and Adams (.243, 21 RBI, 5 HR) jacked a three-run homer in the sixth when the contest was scoreless. Weitzel's effort marked the first time that a Gator had three two-baggers in a game since Jeff Corsaletti accomplished the feat against Nebraska on June 19, 2005, at the NCAA College World Series. Weitzel entered the game with two career doubles. Senior Jonathan Pigott (Ormond Beach, Fla.) hit .417 (5-for-12) at Tennessee, while Weitzel was 3-for-7 (.429) and Maddox was 5-for-14 (.357).
Gator Bytes
*The Gators have committed an SEC-low 25 errors in 31 games and boast a .979 fielding percentage that is the best in the league. UF has played flawless defense in 17 of 31 contests and sports a 15-2 (.882) mark in those games.
*The Orange and Blue ranked 11th in the league with a .966 clip last season.
*While Florida has grown accustomed to being successful on its own turf, it is 5-6 (.455) away from Gainesville this season. UF dropped a pair of neutral-site games to Florida State in Tampa (March 2) and Jacksonville (March 30) and fell twice in three outings at Ole Miss between March 26-28 before winning two of three games at Tennessee last weekend.
*Florida State sports a 17-4 (.810) mark at Dick Howser Stadium and hand has taken seven of its last home outings.
*O'Sullivan is 4-6 (.400) against Florida State: 3-0 (1.000) in Gainesville, 1-2 (.333) in Tallahassee and 0-4 (.000) at neutral sites.
*Tucker (.357, 24 RBI, 9 2B, 4 HR) enters the week on a team-high six-game hitting streak in which he is 7-for-17 (.412) with four RBI and a run scored.
*Adams ended a seven-game RBI drought with a three-run homer against UT on Sunday and is 8-for-38 (.211) in his last 10 games.
*Maddox, who has started games at designated hitter (13), third base (10), first base (seven) and catcher (one), continues to pace UF's offense in RBI (37), multiple-hit games (15), multiple-RBI games (11), homers (nine), doubles (nine), hit-by-pitches (five) and slugging percentage (.629).
*Opponents are 17-for-26 on stolen-base opportunities against the Gators, while Zunino has thrown out eight of 22 runners.
*UF is 49-of-68 on the basepaths and is fourth in the SEC in thefts. den Dekker is 10-for-14 but has been thrown out in his last three attempts.
*By being plunked twice in the finale at Tennessee, den Dekker climbed to eighth on the school's all-time list with 24 HBP. Current Cleveland Indians' first baseman Matt LaPorta (2004-07) holds the record of 51.
*Chapman, who made 11 appearances last year and 30 total in his career entering this season, is 1-0 with a team-low 1.21 earned average in 15 appearances covering 22.1 innings. He ranks third in the SEC with six saves.
*Led by 11 from Bullock, Florida totaled 13 saves in its 42 victories in 2009. UF has 10 saves already this year from four players: Chapman (six), Barfield (two), as well as Larson (one) and Maronde (one).
*Since moving to the leadoff spot over the past seven games, Fontana is 4-for-23 (.174) with six walks, three runs and three RBI. On the season, the shortstop is hitting .287 with 24 walks and 21 runs is is second among everyday players with a .442 on-base percentage.
*Not only did Weitzel make several sterling defensive plays at third base with six assists on Sunday, he notched his first multiple-hit game of the season by going 3-for-4 with three doubles and also scored twice.
*Tucker is batting .364 (24-for-66) and Maddox is hitting .342 (27-for-79) with runners on base, with Tucker at .389 (14-for-36) and Maddox at .333 (16-for-48) with RISP.
*den Dekker (.419) and Thompson (.400) are the most effective starters with two outs, while sophomore Ben McMahan (Windermere, Fla.) is 5-for-7 (.714) with two down in an inning. Maddox leads the Gators with 17 two-out RBI.
*Washington, who has started 18 games in right field and is hitting .308 with 15 runs, nine walks, eight stolen bases, six RBI and three doubles in 27 games, will be sidelined indefinitely due to a hamstring injury suffered in a collision with the right-field wall at Tennessee on Saturday.
*The Gators' starting third baseman, junior Bryson Smith (Watkinsville, Ga.), has been sidelined for the past 13 games after injuring his finger against Mississippi State on March 20.
-UF-
