No. 4 Baseball Faces Bethune-Cookman On Tuesday Night
Tuesday, May 4, 2010 | Baseball
Riding a five-game winning streak following a sweep of defending national champion No. 9 LSU, No. 4 Florida (31-11/15-6 SEC) hosts Bethune-Cookman (29-18/15-0 MEAC) on Tuesday night. The Wildcats have claimed 14 of their last 19 contests and dominated Maryland Eastern Shore over the weekend by scores of 11-1, 12-1 and 18-0.
The Gators advanced in all four of the collegiate baseball polls released on Monday, moving from sixth to fourth in Baseball America, seventh to sixth in Collegiate Baseball, 12th to sixth in USA Today/ESPN and from 10th to sixth in the rankings released by the NCBWA.
In the teams' last meeting, a two-run, walk-off single by Teddy Foster capped a three-run rally in the bottom of the ninth as UF nipped Bethune-Cookman, 8-7, on May 29, 2009, at the NCAA Gainesville Regional. With Florida down to its final three outs and down by two runs, Preston Tucker (Tampa, Fla.) (3-for-5, two runs, two RBI) opened the final frame with a single through the left side. Josh Adams (Jacksonville, Fla.) drew his second walk of the game and Matt den Dekker (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) stroked an RBI single into right field to score Tucker for a 7-6 count. Daniel Pigott (Ormond Beach, Fla.) was walked intentionally to load the bases with one out and Foster sliced a 3-1 offering into right to plate Adams and den Dekker with the tying and winning run, respectively.
After the Orange and Blue trailed 4-0, Patrick Keating threw three scoreless innings with four strikeouts to keep the hosts within striking distance. The win also enabled UF to reach the 40-win plateau for the 18th time in school history, first since the 2005 club went 48-23.
The Gators and Wildcats also met during the 2009 regular season, as Tucker went 4-for-4 and drove in four runs to power the Gators to a 12-7 victory on April 7. He belted a two-run homer in the first inning and later snapped a 6-6 tie with a two-out RBI single in the sixth that put the hosts ahead to stay. Bethune-Cookman rallied from a 6-1 deficit and tied the game with four runs in the sixth before UF erupted for five runs on four hits and two errors in the seventh to put the game away. Tony Davis picked up the win with 2.1 innings of relief after Keating got a no-decision after giving up seven hits and six runs (five earned) over 5.1 IP. Pigott bashed his first career homer in the first.
The Orange and Blue is 10-4 (.714) against in-state opponents this season, with four wins against USF, two against Miami and one apiece versus Florida Gulf Coast, Florida State, Jacksonville and UCF. The Gators fell three times to the Seminoles and once to the Hurricanes.
With a 23-3 (.885) start to the home slate, Kevin O'Sullivan sports an 80-19 (.808) record at home. The sweep of LSU last weekend pushed the Gators to 23-3 (.885) in regular-season series under his tutelage at McKethan Stadium. Tuesday night will mark O'Sullivan's 100th home game.
Over the weekend, Florida posted its first regular-season sweep of defending national champion LSU since 1996 and just its second over the Tigers in school history. UF has now captured five-straight games over top-10 opponents. The Gators are one game back of No. 4 South Carolina (34-9/16-5 SEC) in both the SEC and Eastern Division standings. Florida batted .390 (39-for-100) and out-scored LSU, 28-14 over the three games. Thirteen of the 39 hits went for extra-bases, as the Gators had eight doubles, four homers and a triple. All three starting pitchers, sophomore LHP Alex Panteliodis (Tampa, Fla.) (7-2, 2.92), freshman RHP Hudson Randall (Atlanta, Ga.) (5-3, 3.30) and freshman LHP Brian Johnson (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) (4-2, 2.90) collected victories and registered a combined 1.40 ERA with 13 strikeouts and one walk in 19.1 innings. den Dekker (.356, 43 R, 16 SB) hit a team-leading .615 (8-for-13) and led Florida with five runs and three stolen bases in three attempts.
Johnson picked up the win and belted his first career grand slam and den Dekker went 5-for-5 with four RBI and four runs as UF notched a 13-6 win on Sunday. Later named the SEC Freshman of the Week, Johnson worked 6.1 innings, giving up nine hits and three runs (two earned), with four strikeouts and zero walks and went 2-for-4 with a career-high four RBI. He was supported by a Gator offense that banged out 16 hits, with all nine starters contributing at least one hit. Adams (.237, 30 RBI) poked two doubles and scored twice, while freshman Austin Maddox (Jacksonville, Fla.) (.350, 50 RBI) launched his team-leading 13th homer off All-American Matty Ott. Nine of Maddox's dingers have come in SEC play.
Randall limited LSU to one run over eight innings and was supported by an 11-hit attack in Florida's 7-3 victory over the Tigers on Saturday. The righty established a career high with seven strikeouts and scattered seven hits while working eight innings for the second time this year. den Dekker (2-for-4) moved the Gators in front for good in the third inning, while both Daniel Pigott (.313) and freshman Mike Zunino (Cape Coral, Fla.) (.262) were each 2-for-4.
Panteliodis fired five scoreless innings on Friday night before the game was suspended with the Gators holding a 7-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth. The lefty had four K and gave up four singles in picking up his career-high seventh win. Adams connected on a three-run homer in the second inning and sophomore Tyler Thompson (Tequesta, Fla.) (.298) was a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI. Junior Kevin Chapman (Coral Springs, Fla.) (2-0, 1.45) pitched 2.2 scoreless and hitless innings to secure the 8-5 triumph and earn his eighth save.
Gator Bytes
*Coach O'Sullivan is 3-0 against Bethune-Cookman, 2-0 during the regular season.
*Daniel Pigott (.313) enters the week on a career-high 11-game hitting streak in which he is hitting .400 (16-for-40), with seven runs, five RBI, four doubles and two triples.
*Zunino has been one of Florida's hottest hitters recently, putting together a seven-game hitting streak that has raised his average from .220 to .262. He is 11-for-26 (.423) with seven runs, seven RBI and three bombs during the skein.
*The versatile Maddox, who has started games at designated hitter (17), third base (13), first base (11) and catcher (one), leads the Gators in RBI (50), multiple-RBI games (14,) doubles (13), and homers (13).
*He needs four more dingers to eclipse Jason Dill's freshman record of 16 homers that was set in 1998. Tucker set the single-season school record of 85 RBI last year, when he claimed the team's Triple Crown with a .364 batting average, 85 RBI and 15 home runs.
*The quartet of Maddox (seven), Tucker (five), Adams (five) and den Dekker (five) has combined for 22 of UF's 31 homers at McKethan Stadium this season.
*Opponents are 22-for-35 on stolen-base opportunities against the Gators, while Zunino has thrown out nine of 28 runners.
*UF is 60-of-83 on the basepaths and is tied for fourth in the SEC in thefts. den Dekker is 16-for-20 to lead the team and needs one more stolen base to match Aaron Davidson (2000-02) for sixth on the school's career list with 59 SB.
*Chapman, who made 11 appearances last year and 30 total in his career entering this season, is 2-0 with a team-low 1.45 earned average in 20 appearances covering 31.0 innings. He is second in the SEC with eight saves.
*Led by 11 from Billy Bullock, Florida totaled 13 saves in its 42 victories in 2009. UF has 13 saves already this year from four players: Chapman (eight), senior Jeff Barfield (Perry, Ga.) (two), as well as sophomores Greg Larson (Longwood, Fla.) (two) and Nick Maronde (Lexington, Ky.) (one).
*Florida's bullpen is 11-1 with 13 saves and a 4.61 ERA in 168.0 innings, its starters are 20-10 with a 3.62 ERA in 204.0 innings.
*Left-handed batters are 4-for-21 (.190) against Barfield, who has collected both of his wins in league action (Vanderbilt, April 2; Kentucky, April 16).
*den Dekker is batting .371 (26-for-70) and Tucker is hitting .344 (31-for-90) with runners on base, with den Dekker at .378 (17-for-45) and Tucker at .348 (16-for-46) with RISP.
*den Dekker (.410) and Daniel Pigott (.379) and are the most effective starters with two outs, while sophomore Ben McMahan (Windermere, Fla.) is 6-for-11 (.545) with two down in an inning. Maddox leads the Gators with 23 two-out RBI and sophomore Jerico Weitzel (Ridgway, Pa.) is 3-for-4 (.750) as a pinch-hitter. Weitzel has seven hits in his last 15 at bats (.467).
*Leadoff batters are 0-for-15 against freshman lefty Steven Rodriguez (Miami, Fla.), who boasts a 1.62 ERA in 10 appearances over 16.2 innings.
*The Orange and Blue enjoy a 292-189 scoring advantage, led by a 50-28 disparity in the sixth inning and a 43-10 cushion in the fourth frame.
*Scoring first, the Gators are 22-3 (.880) and their opponents are 8-9 (.471).
*UF is 24-2 (.923) when having more hits than its foe and 6-9 (.400) when out-hit.
*The Gators are 2-7 (.222) when their opponent scores in the opening stanza and hold a 27-23 margin in the first inning thanks to the seven-run outburst versus USF on April 21.
-UF-
