Tweaks produce instant results for Adams at plate
Saturday, March 5, 2011 | Baseball, Men's Golf, Scott Carter
There were times late last season, as his batting average continued to drop, that Gators second baseman Josh Adams would show up at the ballpark and find his name written in the ninth spot on the lineup card.
He found his name there again on Friday night in the first game of a three-game series against Miami. But not because of what you might think.
Adams entered Friday night's game with a healthy .308 batting average (8-for-26). He made sure it got healthier by going 3-for-3 against the Hurricanes, producing an RBI single in the second inning and a 2-RBI single in the third.
Adams said he had no idea why he was hitting ninth – in Florida's first eight games he hit second seven times and seventh once.
“Our lineup is strong from 1 through 9, so it doesn't matter where I hit,'' he said.
Asked if there was any motivational ploy in dropping Adams in the lineup, Gators coach Kevin O'Sullivan said there wasn't.
But he certainly liked the results.
“He had a great night,'' O'Sullivan said. “He swung the bat good. It was not a motivational tactic at all. We just tried to toy with the lineup and he had a great night.''
In a win over Boston College on Sunday and a loss to Florida State on Tuesday in Tampa, Adams endured his first back-to-back hitless games of the season, going 0-for-6. But he quickly raised his average to .379 after Friday's performance, and his three RBIs were one more than he had in the first eight games combined.
“I kind of made some adjustments [Thursday] during BP,'' Adams said. “I'm taking a better approach all around.''
Adams said he worked on keeping his left shoulder in and driving the ball the other way.
Whatever he did, he should keep on doing it.
