No. 1 Baseball Starts Eight-Game Road Trip At No. 6 South Carolina
Thursday, March 22, 2012 | Baseball
Boasting an 18-game winning streak, the longest in school history, No. 1 Florida (20-1/3-0 SEC) visits two-time defending national champion No. 6 South Carolina (16-5/0-3 SEC) in a three-game series at Carolina Stadium. The Gators opened league play last weekend at home with their first sweep of Vanderbilt since 2008, while the Gamecocks dropped three games to undefeated Kentucky in Lexington: 4-3, 4-3 and 6-3. USC downed Furman, 8-5, on Tuesday night in Greenville and fell to Wofford, 5-4 in 11 innings, on Wednesday night.
The series opener will be carried on ESPNU as the initial Thursday Night SEC Baseball Game of the Week of the season beginning at 7:30 p.m. and will be carried on WRUF SportsRadio 850. Friday night's action will be live on CSS (Channel 259 on the Cox Communications cable system in Gainesville) at 7 p.m. and can be heard on Country 103.7 The Gator. Saturday's series finale will be shown on CSS (Channel 259 on the Cox Communications cable system in Gainesville) at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on either WRUF SportsRadio 850 or on Country 103.7 The Gator depending on the result of the Gator men's basketball game against Marquette on Thursday night.
Having claimed 20 of their first 21 games, the Gators are off to the best start in school history. Florida is also an impressive 7-1 (.875) against top-25 opponents, sports a 17-1 (.944) home record and is 3-0 (1.000) on the road.
Junior right-hander Hudson Randall (Atlanta, Ga.) (3-0, 3.45) will oppose USC senior left-hander Michael Roth (2-0, 1.26) in game one of the set. In a team-high 31.1 innings, Randall has registered 23 strikeouts and issued one walk. He is 1-0 with a 1.23 ERA in three career starts versus the Gamecocks. In 16.2 innings against USC last season, Randall was 1-0 with a 0.54 ERA and allowed eight hits and two runs (one earned), with 10 strikeouts and one walk.
The game-two pitching matchup will pit Gator junior lefty Brian Johnson (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) (3-0, 3.16) against Gamecock junior RHP Matt Price (2-1, 3.71). Johnson will be making his third career start against South Carolina. Last season, he took the loss in the series opener in Gainesville and he pitched one inning of relief in the second game of the CWS Championship Finals in which he gave up three hits and zero runs and had a couple of strikeouts.
In a meeting of right-handers, sophomore Jonathon Crawford (Okeechobee, Fla.) (4-3, 4.43) will be making his first SEC road start in Saturday's series finale versus USC junior Colby Holmes (3-0, 1.88). Crawford has started the last three Sundays against Miami (Fla.) (no-decision, 4.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 8 K, 1 BB), FGCU (no-decision, 5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 3 K, 1 BB) and Vanderbilt (win - 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 6 K, 2 BB).
Florida's pitching staff has compiled a 2.67 earned run average, its team batting average is .309 and its fielding percentage is an SEC-best .984. Junior catcher Mike Zunino (Cape Coral, Fla.) is hitting .408 with 27 RBI, seven homers and seven doubles, senior outfielder Preston Tucker (Tampa, Fla.) has a .329 average with 22 RBI and a team-best eight round-trippers, junior shortstop Nolan Fontana (Winter Garden, Fla.) is at .329 with team-highs in runs (23) and stolen bases (5-for-5) and freshman second baseman Casey Turgeon (Palm Harbor, Fla.) has a .300 average. Freshman first baseman Taylor Gushue (Boca Raton, Fla.) (.288) and senior outfielder Daniel Pigott (Ormond Beach, Fla,) (.288) have driven in 17 runs apiece.
Out of the bullpen, UF's closer is junior Austin Maddox (Jacksonville, Fla.) (1-0, 0.49, seven saves). Senior Greg Larson (Longwood, Fla.) (3-0, 1.02) has made 10 appearances, while sophomore Daniel Gibson (Lutz, Fla.) (1-0, 0.82) and junior Steven Rodriguez (Miami, Fla.) (3-0, 3.07) have participated in nine games each.
On Tuesday night, Zunino was 2-for-4 and drove in a pair of runs and freshman right-hander Johnny Magliozzi (East Milton, Mass.) had a career-high six strikeouts as Florida defeated Samford (13-8), 5-3, to complete a perfect 10-0 homestand. Magliozzi (2-0) collected his second victory by working four innings in a pre-determined start, while Maddox retired all three Bulldogs in the ninth to register his seventh save in as many chances. Tucker (2-for-4) and freshman Josh Tobias (Greensboro, N.C.) (2-for-3) also chipped in with multiple-hit efforts. Samford plated a run in the first inning before the Gators answered in the bottom of the frame on an RBI single by Zunino that scored Pigott. UF seized a 3-1 lead with two runs on three hits in the second stanza on a run-scoring single by Tobias and a wild pitch by reliever Joseph Burns. After the Bulldogs pulled within 3-2 in fifth, Gushue answered with an RBI single that brought across Tucker. Samford countered with another run in the seventh to narrow the deficit to 4-3 before Zunino delivered a clutch two-out double in the home part of the inning to score Pigott with the game's final run. Maddox set down the visitors in order in the ninth to close the contest.
Last season, South Carolina claimed its second-straight national championship by defeating the Gators, 5-2, to sweep the best-of-three CWS Championship Finals in front of a record crowd of 26,721 fans at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha on June 28. The Gamecocks plated three runs in the third inning and relied on the stellar pitching of Roth to become the first program since Oregon State in 2006-07 to take home the College World Series title in back-to-back seasons. USC also extended its own NCAA records with its 16th Tourney win in a row and 11th-consecutive CWS triumph. The Gamecocks had capitalized on a pair of throwing errors by UF in the 11th inning to notch a 2-1 victory in the opener. Randall had carried a 1-0 lead into the eighth inning and the Gators had started the scoring on a sacrifice fly by Cody Dent (Boynton Beach, Fla.). Eventual CWS Most Outstanding Player Scott Wingo tied the game with a two-out RBI single up the middle in the eighth and South Carolina worked out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the ninth, threw out Dent at the plate as the potential winning run in the 10th and stranded pinch runner Paul Wilson at second base in the 11th to close the game.
In the clubs' regular-season series, South Carolina defeated Florida twice in three games from March 25-27 at McKethan Stadium to take the series. USC's series victory ended a stretch of 13-consecutive weekend series triumphs for Florida and marked the Gators' first loss in a league series since March 26-28, 2010, at Ole Miss and the squad's first conference series setback at home since April 17-19, 2009, to Ole Miss. USC held Florida to a .217 (20-for-92) batting average on the weekend and the visitors compiled a 2.08 ERA. The Gators were out-scored, 14-7, and committed four errors.
The Gamecocks capitalized on a bases-loaded walk with the game tied in the eighth inning to post a 4-3 win in Sunday's rubber game. USC overcame a 3-0 deficit with three runs in the sixth and took the lead when Adrian Morales earned a free pass from Tommy Toledo to bring across Adam Matthews with the decisive run. The Gators had seized a 3-0 lead in the second stanza on an RBI single by Kamm Washington, a squeeze bunt by Josh Adams and a two-out RBI single by Zack Powers (Seffner, Fla.). Karsten Whitson (Chipley, Fla.) did not receive a decision after giving up two hits and a run with five strikeouts in five-plus innings. Washington snapped a 1-1 tie with a lead-off homer in the seventh to help the Gators square the weekend series on Saturday night, 2-1. His homer came on the first pitch of the home part of the seventh from Matt Price and landed in the left-field bleachers. Randall went the distance for his first career complete game and retired the final 19 USC hitters of the contest. The righty gave up five singles, permitted an unearned run and registered four strikeouts without issuing any walks. Roth took a shutout into the ninth and South Carolina used a pair of four-run innings on its way to a 9-2 victory in the series opener. Roth yielded 10 hits, registered six strikeouts and gave up two runs in his longest stint of the season to that point. The Gamecocks plated four runs in both the third and sixth frames to snap the Gators' skein at 10 games. Johnson suffered his first loss after giving up eight hits and seven runs (six earned), with five K and two walks, over 5.1 innings.
In its last visit to Columbia, Florida secured its 11th SEC crown in school history by capturing the first two games at No. 6 South Carolina in the final series of the 2010 regular season. UF had not won a series in Columbia since 1996. In game two, Adams snapped a 2-2 tie with a two-out, two-run double in the seventh inning as Florida secured its first SEC title since 2005 with a 5-2 victory. Adams led UF with a .462 (6-for-13) performance against the Gamecocks, drove in five runs and had back-to-back three-hit games to complete the series. Rodriguez earned his first career win by working 1.1 scoreless innings in which he registered three strikeouts and Kevin Chapman nailed down the victory with 1.2 scoreless and hitless innings to collect his 10th save, second in as many nights. Chapman closed Thursday's contest with two scoreless innings as UF posted a thrilling 3-2 victory in the opener of the three-game series. Jeff Barfield earned the win after yielding one run over 2.2 innings with a season-high four strikeouts, while Rodriguez came in and registered three outs in the seventh after Whit Merrifield had a leadoff single. Chapman picked up his ninth save by working the final two innings, not surrendering any hits or runs and totaling a pair of strikeouts. The Gators were able to hand USC's Blake Cooper his first loss after 10-consecutive triumphs. Tyler Thompson (Tequesta, Fla.) opened the scoring in the third inning by leading off with his second homer of the campaign and Tucker chipped in with a run-scoring single. Tucker went 4-for-9 (.444) over the three outings. Pigott singled in the first and doubled in the third for his eighth multiple-hit game of the season. South Carolina avoided the sweep with an 11-6 victory in the series finale. Adams went 3-for-5 and Dent was 2-for-4 in his first collegiate start at shortstop.
Gator Bytes
*Head coach Kevin O'Sullivan is 7-8 (.467) against South Carolina, 4-2 in Gainesville (.667), 3-3 (.500) in Columbia, 0-1 (.000) at the SEC Tournament and 0-2 (.000) at the NCAA Tournament.
*The Gamecocks join Arkansas (5-10) as the only league schools which O'Sullivan has a losing record against.
*The Gators boast a 14-1 (.933) record this season in games that are part of a three-game series. UF has captured all five weekend series this year and its last regular-season series loss came at Arkansas (L, L, W from May 5-7, 2011 in Fayetteville).
*The Orange and Blue is 5-0 (1.000) in game one of a series, 5-0 (1.000) in game two and is 4-1 (.800) in the finale of a three-game set in 2012.
*During Kevin O'Sullivan's tenure, Florida is 46-16 (.742) in three-game series: 7-6 (.538) in 2008, 8-6 (.571) in 2009, 13-1 (.929) in 2010, 13-3 (.813) in 2011 and 5-0 (1.000) in 2012.
*UF has emerged on top in 31 of its last 35 series, the losses coming to Ole Miss (L, L, W in Oxford from March 26-28, 2010), South Carolina (L, W, L in Gainesville from March 25-27, 2011, and L, L in Omaha on June 27-28, 2011) and Arkansas (L, L, W in Fayetteville from May 5-7, 2011).
*The Gators have posted 32-straight series victories when taking the opener. The last time Florida was on the short end of a series when it won the initial matchup happened the weekend of April 3-5, 2009, when Vanderbilt notched two-straight wins (4-3, 16-9) after falling by an 8-4 count. In its visit to South Carolina in '08, UF picked up a 9-3 win in the opener and the Gamecocks rebounded to take the series by scores of 6-5 and 9-6.
*Starting on Thursday night, the Gators will be on the road for eight-straight outings (at No. 6 South Carolina for three games, versus No. 4 Florida State in Jacksonville, at No. 17 Ole Miss for three games and at North Florida). Florida is 3-0 away from McKethan Stadium courtesy of three wins at No. 8 Miami (Fla.).
*Florida was 10-5 (.667) in SEC road series last season - 3-0 at LSU, 2-1 at Mississippi State, 2-1 at Georgia, 1-2 at Arkansas and 2-1 at Vanderbilt.
*Entering Wednesday night's meeting with Wofford, South Carolina had been a perfect 14-0 at home this year.
*The Gamecocks have not dropped a series at Carolina Stadium since Florida took two of three from May 20-22, 2010 (3-2, 5-2, 6-11).
*Since the facility opened on Feb. 21, 2009, USC is an impressive 106-19 (.848) on its own turf.
*Coach O'Sullivan is 24-23 (.511) on the road at UF against top-25 opponents, including 19-12 (.613) versus top-10 foes. Miami (Fla.) was ranked eighth when the Gators claimed all three meetings in Coral Gables from March 2-4.
*As of the report released on Monday, the Gators' total attendance of 63,776 in 17 dates ranks seventh in the country, while their average attendance of 3,751 ranks 11th. The top four schools by average hail from the SEC (LSU, 10,402; Arkansas, 7,809; South Carolina, 7,244 and Ole Miss, 7,022).
*The Gator bullpen is 9-1 with eight saves and a 1.90 ERA this season, with 84 strikeouts and 13 walks in 85.1 innings.
*Florida's starting pitchers are 11-0 with a 3.32 ERA, with 87 K and 20 BB in 100.1 innings.
*Senior Preston Tucker is hitting .289 (11-for-38) in 11 career games versus the Gamecocks, with six RBI, three runs and zero homers. USC is one of the four SEC teams that he has not homered against, joining Auburn (three games, .333, 5-for-15, six RBI), LSU
(10 games, .316, 12-for-38, three RBI) and Tennessee (nine games, .333, 10-for-30, five RBI).
*Junior catcher Mike Zunino was a sizzling 11-for-19 (.579) in the five encounters with USC last season, highlighted by a 3-for-3 performance and a dinger in the second matchup in Omaha. He is 11-for-23 (.478) with four runs, two doubles and one RBI in seven games against the Gamecocks.
*Junior Austin Maddox (1-0, 0.49, 7 saves) surrendered a run in the ninth inning on Sunday against Vanderbilt, snapping a string of 20-consecutive scoreless appearances dating back to April 15, 2011, at Georgia. He had a 1-2-3 ninth on Tuesday night to record his seventh save.
*Maddox is 7-for-7 in save opportunities and has 24 strikeouts and zero walks in 18.1 innings. He had five saves last season and UF's mark for saves in a campaign is 13 by Danny Wheeler in 1994 and Josh Fogg in 1998. Leadoff hitters are 1-for-15 (.067) against
Maddox, who is seventh on the school's career list with 12 saves after passing former teammates Billy Bullock (2007-09) and Kevin Chapman (2007-10) against Samford.
*Senior Greg Larson and junior Steven Rodriguez have each made five career relief appearances against USC. In four innings without getting a decision, Larson has given up five hits and two runs (one earned), with two walks and one strikeouts, while Rodriguez is 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA in 5.1 innings in which he has surrendered five hits and one run, with eight K and one walk. Maddox worked 2.2 innings at the CWS last June without permitted any earned runs.
*Florida holds a 158-59 scoring advantage and has out-scored foes, 45-7, over the final three innings.
*Twelve of UF's 20 victories have been come-from-behind. Last season, 20 of the Gators' school-record 53 wins came after they were trailing.
*Tucker, who leads the Gators with eight homers and has 49 in his career, seeks to join Matt LaPorta (74, 2004-07) and Brad Wilkerson (55, 1996-98) as the only players at Florida in the 50-HR club.
*Zunino's next homer will tie him with Mark Ellis (1996-99) and Mario Linares (1988-91) for sixth on the school's career list with 36 bombs.
*The Gators have clubbed 31 homers in 21 games after totaling 69 HR in 72 games last season. Eight different players have left the yard, led by Tucker (8), Zunino (7), freshman Taylor Gushue (5) and junior Nolan Fontana (4). The Orange and Blue has multiple homers in 11 games and has at least one jack in 17 of 21 contests this season.
*Florida's three solo shots last Sunday marked the third time this season with three homers in a game, also at Miami (Fla.) on March 3 and against Florida Atlantic on March 6.
*Tucker's double in the fifth inning versus Samford moved him past Jeff Corsaletti (2002-05, 56) for third on the Gator chart. Ellis holds the top spot with 61 two-baggers.
*The Gators are 11-0 this year when opponents score first and are 16-0 when out-hitting their foe.
*Senior Greg Larson's appearance on Tuesday increased his career to 97, passing Josh Edmondson (2005-08) for fifth on the school's all-time list. Larson (3-0, 1.02) has notched wins over No. 8 Miami (Fla.), Florida A&M and Florida State and has 16 strikeouts in 17.2 innings this year. He has matched his single-season best for victories set in 2009 and 2010.
*Gushue has started 20 games at three different positions - 12 at first base, five at designated hitter and three at catcher.
*With senior outfielder Tyler Thompson sidelined, senior Daniel Pigott has shifted from left to center field and freshman Justin Shafer will see more action in left field. In 12 games, including 10 starts, Shafer is batting .286 (10-for-35) with 10 RBI, four sacrifice flies, three walks, two doubles and a run. Thompson was hitting .319 with 12 runs and nine RBI before being hurt in the opener of the Vanderbilt series.
*UF has 13 errors through 21 games for an SEC-leading .984 fielding percentage and has played error-free in 11 contests (10-1).
*Fontana has reached base in his last 16 games, a stretch is which he is batting .393 (22-for-56) with 20 runs, 14 walks, 11 RBI, five stolen bases, four homers and three doubles.
*The squad's pitching staff has registered at least seven strikeouts in its last 14 outings, with a high of 14 at Miami (Fla.) on March 4. It has at least five K in every game this year.
*Since the 8-6 victory over Bethune-Cookman on Feb. 21, UF has not allowed an opponent more than five runs in a stretch of 17-straight games.
*The Gators are 5-for-14 (.357) pinch-hitting, while opponents are 5-for-23 (.217).
*Florida is 8-for-27 (.296) with the bases loaded and has 24 RBI and foes are 1-for-11 (.091).
*Twenty-nine of the squad's 145 RBI have come with two out, led by six from Zunino.
