Florida Gators
Rhode Island
No. 5 Florida Overpowers Rhode Island in Season Opener, 9-1
Saturday, February 14, 2015 | Baseball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Sophomore Logan Shore hurled five scoreless innings on Friday night as No. 5 Florida started the campaign with a 9-1 victory over Rhode Island at McKethan Stadium. The Gator pitching staff registered nine strikeouts with zero walks.
Junior Harrison Bader (2-for-4, three RBI) (shown below, photo by Tim Casey) opened the scoring with a two-out single up the middle in the first inning that brought home sophomore Buddy Reed, who had legged out an infield hit and taken second on a throwing error by URI senior shortstop Tim Caputo.
The Gators tacked on a pair of unearned runs in the second for a 3-0 advantage. With sophomore A.J. Puk (walk) at third, freshman Mike Rivera (hit-by-pitch) at second and sophomore Ryan Larson (walk) at first and two down, a grounder by Reed was misplayed by Caputo to allow Puk to score. Although junior Richie Martin followed with a base-hit into left to score Rivera, Larson was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.
Florida increased its lead to 5-0 in the fourth when a wild pitch by junior Steve Moyers (0-1) and a pair of throwing errors on the play allowed both senior Josh Tobias and Larson to score.
After Martin led off the fifth with a walk and stole second, Bader belted a two-run homer to left field for a 7-0 cushion, ending the night for Moyers (4.0 IP, 5 H, 7 R, 2 ER). Freshman JJ Schwarz greeted redshirt sophomore Ben Wessel with a double down the left-field line for his first career hit, took third on a single by Puk and came home on a sacrifice fly by Rivera.
In the seventh, freshman Mark Kolozsvary had a pinch-hit single and scored the Gators' final run on a 4-6-3 double play turned by the Rams. URI avoided the shutout in the eighth with a solo homer by senior Mike Sherburne.
Gator Legend Mike Zunino threw out the ceremonial first pitch (Photo by Tim Casey).
Postgame Quotes
Head coach Kevin O'Sullivan
On the team's overall performance:
“It was a really good start for us. We had a chance to get a lot of people in there. I thought for a first night, you could tell during batting practice that we were a little bit anxious, as our swings were a little big with a lot of fly balls. I thought we still did a nice job. For Logan (Shore), I thought it was a solid start. The bullpen was really, really, really good. It was good to get Mike Vinson out there, who wasn't able to pitch last year. Tyler Deel has gotten a lot, lot better from last year. It was nice to get Alex Faedo out there, I thought that he threw the ball really well, as well as Taylor Lewis. It was nice to see the hits scattered throughout the lineup, like I said, we had a chance to get a bunch of guys in there. Overall, I thought it was a very, very good first start for us.”
Sophomore right-hander Logan Shore
On his performance tonight:
“It was a good first outing. Some of my pitches felt a little off the first couple of innings. I tweaked a couple of things in the later innings and felt a lot better. It definitely is something to build off of for Miami next weekend. It was a great team win."
Junior outfielder Harrison Bader
On starting the season off with a win:
“The first game of the year is always tough, as we all have those first-game jitters. But, as we get along, guys will continue to loosen up and everything will fit into place. It was definitely a good win tonight.”
On hitting cleanup:
“I've never really hit cleanup before in my life but I figured, why not and let's see how it goes. At the end of the day whether you're hitting cleanup or wherever it is, you've just got to put good swings on the baseball.”
Opening Night by the Numbers
- UF is now 59-41-1 (.584) in 101 opening-day contests, including a 39-21-1 (.639) record at home.
- The Gators have emerged victorious in 19 of their last 24 home openers and have opened the season at home in 18 of the past 19 seasons.
- Head coach Kevin O'Sullivan improved to 7-1 (.875) in season openers.
Freshmen Impact:
- After bringing in the third-ranked recruiting class according to all major baseball publications, the Gators showcased the young talent by starting three freshmen: Dalton Guthrie (2B), Mike Rivera (C) and JJ Schwarz (DH).
- Schwarz recorded his first career hit in the fifth, when he slapped a double down the left-field line. Two batters later, Rivera recorded his first career RBI with a sacrifice fly to right.
- The Gators used a total of seven freshmen on Opening Night, also using RF Logan Browning, RHP Alex Faedo, 3B Christian Hicks and C Mark Kolozsvary.
Season Firsts:
- Buddy Reed scored the first Gator run of the 2015 season after Harrison Bader knocked him in with a two-out single in the bottom of the first inning. Later in the inning, Bader stole second for Florida's first theft of the season.
- In the top of the second, Bader mowed down Rhode Island's Mike Corbin from left field, as he was trying to advance from first to third on a single. The junior had three assists all of last season.
Series History:
- Tonight's matchup marked the first between Florida and Rhode Island since the Gators swept a weekend series in Gainesville from March 11-13, 2011 (11-5, 12-4, 8-6).
- With tonight's win, the Gators lead the all-time series, 6-0.
Up Next
The Gators and Rams will meet again tomorrow at 4 p.m., with sophomore Dane Dunning facing junior Lou Distasio in a matchup of right-handers. The game can be heard on the Gator IMG Sports Network with Jeff Cardozo and Steve Russell and Saturday's game will be carried on SEC Network+. This contest will be available through participating TV providers only through WatchESPN.
Follow the Gators
Season tickets, Complete Game Mini-Plans and Single-Game tickets can be purchased online through GatorZone or by calling the Gator Ticket Office at 1-800-34-GATOR from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday. For all of the latest information on Florida baseball, log on to GatorZone or follow the team's Twitter account @GatorZoneBB.
