Bader Cleans Up in Gators' Season-Opening Victory
Saturday, February 14, 2015 | Baseball, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- One of the few veterans in the lineup, outfielder Harrison Bader experienced the same jitters he always feels on opening day.
But they didn't last long in Florida's 9-1 victory over Rhode Island on Friday night at McKethan Stadium.
In his first at-bat Bader singled up the middle to score Buddy Reed from second with the Gators' first run of the 2015 season. In the second inning Bader threw out Rhode Island's Mike Corin at third base as Corin attempted to advance from first to third on a single.
By the time Bader stepped to the plate in the fifth inning with Gators shortstop Richie Martin in scoring position and nobody out, Bader was relaxed and looking for a good pitch to hit.
He got one on a 1-2 offering from Rams starter Steve Moyers, lifting the pitch high into the night sky. When the ball finally landed inside the left-field foul pole, Bader was racing around the bases, soon touching home to a nice ovation from the announced crowd of 3,404 on a chilly night for baseball.
“It's kind of one of those things where I guess if it goes out by a foot or a 100 feet, you kind of feel it,'' Bader said of his two-run homer that gave Florida a 7-0 lead. “It was just a good swing on the ball. I didn't really know if it was going out for sure, but I kind of had a feeling. Just to be safe I was hustling.”
UF outfielder Harrison Bader connects for a two-run homer in the fifth inning Friday. (Photo: Tim Casey)
Prior to hustling, Bader displayed a flare for the dramatic with a bat flip that Reggie Jackson would approve of.
“I will probably hear about that tomorrow,'' Bader said.
Bader finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs in his 104th game over the last three seasons at Florida. It was his first as the Gators' cleanup hitter.
With first baseman and cleanup hitter Pete Alonso missing from the lineup after suffering a broken foot this week, Gators coach Kevin O'Sullivan decided to hit Bader fourth.
You can say it worked out rather nicely.
“Pete was going to hit fourth and Bader was going to hit fifth,'' O'Sullivan said. “You kind of see what I”m talking about with the lineup. Once Pete comes back, you've got Bader hitting fifth and JJ [Schwarz] is going to be a special player here. He can really hit. And then you've got [A.J.] Puk and [Mike] Rivera.
“I think one through nine we are going to be able to do some damage.”
Schwarz and Puk each had a hit Friday and Rivera, starting at catcher in his first game at UF, picked up his first career RBI as the Gators won their seventh season opener in O'Sullivan's eight seasons.
A junior from Bronxville, N.Y., it was Bader who had the best night of all. The home run was only the fourth of his college career.
“I've never really hit cleanup in my life,'' Bader said. “Why not? Just see how it goes. It felt good, but at the end of the day, whether you are hitting cleanup or wherever it is, you've just got to put good swings on it.”
Bader did that from the start, and both of his hits came when he was behind in the count. He drove Moyers' 0-1 pitch sharply up the middle in his first trip to the plate.
That helped Florida starter Logan Shore (five scoreless innings) ease into his first career opening-day start.
“Scoring a run in the first inning is huge,'' Shore said. “Built off that, and by the fifth, we were up 5-0. It was not cruise control, but definitely gives you some confidence going into the fifth inning and the rest of the game.”
While batting in a different spot in the lineup than he is accustomed to, Bader kept his approach the same.
He tried to simplify his approach and get a good pitch to hit.
If asked to hit fourth regularly with Alonso out for an extended period, Bader is ready.
“You want to come out swinging,'' Bader said. “If that's what they ask me to do, I'll do my best to deliver.”
He knocked it out of the park Friday.
