GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 8 Miami (5-2) scored in four of the first five innings and used a strong outing from junior left-hander Thomas Woodrey to square its series at No. 5 Florida (5-1), 7-2, on Saturday night at McKethan Stadium in front of 6,081 fans, the second-highest crowd in school history. The Gators and Hurricanes will play the rubber game of the series at 1 p.m. tomorrow.
Junior Brandon Lopez laced an RBI single with the bases loaded in the second inning against sophomore A.J. Puk (1-1) to give the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead. Puk retired the first five hitters of the contest before issuing back-to-back walks to junior George Iskenderian and sophomore Edgar Michelangeli. A wild pitch moved the runners into scoring position and sophomore Christopher Barr was hit by a pitch to fill the sacks before Lopez singled into right field.
Miami expanded its lead to 3-0 in the third frame on an RBI double by junior David Thompson that scored junior Ricky Eusebio (leadoff single) and grounder by sophomore Willie Abreu that brought home sophomore Zack Collins (single). Junior Aaron Rhodes replaced Puk (2.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R) with Thompson at third base and one down and struck out Iskenderian and Michelangeli.
Collins (2-for-4) connected on a three-run homer in the fourth with freshman Carl Chester (two-out triple) and Eusebio (walk) aboard for a 6-0 advantage. The Gators got on the board in the home part of the inning on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by senior Josh Tobias. Junior Richie Martin led off with a single up the middle, junior Harrison Bader reached on an error and freshman Mike Rivera had a one-out single into right field to load the bags against Woodrey. The southpaw (2-0) worked 6.2 innings, scattering five hits and allowed one earned run.
Sophomore Johnny Ruiz roped a pinch-hit RBI single to provide UM with a 7-1 margin in the fifth and Gator freshman JJ Schwarz belted a solo shot to left field with two down in the sixth to complete the scoring.
Postgame Quotes
Head coach Kevin O'Sullivan
On the Gators losing their first game of the season:
“I think any time that you fall behind by that many runs it's certainly going to be a tall task to get back in it. I thought offensively that we swung the bats well. I know it doesn't show up in the hit column, but their outfielders played really deep and anything over their head is going to be a home run. I thought we hit some balls hard, hit some balls with some backspin and I thought that we had a really good approach tonight.”
On the final game of the series:
“Tomorrow is game seven. I would expect us to come out and play well and the same for Miami. I think it's going to be a really good game tomorrow.”
Freshman second baseman Dalton Guthrie
On going 2-for-4 tonight and the team's hitting overall:
“We had some decent balls hit, but mine happened to fall. It's just the luck of the game. I don't think we can get too upset about our hitting. I think we need to focus more on our approach against a guy like that. I don't think we did a terrible job, I think (Thomas Woodrey) just did a good job keeping us off-balance all night.”
On going for the series win tomorrow:
“Obviously, it's a big rivalry. They're a good team. We need to win a series against a good team like this to boost our confidence. Tomorrow will be important for us.”
Postgame Notes
- Tonight marked the Gators' first appearance on the SEC Network.
- The crowd of 6,081 fans at McKethan Stadium was the second-largest in school history, trailing only the 6,108 that watched Florida play LSU on April 7, 2012.
- Of freshman JJ Schwarz's six hits this season, five have gone for extra bases (three homers, one triple and one double).
- Left-hander Thomas Woodrey improved his career mark to 10-0 at Miami.
- Junior Aaron Rhodes (3.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R) tied his personal best of six strikeouts for the fourth time, last done on April 26, 2014, against Missouri.
- Freshman Dalton Guthrie singled in his first two at bats for the Gators and finished 2-for-4.
- The Hurricanes held an 8-6 advantage in hits.
- Florida turned a season-high three double plays tonight.
Up Next
The Gators and Hurricanes will complete the series tomorrow at 1 p.m., with sophomore Dane Dunning (1-0, 4.15) facing junior Enrique Sosa (1-0, 0.00) in a matchup of right-handers. The game can be heard on the Gator IMG Sports Network with Jeff Cardozo and Steve Russell and Sunday's game will be carried on SEC Network+ with Nick Belmonte and Mick Hubert. This contest will be available through participating TV providers only through WatchESPN.
Follow the Gators
Single-game tickets, season tickets and Complete Game Mini-Plans 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.
