Florida Gators
Florida Atlantic
No. 2 Florida Beats Florida Atlantic, 10-8
Wednesday, February 25, 2015 | Baseball
JUPITER, Fla. – The No. 2 Florida (7-1) baseball team defeated Florida Atlantic (6-2), 10-8, on Tuesday night at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla. The Gators used a three-run eighth inning to take the lead and Taylor Lewis came in to close the game out over the final two innings.
Freshman JJ Schwarz (2-for-4) drove in three runs while junior shortstop Richie Martin (3-for-4) scored three runs on the night. Sophomore Buddy Reed also had a three-hit night and scored a pair of runs.
FAU got on the board first, scoring three runs in the second inning. Owls' outfielder Christian Dicks hit a double that plated a pair of runs and CJ Chatham scored on a wild pitch.
Florida got a run back when Schwarz singled up the middle in the top of the third inning to score Martin. In the fourth inning, UF scored three two-out runs and took a 4-3 lead when Reed scored off Martin's single to center field.
The Gators extended their lead in the sixth inning. Ryan Larson was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and Dalton Guthrie followed with a walk. Both runners advanced on a passed ball and Martin hit a one-out single to score Larson. Two batters later, Schwarz singled up the middle to score Guthrie and Martin for a 7-4 Gator lead.
The Owls battled back in the bottom half of the inning after a pair of errors by Florida kept the inning alive. Ricky Santiago's two-out double off the left field wall cleared the bases to tie the game at 7-7.
In the eighth inning, Reed led off with a bloop hit to right field that he stretched into a double. Martin reached base after an errant throw that scored Reed and allowed Martin to advance all the way to third with no outs. Two batters later, pinch hitter A.J. Puk had an RBI groundout as Martin scored from third. Jason Lombardozzi pinch-ran for Puk and promptly stole second base, then scored on a single by Josh Tobias.
FAU picked up one run in the eighth, but Lewis didn't allow anyone else to score over the final two innings for the save. Mike Vinson pitched a scoreless seventh inning and earned his first win of the season.
Postgame Notes
- Reed continued his hot streak and is up to .316 on the season. He has 11 hits in the past five games with an. 458 (11-for-24) average during that span.
- Schwarz is up to 12 RBI on the season, second on the team behind Harrison Bader's 15.
- With two hits on the night, Guthrie has recorded a hit in seven of the first eight games, with three multi-hit games.
- Martin raised his average to .296 after a three-hit night. He entered the game with a .217 average.
- Lewis picked up his second save on the season.
Series History:
- Florida leads the all-time series with Florida Atlantic, 21-7.
Up Next
The Gators return to McKethan Stadium for the opener of a three-game series against fellow 2012 NCAA College World Series participant Stony Brook (2-4) on Friday at 7 p.m. The game can be heard on the Gator IMG Sports Network with Jeff Cardozo and Bob White.
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.
