Florida Gators
Tennessee
No. 3 Florida Topples Tennessee 9-4 in Series Finale
Sunday, March 15, 2015 | Baseball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Behind junior Harrison Bader's (2-for-3) double, home run and two RBI, No. 3 Florida (18-3, 2-1 SEC) took the series finale over Tennessee (8-8, 1-2 SEC) with a 9-4 victory on Sunday afternoon at McKethan Stadium.
The Gators hopped on the Vols early, scoring one run in the first, one in the second and four in the third to create what proved to be an insurmountable lead.
Bader's long ball got the Gators on the board first, as he blasted his seventh homer of the season. One inning later, freshman JJ Schwarz recorded a leadoff walk and later scored on a passed ball. In the third, the Gators were cooking with gas as they loaded the bases on two separate occasions. The first time resulted in a bases-clearing triple by sophomore Buddy Reed and the second time resulted in Schwarz scoring on a wild pitch.
Florida extended its lead to 7-1 in the fifth when Schwarz pounded a double into left-center field to score senior Josh Tobias (2-for-5), who singled to lead off the inning. UF then tacked on two more runs in the sixth when freshman Dalton Guthrie scored on a Bader doubled, who scored just three pitches later on a wild pitch, making it 9-2 Gators.
Tennessee scored its runs in the second, sixth, seventh and ninth innings. The Vols notched solo homers in the second and sixth and scored in the seventh off a Florida miscue.
On the mound, UF's starter Dane Dunning was replaced in the fourth by junior left-hander Danny Young, who tossed five solid innings and recorded a career-high seven strikeouts. Young gave way to junior RHP Taylor Lewis, who tossed a ninth.
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan:
On winning the series:
“I was pleased with how we jumped on the board early in the game. I thought [Harrison] Bader hitting the homerun in the first was big for us. We tacked on another run in the second, and our big inning was in the third with four runs. Overall, I am pleased with the offense. I thought that Danny Young was outstanding out of the bullpen. We extended him, so he did what he needed to do. It was good to get Taylor Lewis back out there too. We got 12 hits, scored nine runs and came back from a tough Friday night to win the series. Overall, I am pleased with where we are. We still have a lot of things to work on. We had a few missed signs today so we have to clean that up, but we had really good bounce-back games yesterday and today.”
On Buddy Reed's triple in the third inning:
“He had a really good game. The big at-bat today was Buddy Reed's triple because Josh (Tobias) struck out the at-bat before with bases loaded. Buddy had two strikes on him and their pitcher [Kyle Serrano]did a nice job, but Buddy was able to put a good swing on a pitch.”
Junior left fielder Harrison Bader
On getting the series win today:
“The most important thing about the nature of our team is what we did on Saturday. Friday, we didn't really pitch too well or hit too well. To come out and finish up the series today was huge. That's kind of our make-up, and that's what we're capable of doing.”
Junior left-hander Danny Young
On the defense today:
“Our defense was playing well. Buddy Reed made a heck of a play out there. He's a really dynamic player. I didn't get the ball in far enough, and it wasn't a great pitch. Somehow, I don't know how he got there, but he did and made a great play.”
Postgame Notes
- With today's win, UF now holds the all-time series edge, 147-81, including an 81-37 mark in Gainesville.
- Harrison Bader, who entered the weekend tied for the NCAA lead in home runs, notched his seventh of the season in the top of the first inning.
- The long ball also extended his season-long hit streak to 10 games.
- Buddy Reed notched his second triple of the season, as he extended his career-long hitting streak to nine games.
- Like Reed, J.J. Schwarz now has nine-game hitting streak.
- Danny Young recorded a career-high seven strikeouts.
- Jeremy Vasquez led the Gators in batting average for the weekend, as he hit .444 (4-for-9) with one double.
- Richie Martin (.417), Harrison Bader (.400) and Buddy Reed (.400) all hit at least .400 for the series and recorded at least four hits.
- Bader led the team in slugging against Tennessee, as he slugged.900 with three extra base hits, including today's home run and two doubles.
Up Next
The Gators will host No. 18 Florida State (17-4/5-1 ACC) at McKethan Stadium on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the first of the teams' three regular-season meetings. The game can be seen on the SEC Network and can be heard on the Gator IMG Sports Network with Jeff Cardozo and Steve Russell.
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