Florida Gators
Ole Miss
No. 3 Gators Edged 4-1 in Series Opener at Ole Miss
Saturday, March 21, 2015 | Baseball
OXFORD, Miss. -- The No. 3 Gator baseball squad fell short, 4-1, in its series opener at Ole Miss Friday night in front of a crowd of 9,065 at Swayze Field in Oxford. The Rebels (12-9, 2-2 SEC) put up two runs each in the first and sixth innings before Florida (19-4, 2-2 SEC) got on the board in the top of the seventh on a freshman Mike Rivera RBI double to the right-center gap.
Florida made two uncharacteristic errors against the Rebels, but the freshmen hitters continued their contributions at the dish for the Gators, accounting for two of UF's three hits in the first game of the weekend set, as both Rivera and fellow classmate Jeremy Vasquez went 1-for-3 Friday. Sophomore centerfielder Buddy Reed (1-for-4) accounted for UF's third hit and scored on Rivera's two-bagger in the seventh.
The home team put two on the scoreboard in the bottom of the opening frame when Ole Miss third baseman Will Golsan roped a one-out double to right field before J.B. Woodman sent a homer to right center to plate the duo for the 2-0 Rebels lead. Ole Miss starting LHP Christian Trent got into a groove early Friday evening, retiring UF's first eight batters in order through the first 2.2 stanzas before sophomore right-fielder Ryan Larson drew a two-out walk for the Gators' first base runner of the game. Larson proceeded to swipe second, his second stolen base of the season, but a Dalton Guthrie lineout served as the final out in the third.
Trent worked a no-hitter through 4.1 innings for Ole Miss before Vasquez sent a one-out single up the middle for Gator runners on first and second following freshman J.J. Schwarz's leadoff hit-by-pitch, but Trent forced a fly out and strike out to strand both Vasquez and Schwarz in the fifth. The Rebels added to the tally after a two run, two hit sixth, while also capitalizing on UF's second error of the game. A bunt single from Tate Blackman, followed by a wild pitch and a Florida miscue put two runners in scoring position to set up a two-run single up the middle for Austin Knight, adding to the Ole Miss tally for a 4-0 margin before sophomore RHP Shaun Anderson headed to the bump for the final out.
The Orange and Blue got on the board in the seventh after Reed led off with a base hit and came around to score on Rivera's double to bring UF within three runs, 4-1.
Florida sophomore right-hander Logan Shore earned his sixth start of the season on the mound and went the first 3.2 innings, but was relieved by junior righty Aaron Rhodes for the next two frames. Anderson finished out the final 2.1. Shore moved to 3-2 on the season with the loss and Trent (4-1) picked up his fourth win of the 2015 campaign.
Florida will look to even the series in game two Saturday at University Stadium, with first pitch slated for 2:30 p.m. ET. The second game of the weekend set will feature Florida sophomore lefty A.J. Puk (4-1, 3.70 ERA) against Ole Miss righty Brady Bramlett (2-1, 1.55 ERA).
POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan
On the slow start Friday:
“Their pitcher did a really nice job and we just really couldn't quite get anything going offensively. It's just one those things; we have to do a better job on Friday nights. We need to have better at-bats and keep the ball out of the air a little more and see if we can get on the board early.”
On Florida starter Logan Shore:
“Everything was up. He had a tough night. We have a long week ahead of us -- we have to get him going. I think next week we have Thursday, Friday, Saturday weekend and we have to get him going.”
POSTGAME NOTES
· Series history: Ole Miss added its 46th win in the series, while Florida still owns the advantage, 48-46
· Freshman first baseman Jeremy Vasquez sent a one out single up the middle in the top of the fifth to account for Florida's first hit of the game, extending his season-best hit streak to four games
· Sophomore centerfielder Buddy Reed used a leadoff hit, UF's second of the night, in the top of the seventh to extend his career-best hit streak to 10 games
· The Orange and Blue ranked second nationally in doubles (53) entering the series and freshman Mike Rivera added UF's 54th with his fifth of the season in the seventh to plate the Gators' lone run against the Rebels
· After Florida's freshmen accounted for nine of Florida's 16 hits against No. 11 FSU Sunday, Vasquez and Rivera accounted for two of Florida's three hits Friday
UP NEXT
The second game of the three-game set in Oxford at Swayze Field is slated for Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET. The final two games of the weekend series can be heard through GatorZone.com and on the Gator IMG Sports Network with Jeff Cardozo and Steve Russell. Saturday's game will stream live on SEC Network+ through participating TV providers on WatchESPN with Will Kollmeyer (play-by-play) and David Dellucci (analyst), while Sunday's series finale will air live on ESPNU with Tom Hart (play-by-play) and Ben McDonald (analyst). Live stats for each game will be available on GatorZone.com and fans can also follow updates of each game on @GatorZoneBB, the official Twitter account of the Gator baseball team.
