DELAND, Fla. -- No. 5 Florida baseball used a four-run first frame for early momentum, fell behind in the sixth inning and mounted a comeback in the eighth to secure a 9-6 win over Stetson in mid-week action at Melching Field in DeLand. The Gators (21-5, 3-3 SEC) and Hatters (14-12, 0-0 A-Sun) clashed for the first time since 2009 in the first of two meetings between the programs this season.
The Orange and Blue carried a 5-1 lead through five innings before the Hatters used a five spot in the sixth to go up, 6-5. Florida mounted its sixth come-from-behind victory this season with a three-run eighth when Harrison Bader (2-for-4, 2R, 2RBI) followed a Richie Martin (3-for-4, 3R) two-out walk with RBI single to center, then Josh Tobias (3-for-5, 2R, 3RBI) smashed a two-run bomb to right center for an 8-6 lead UF wouldn't relinquish. Florida added its final run in the top of the final stanza on a RBI groundout for Ryan Larson to plate pinch runner Jason Lombardozzi, running for Mike Rivera (2-for-3, 1RBI) after a leadoff walk.
In a contest that featured 12 pitchers between the two clubs, freshman right-hander Alex Faedo worked a career-high 5.0 innings, allowing just two hits and Stetson's one run in the first, while fanning three in his second start of the season on the hill for the Gators. UF pushed five runs across the dish to aid Faedo, while freshman Logan Browning (1-0) picked up his first win of the season on the mound for Florida. Junior righty Taylor Lewis came on for the final 1.2 innings to close out his sixth save of the season.
The Gators wasted no time getting the bats going in the initial stanza with a one-out base hit from Martin, who crossed as UF's first run after sophomore Buddy Reed (2-for-5, 1R, 1RBI) doubled down the right-field line to extend his career-best hit streak to 13 games. Next up, a J.J. Schwarz ground out plated Bader, who drew a one-out walk behind Martin. Rivera poured it on with a single up the middle to plate Reed, tie a season-best five-game hit streak and give the Orange and Blue a 4-0 cushion after one.
The Hatters countered with a score in the home half of the first inning on a groundout RBI from Patrick Mazeika after Vance Vizcaino dropped a triple in left field that Bader lost in the sun for a runner in scoring position. Martin kept the bat hot in the second frame with a bunt single, proceeded to swipe second and came home on a Bader single to shallow left field that gave the Orange and Blue a 5-1 advantage.
In the bottom of the sixth, two consecutive base hits for Stetson's Tyler Bocock and Colton Lightner, followed by a UF hit-by-pitch, loaded the bases for the Hatters, who proceeded to put up a five spot on a RBI walk, wild pitch and two-RBI double for a 6-5 Stetson lead after seven.
Florida battled, though, with its three spot in the eighth inning and an extra insurance run in the ninth for the 9-6 final.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan
On Faedo's start Tuesday:
“That was a really good start. His pitch count was 60 because we still want to use him towards the back end of the weekend. That's as good as anybody can throw. If we had glasses on in left field (in the bottom of the first), he probably doesn't give up a run. Not a great 0-2 pitch, so we probably need to make a better pitch at 0-2. You couldn't ask anymore of him, it was a really good start. Definitely a big step in the right direction.”
On two-out RBIs and the team's comeback against Stetson:
“Richie had a good at-bat to get on (in the eighth). We stole there to get him in scoring position and Bader hit a 3-2 breaking ball -- fortunately for us it was up in the strike zone -- then Tobias comes up and hits the homer. We talk about it and as long as we're in the dugout we have a chance to score. We did a really nice job. We probably needed a game like this. Three of our five losses we've been behind in the first inning and we haven't really showed a lot of fight, to be quite honest with you; we played the nine innings with not a whole lot of fight to get back in the ball game. To fall behind after we had a comfortable lead and to battle back in the eighth inning was good for our team, it was good for our psyche. It just goes to show that we have the ability to come back, but until you do it, it's just talk in the locker room. We had some really good at bats.”
POSTGAME NOTES
· Both Buddy Reed (13) and Mike Rivera (5) continued career-long hit streaks in UF's win at Stetson Tuesday
· Freshman Alex Faedo twirled a career-high five innings to get the Gators started in Tuesday's mid-week match-up, while freshman Logan Browning came on for his first win of the 2015 season
· Florida's 14 hits were its third-most in a game this season and gave the Gators double-digit hits in eight of UF's last 11 games
· Florida moved to 79-34 all-time against Stetson, including a 35-21 advantage in DeLand
· UF used a three-run eighth to mount its sixth come-from-behind victory this season
UP NEXT
Up next, the No. 5 Gators will head home for their third SEC series of the season with a Thursday, Friday, Saturday set against Alabama, with game times set for 7 p.m., 7 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively. Thursday's series opener will air live on the SEC Network, while fans can additionally watch the live stream Thursday, Friday and Saturday via WatchESPN. Jeff Cardozo and Steve Russell will have the call through GatorZone.com and on the Gator IMG Sports Network. Live stats for the series 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.
