Florida Gators
Maine
No. 2 Florida Completes Sweep of Maine, 5-3
Sunday, March 8, 2015 | Baseball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Junior Richie Martin (3-for-4) was a homer shy of the cycle and sophomore right-hander Dane Dunning improved to 4-0 to lift No. 2 Florida (14-2) to a 5-3 victory over Maine (4-12) on Sunday afternoon at McKethan Stadium. Junior Taylor Lewis worked a perfect ninth for his fourth save as the Gators swept the three-game series from the Black Bears.
The Orange and Blue grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning against junior right-hander Jake Marks (0-3). Freshman Dalton Guthrie (3-for-5) (shown below, photo by Tim Casey) led off with a bunt single and took third on Martin's second double of the season before sophomore Buddy Reed opened the scoring with an RBI single up the middle to drive in Guthrie. Consecutive walks to freshmen JJ Schwarz and Christian Hicks loaded the bases with two down before Marks got out of the jam by having freshman Mike Rivera ground out.
Florida added another run in the second for a 2-0 advantage. Sophomore Ryan Larson (2-for-3) drew a one-out walk and Guthrie singled into left field before Martin punched a base-hit through the right side to bring in Larson. Senior Josh Tobias (2-for-4) was hit by a pitch to fill the bags and Marks induced a fly ball by Schwarz to end the frame.
UF tacked on a pair of runs in the fourth to build a 4-0 cushion. Martin opened the frame with his first triple of the year down the left-field line and Tobias rifled a one-out double into left center to extend his hitting streak to eight games. After Tobias swiped third for his first theft of the season, Schwarz lofted a sacrifice fly into right field.
Junior Shane Bussey (2-for-4) put the Black Bears on the board in the fifth inning with an infield RBI single with the bases full but Dunning prevented further damage by having senior Sam Balzano hit into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play. Senior Brian Doran and junior Brenden Geary (2-for-4) had back-to-back singles before freshman Bobby Brennan was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
After issuing a leadoff walk to junior Brett Chappell, Dunning (5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 K) was replaced by senior Bobby Poyner. The southpaw put up a zero in the sixth and yielded a leadoff homer to Geary for a 4-2 score in the seventh. After a one-out single by Bussey, Chappell roped a two-out double into the left field corner to narrow the gap to 4-3. An infield hit by Morrill gave Maine runners on the corners and Poyner kept the Gators in front by having junior Kevin Stypulkowski ground out to Tobias. Rivera came through with a two-out RBI double in the eighth to score Hicks all the way from first base with an insurance run.
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan
On today's win:
“We did just enough offensively. Obviously, not having [Harrison] Bader changes our lineup quite a bit, but I thought that Dalton [Guthrie] and Richie [Martin] did a nice job today. Ryan Larson got a couple of hits, but the story of the game was that we left 15 guys stranded. Credit Maine's pitchers because they did a nice job. We played a bunch of freshmen today, about five, so this is a learning experience for them.
On Florida's pitching performance today:
“I thought that Dane [Dunning] threw the ball well, although I am sure he would like to have that leadoff walk in the sixth back, but he threw the ball solid. I also thought that [Bobby] Poyner threw the ball well. His line doesn't say the whole game. He came in and put a zero on the board after a leadoff walk in the sixth and gave up a home run to right, but other than that, he threw the ball well and kept us in it. It was also really good to get Taylor [Lewis] back out there in the ninth to finish it off.”
Freshman second baseman Dalton Guthrie
On getting the series sweep:
“We didn't play our best. We came out against UCF and played pretty well Wednesday night. We were looking to carry that momentum on into the weekend, but we were fortunate enough to get the sweep. It's always big, no matter who it is.”
Junior shortstop Richie Martin
On his hitting performance today:
“I was really fortunate. I've been scuffling a little, but that's how baseball goes. I'm glad today went well. I'm ready to get back at it tomorrow and get ready for Tuesday.”
Sophomore right-hander Dane Dunning
On the team's defense:
“It's unbelievable having a defense like this. Pretty much any ball hit can be caught, and it's just a great feeling.”
On his improvement from last year:
“It's a big difference from last year. I calmed down [this year], and I am able to start throwing strikes. I wasn't confident in my stuff last year; now I'm more confident and I'm able to do my own thing. Last year I would say I was thinking too much. I was always in a rush, trying to do everything so fast.”
Postgame Notes
- Dalton Guthrie (3-for-5) leads the Gators with eight multiple-hit games.
- Josh Tobias (2-for-4)raised his hitting streak to eight games and also tied for team lead by being plunked for the fourth time. He was a team-leading .455 (5-for-11) over the three games and had a .538 on-base percentage.
- Richie Martin had a double in the first, a single in the second and a triple in the fourth inning for the Gators.
- Taylor Lewis picked up his fourth save with a clean ninth and had a strikeout.
- Mike Rivera batted .417 (5-for-12) in the series and delivered a key RBI single with two down in the eighth this afternoon.
- The Gator pitching staff allowed four runs in 27 innings this weekend for a 1.33 ERA and all three starters (Logan Shore, A.J. Puk, Dane Dunning) emerged victorious.
- Florida did not commit any errors for the second consecutive weekend series.
Up Next
The Gators continue their homestand by hosting Fairfield (0-3) in the opener of a two-game series on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The game can be heard on the Gator IMG Sports Network with Jeff Cardozo and Steve Russell.
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