Florida Gators
South Carolina
Offense Fuels No. 10 Florida To Series-Opening Win Over No. 21 South Carolina, 14-3
Saturday, April 11, 2015 | Baseball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 10 Florida (26-9/7-6 SEC) snapped a 3-3 tie with six runs in the fifth and plated the game's final 11 runs in a 14-3 victory over No. 21 South Carolina (23-12/6-7 SEC) on Friday night at McKethan Stadium. Every Gator starter contributed at least one hit, with junior Harrison Bader, freshman Christian Hicks and freshman JJ Schwarz each homering. Florida totaled 17 hits on the night, seven for extra bases with four doubles and three round-trippers.
After sophomore Logan Shore worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the first inning, the Gators grabbed a 3-0 lead against Gamecock sophomore Wil Crowe (3-4). With two down, Bader (3-for-5, four RBI) opened the scoring with his team-leading 10th homer to left center field. Sophomore Peter Alonso (2-for-4, two RBI) followed with a walk, sophomore Buddy Reed (3-for-5, two runs, one RBI) singled up the middle and Schwarz (2-for-4, two RBI) earned a free pass to fill the bags. Freshman Jeremy Vasquez (2-for-3, two RBI) rifled a two-run single just inside of the left-field line to score Alonso and Reed.
South Carolina countered in the second with two runs on four hits to narrow the gap to 3-2. Junior DC Arendas led off with a single into center field and moved to second on a grounder by junior Marcus Mooney. Sophomore Gene Cone put the Gamecocks on the board with an RBI single into right center to score Arendas and junior Max Schrock (3-for-4) singled through the left side for two runners aboard. With two down, senior Kyle Martin (2-for-4) delivered a run-scoring single to plate Schrock.
The Gamecocks evened the game at 3-3 in the fifth inning. Schrock and Martin started the frame with back-to-back singles and senior Elliott Caldwell walked to prompt a pitching change. Senior Bobby Poyner (2-1) took over for Shore (4.0 IP, 8 H, 3 R) and had sophomore Jordan Gore ground into a 6-4-3 double play, with Schrock coming across with the tying run. Poyner struck out freshman Alex Destino to preserve the stalemate.
In the bottom of the fifth, Florida sent 10 batters to the plate, totaled seven hits and tallied six runs to seize a 9-3 lead. Hicks led off with a solo blast to right field. It was his second homer, first since March 6 against Maine, and ended a run of 10 straight hitters set down by Crowe. After junior Richie Martin punched a one-out single into right center, he scored on a double to left by Bader, who took third on the relay home. An RBI single by Alonso brought home Bader and ended the night for Crowe (4.1 IP, 7 H 7 R). Alonso moved into scoring position on a wild pitch by junior Vince Fiori and scored on a double by Reed. Senior Cody Mincey came in and yielded an RBI double to Schwarz, a base-hit to Vasquez and an RBI grounder by freshman Mike Rivera.
Freshman Dalton Guthrie was hit by a pitch from sophomore Josh Reagan and scored on a two-out double by Alonso in the sixth for a 10-3 count. In the seventh, Schwarz went deep for the fifth time in the past two games with a laser to deep left field to match Bader for the team lead with 10 homers and the Gators tacked on three more runs in the frame on an RBI single by Guthrie and a two-run single by Bader.
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan
On tonight's win:
“It was a weird game. We jumped out and scored three in the first, and then we turned around and gave up two in the top half of the second. Both starters struggled tonight. There was one point during [Wil] Crowe's outing that he retired eight or nine in a row. We were fortunate enough to get six runs in the bottom of the fifth to open it up a little bit. Obviously, the big part of the game was Bobby [Poyner] coming in with the bases loaded, nobody out, and us getting a double play. The other important thing is that Bobby threw three innings and kept his pitch count down to 28 pitches so he could be used again this weekend. Our offense was also really good today. We had around eight two-strike hits and we battled. This was an important game and series for both teams. We are pleased with the way it turned out tonight.”
Senior left-hander Bobby Poyner
On coming in for relief in the fifth inning:
“I knew it was a real turning point in the game. I had to jump ahead and throw strikes early. The goal was to get a strikeout or a double play.”
On the Gators' offense:
“Our bats have been great lately. You know we're going to score. [Harrison] Bader has been hitting the ball great, and JJ [Schwarz] too, obviously. I have no complaints as a pitcher.”
Junior left fielder Harrison Bader
On Coach O'Sullivan after the Missouri series:
“Sully is always challenging us. That is what he does best, and that's why he is as good of a coach as he is. He's always challenging the pitchers, the hitters. He gets the absolute most out of his players.”
On JJ Schwarz's last two games:
“I think incredible is the exact word for it. As an older kid, to see a freshman doing what he's doing is very impressive. He'll stay with it, and I'll just try and tag along with the numbers too.”
Postgame Notes:
- Kevin O'Sullivan is now 17-11 (.607) against South Carolina, including an 8-2 (.800) mark in Gainesville.
- With the win, UF closed the all-time series gap with South Carolina to 43-39.
- The Gators have now won six of their last seven contests against the Gamecocks.
- Florida is now 21-3 (.875) in the friendly confines of McKethan Stadium this spring.
- The Orange and Blue is now a perfect 24-0 when out-hitting its opponents and 20-2 (.909) when scoring first this season.
- Harrison Bader and JJ Schwarz cranked their team-leading 10th home runs of the season. Each of them were solo shots.
- Christian Hicks hit the go-ahead homer for UF in the bottom of the fifth inning. It was his second long ball of the season.
- In addition to Hicks, UF used six other hits to gain a 9-3 advantage in that inning, which proved to be too much for the Gamecocks to overcome.
- Bobby Poyner picked up his second victory of the season and is now 2-1 overall this spring.
Up Next
The Gators and Gamecocks will meet again tomorrow at 6 p.m. The game can be heard on the Gator IMG Sports Network with Jeff Cardozo and Mick Hubert and will be carried on SEC Network with Gabe Gross and Tom Hart and through WatchESPN.
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