Florida Baseball Weekly Report ? April 20, 2015
Monday, April 20, 2015 | Baseball
Florida Baseball Weekly Report – April 20, 2015
(Games from April 13-19)
Overall Record: 31-10 (23-3 at home, 7-6 on road, 1-1 at neutral sites)
SEC Record: 12-6 (7-2 home, 5-4 on road)
Record Last Week: 3-1 (3-1 on road)
Streak: Won 3
Last Week's Results (3-1):
Tuesday, April 14 – Lost at No. 13 Florida State, 4-3 (12 innings)
Friday, April 17 – Won at Mississippi State, 6-3
Saturday, April 18 – Won at Mississippi State, 2-1
Sunday, April 19 – Won at Mississippi State, 10-5
This Week's Schedule (All Times Eastern)
Tuesday, April 21 – Bethune-Cookman (15-29/13-8 MEAC), McKethan Stadium, 7 p.m.
Friday, April 24 – Kentucky (22-16/8-9 SEC), McKethan Stadium, 7 p.m. (SEC Network+)
Saturday, April 25 – Kentucky (22-16/8-9 SEC), McKethan Stadium, 7 p.m. (SEC Network+)
Sunday, April 26 – Kentucky (22-16/8-9 SEC), McKethan Stadium, 12:30 p.m. (SEC Network+)
Team Notes
Florida (31-10/12-6 SEC) captured three of four outings on the road last week, falling at No. 13 Florida State, 4-3 in 12 innings, and then taking all three games at Mississippi State by scores of 6-3, 2-1 and 10-5…The Gators will return to the friendly confines of McKethan Stadium, where they are 23-3 (.885) this year, for their next four games…UF will host Bethune-Cookman (15-29/13-8 MEAC) on Tuesday and then welcome SEC Eastern Division rival Kentucky (22-16/8-9 SEC) to town for a three-game set that starts Friday…The Gators are hitting .307 as team, have compiled a team earned run average of 3.32 and lead the nation with a .985 fielding percentage…Florida has played error-free ball in 22 of its 41 games and is 19-3 (.864) in those games…Senior third baseman Josh Tobias leads UF in both overall (.371) and SEC (.370) batting average and is tied for second in the league in triples (5)…Junior left fielder Harrison Bader (.336) has 43 RBI, 34 runs, 12 doubles and 11 homers, while junior shortstop Richie Martin (.323) has 38 runs, 26 RBI, 22 walks and is 14-for-17 on the basepaths…Freshman second baseman Dalton Guthrie (.322) has scored a team-high 39 runs, while freshman catcher/designated hitter JJ Schwarz (.303) paces the squad with an SEC-best 47 RBI and is second in the conference with 13 homers…Sophomore center fielder Buddy Reed is batting .311 overall with 30 RBI and 14 stolen bases and is at .343 in league action…After missing the first 30 games of the season with a foot injury, sophomore first baseman Peter Alonso is 15-for-46 (.326) in 11 games and was 9-for-17 (.529) in Florida's four games last week…He powered the Gator offense in Starkville by going 7-for-12 (.583) with six RBI and a slugging percentage of 1.167…On the mound, senior left-hander Bobby Poyner is 2-1 with a team-low 1.99 ERA in 14 appearances and has collected three saves, while sophomore righty Logan Shore (6-2, 2.29) fired his second complete game of the season in the opener with MSU…Alonso belted a pair of homers and drove in four runs as the Gators downed the Bulldogs, 10-5, on Sunday afternoon to finish off a Super Bulldog Weekend sweep at Dudy Noble Field…With their sixth consecutive win in league play and first road sweep of MSU since 2002, the Gators have forged a three-way tie on top of the SEC East standings with No. 4 Vanderbilt (29-12) and No. 18 Missouri (26-14)…After Mississippi State tied the game in the fifth, the Orange and Blue tallied four runs in the sixth to take control of the game….Tobias had a two-run single to jump-start the offense in the first inning, while freshman catcher/designated hitter Mike Rivera (.287, 28 RBI) delivered a two-run triple in the ninth after the Bulldogs had pulled within 8-5…Junior RHP Taylor Lewis (2-1, 2.36) worked 4.2 innings, allowing three hits and a pair of unearned runs, to earn the victory…Sophomore Ryan Larson (.314, 22 runs, 18 RBI) snapped a 1-1 tie in the seventh inning with a safety squeeze that brought homeAlonso with the winning run as UF edged Mississippi State, 2-1, on Saturday…Alonso went 3-for-4 with an RBI single, junior right-hander Aaron Rhodes (1-0, 3.63) notched his first victory of the season and Poyner yielded one hit over 2.2 scoreless frames to register his third save…Sophomore righty Dane Dunning (4-1, 3.02) permitted one run on four hits in 5.1 innings but was not involved in the decision…Shore tossed his first career complete game on the road and Tobias drove in a career-high four runs as the Gators earned a 6-3 victory on Friday night…Shore gave up six hits and three runs, with six strikeouts and zero walks, in his second complete game in the last four starts…The right-hander was supported by an offense led by Tobias (2-for-4), who roped a three-run triple in the first inning and added a RBI double in the fifth, as well as a 3-for-4 outing by Guthrie and a 2-for-3 effort by Martin…The Gators jumped out to 4-0 lead against in the first inning on a three-run triple by Tobias and an RBI grounder by Schwarz…Guthrie opened the game with a base-hit into left field and took third on Bader's team-leading 12th double…After a walk to Alonso filled the bags, Tobias emptied them with his team-best fifth triple into right center…Schwarz followed with a grounder that brought home Tobias.
Top Performers of the Week
Peter Alonso, Sophomore, First Base, 6-2, 225, Tampa, FL
*Batted a team-high .529 (9-for-17) over the Gators' four games last week, with seven RBI and drove in a run in every outing
*Helped Florida to its first sweep of Mississippi State in Starkville since 2002 by going 7-for-12 (.583) and playing flawless defense
*Tied for the team lead with six RBI against the Bulldogs and led the Orange and Blue by scoring four runs
*Finished the series by going 4-for-5 with a season-high four RBI and belted his first two homers of the campaign for the first multi-homer game of his career
*Was 3-for-4 with and RBI single and scored the winning run on Saturday as the Gators clinched the series with a 2-1 win
*Had an RBI grounder in the series opener at Mississippi State and scored a run
*Was 2-for-5 and delivered an RBI single in UF's 4-3 setback at No. 13 Florida State
Dalton Guthrie, Freshman, Second Base, 5-11, 170, Sarasota, FL
*Turned in a .333 (6-for-18) average in four games, with four runs and a walk
*Went 5-for-12 (.417) in the series at Mississippi State and was second on the club with three runs
*Drew a bases-loaded walk in the finale and was 1-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to eight games
*Was 3-for-4 and scored twice in Friday's 6-3 triumph to kick off the weekend
*Is 12-for-36 (.333) during his hitting streak, with 11 runs and five RBI
*Guthrie has a .322 overall average and is at .324 in conference activity
Taylor Lewis, Junior, Right-Hander, 6-0, 170, Claxton, GA
*Picked up the victory in the finale at Mississippi State with a 4.2-inning stint in which he allowed three hits and zero earned runs
*Came into the game with the score tied at 3-3 in the fifth and the bases full and induced an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play
*Is now 2-1 with a 2.36 ERA in 18 appearances spanning 26.2 innings, with 16 strikeouts and four walks
Richie Martin, Junior, Shortstop, 6-0, 185, Brandon, FL
*Batted .412 (7-for-17) and was 2-for-2 on stolen bases last week, including a sizzling .500 (6-for-12) performance in the sweep of Mississippi State
*Went 2-for-5 and had an RBI grounder during the Gators' four-run sixth on Sunday afternoon
*Had a 2-for-4 outing as Florida clinched the series in Starkville on Saturday
*Opened the weekend by going 2-for-3 in the first win over the Bulldogs
*Is riding a 10-game hitting streak in which he is 16-for-29 (.410) with 10 RBI, seven runs and five stolen bases
*Ranks third on the team with a .323 batting average and is tied for the team lead with 14 stolen bases
Bobby Poyner, Senior, Left-Hander, 6-0, 205, Wellington, FL
*Had two scoreless appearances last week and saved the Gators' first win at Mississippi State
*Over 5.1 innings, the southpaw gave up one hits, with two strikeouts, and limited opponents to a .059 batting average
*Leads Florida with a 1.99 ERA in his 14 appearances and boasts a 2-1 record
*Poyner has totaled 38 strikeouts and given up three walks in 40.2 innings of work
Logan Shore, Sophomore, Right-Hander, 6-2, 215, Coon Rapids, MN
*Registered his first career complete game on the road Friday night as the Gators captured the opener at Mississippi State
*Has gone the distance in two of his last four starts and has claimed his last three decisions against Alabama, Missouri and Mississippi State
*Shore scattered six hits and yielded three runs, with six strikeouts and zero walks
*Improved to 6-2 this season in 10 starts and has a 2.29 ERA in a team-high 59 innings
*The righty has 40 strikeouts, tied for second on the squad, and is limiting opponents to a .225 average
Josh Tobias, Senior, Third Base, 5-10, 205, Greensboro, NC
*Hit .308 (4-for-13) in the sweep of Mississippi State
*Triggered the Gators' offense on Friday night with a three-run triple in the first inning and came through with a two-run single in the opening frame on Sunday
*Finished game one with a career-high four RBI, as he added an RBI double in the fifth inning
*Scored UF's first run on Saturday on a single by Peter Alonso
*Continues to lead Florida in batting average – both overall (.371) and in SEC play (.370)
