Read JJ Schwarz' reaction to his record-setting day.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Freshman JJ Schwarz became the first Gator in school history with four homers in a game and freshman Dalton Guthrie notched the first two round-trippers of his career as No. 10 Florida (25-9) cruised to a 22-2 victory over Stetson (18-16) by scoring in every inning on Tuesday night at McKethan Stadium. Schwarz (5-for-6) totaled a career-high 10 RBI with a two-run homer in the second inning, a two-run blast in the third inning, a three-run jack in the fourth, a solo big fly in the seventh and a two-run double in the eighth.
Guthrie (2-for-7, three runs) led off the Gators' first inning with a homer into the left-field bleachers, the first of his career and the first Gator leadoff dinger since Casey Turgeon went yard on March 5, 2013, at Jacksonville.
Stetson countered with a pair of runs in the second frame against junior left-hander Danny Young to seize a 2-1 advantage. Junior John Fussell legged out an infield hit and junior Jack Machonis (2-for-3) doubled into left field before junior Will Mackenzie tied the game with an RBI grounder. Freshman righty Alex Faedo (2-1) replaced Young and uncorked a wild pitch that brought across Machonis.
The Gators erupted for five runs on five hits in the home part of the inning to grab a 6-2 lead. With sophomore Buddy Reed (3-for-5, four runs) at second base after a fielder's choice and a throwing error, Schwarz smacked his sixth homer high over the left-field bleachers. A single by freshman Mike Rivera and a walk to sophomore Ryan Larson ended the night for junior starter Adam Schaly (3-3). A wild pitch from junior Josh Thorne pushed both runners over and junior Richie Martin gave the hosts a three-run lead with a two-run double down the left-field line. Junior Harrison Bader (3-for-5, four RBI) followed with a ground-rule double over the wall center field to plate Martin.
After a 59-minute weather delay, Reed walked to start the Gator third and Schwarz cranked his second homer of the night to left field for an 8-2 score.
Schwarz increased UF's lead to 11-2 in the fourth with a three-run blast to left field, becoming the first Gator with three homers in an outing since Tyler Thompson accomplished the feat against Florida Atlantic on June 6, 2010. Senior Josh Tobias (2-for-4) had reached on a fielder's choice and had taken third base on a hit-and-run single through the left side by Reed before Schwarz went deep in his third consecutive at bat. Preston Tucker had been the most recent UF player to homer in three straight at bats when he did it against UCF on April 8, 2009.
The Gators tacked on three more runs in the fifth for a 14-2 cushion. Guthrie belted his second solo homer of the night with one down, Martin walked and then Bader ripped his ninth dinger to right field. Bader added an RBI single in the sixth that scored junior Mike Fahrman, who had drawn a pinch-hit walk and advanced on a pinch-hit single by freshman Taylor Lane. Schwarz had another homer to left center field in the seventh for a 16-2 margin.
UF tacked on six more runs in the eighth inning on a sacrifice fly by junior Jason Lombardozzi, an RBI single by Reed, a two-run double by Schwarz, an RBI single by freshman Jeremy Vasquez and a bases-loaded walk to freshman Christian Hicks.
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan
On tonight's win:
“This game will drive you crazy. We got nine hits the last two games in Missouri. If you look on the board tonight, we have 22 hits. Obviously, this was a special night for JJ [Schwarz]. I don't know if I have ever seen a guy hit four homers in one game. The most impressive thing is that he drove a ball to right center on his last at-bat. Sometimes home runs can be the best thing that happens to a hitter to get them going, but sometimes it can be the worst thing because they start pulling off the ball. For him to finish the night the way he did, and for him to hit the ball on the nose the other way, then that tells me tonight was a really special night for him because he was locked in. Dalton [Guthrie] had a couple of homers. It was really good to see [Harrison] Bader go the other way with a home run off the scoreboard. Pitching was solid. We were a little sloppy in the beginning of the game because we didn't do a good job communicating on the ball in front of home plate between JJ and Danny [Young]. Communicating is something we talk about all the time. Overall, everybody came in and did their job. It was good to get a bunch of guys into the game. Pitching-wise, we've got a big practice tomorrow because a bunch of guys need to throw. Offensively, it was a really good game for us. We were on time for fastballs, we stayed in the middle of the field on off-speed pitches, and I thought we did a really nice job tonight.”
Freshman catcher JJ Schwarz
On hitting four home runs tonight:
“I've never hit two [home runs in a game] before. After my second one, I was really excited, and then after the third I was like, 'Holy crap, what is going on?'”
On the Gators' offense tonight:
“Before the game, the coaches were telling us that we have to be more aggressive with our swings and hit more fastballs. That's exactly what we did tonight. I think this is really good from a confidence standpoint leading up to this weekend.”
Freshman second baseman Dalton Guthrie
On tonight's game:
“We needed to bounce back after dropping the series to Missouri, and we bounced back in a big way tonight. I think this is good for us going into this weekend against South Carolina.”
On hitting two home runs tonight:
“I don't have many games where I hit one [home run] to be honest. I haven't done this before.”
On JJ Schwarz's performance tonight:
“That was nice. A lot of us have been struggling hitting the bats, and a lot of us broke out today. I've never seen four [home runs] in a game, that was really impressive.”
Postgame Notes
- Florida moved to 80-34 all-time against Stetson, including a 42-11 advantage in Gainesville.
- JJ Schwarz's total of four homers was a school record and tied the SEC record held by Billy Sandry of Kentucky in 1982.
- The game was delayed at 8:11 p.m. due to heavy rains and resumed at 9:10 p.m.
- Danny Young made his first start since the 2014 SEC Tournament against Mississippi State.
- Schwarz and Dalton Guthrie joined Harrison Bader (vs. Rhode Island, 2/14) as the only Gators who have homered twice in a contest this year.
- Schwarz recorded the Gators' first four-homer game in school history. The freshman belted one in the second, third, fourth and seventh innings.
- His multi-homer game was Florida's first since Feb. 14, 2015 (Harrison Bader), and he was the first Gator to knock at least three out of the park since Tyler Thompsonaccomplished the feat against Florida Atlantic on June 6, 2010.
- Schwarz now has nine round-trippers on the season, which ranks tied for the team lead with Bader
- His 10 RBI and five runs scored were both career highs. Schwarz was just one run batted in shy of tying the school record.
- Schwarz also set a school record for total bases as he recorded 18.
- Guthrie hit his first-career homer in the bottom of the first inning and his second in the fifth frame.
- Guthrie's long ball marked UF's first home run to lead off a game since Casey Turgeon did so on March 5, 2013, against Jacksonville.
- Bader joined the party in the sixth, as he knocked his ninth home run over the right-field wall.
- Florida's seven long balls are the most since UF downed Miami in 1998 and tonight marked the fourth time in school history that Florida has tallied at least seven long balls.
- UF's 22 run tied the Gators' largest offensive output of the season.
- The Gators posted at least one run in each inning off the game, as eight of UF's starters tonight recorded a hit.
- Total, UF hit .449 as a team in tonight's game (22-for-49).
Up Next
The Gators will host SEC Eastern Division rival No. 21 South Carolina in a three-game series starting on Friday at 7 p.m. at McKethan Stadium. The game can be heard on the Gator IMG Sports Network with Jeff Cardozo and Steve Russell and will be carried on SEC Network+ with Nick Belmonte and Mick Hubert through participating TV providers only through WatchESPN.
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