Florida Gators
Auburn
No. 7 Florida Eliminates Auburn From SEC Tournament, 11-2
Thursday, May 21, 2015 | Baseball
HOOVER, Ala. – Fourth-seeded Florida (41-16) used an eight-run third inning to oust ninth-seeded Auburn (35-24) from the 2015 SEC Tournament, 11-2, on Thursday afternoon at the Hoover Met. With the victory, the Gators stay alive to face the loser of tonight's game between top-seeded LSU (47-9) and fifth-seeded Arkansas (35-20) tomorrow night at approximately 7:30 p.m. on the SEC Network.
Senior Josh Tobias was 4-for-5 with two RBI and two runs and sophomore Peter Alonso was a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI to lead Florida's 15-hit offensive outburst. Sophomore right-hander Logan Shore (7-6) struck out seven batters, scattered six hits and permitted two runs over 7.2 innings to earn the triumph and sophomore Frank Rubio finished the game for the Orange and Blue.
Freshman JJ Schwarz helped the Gators draw first blood in the second inning with a sacrifice fly into right field that brought home Tobias. Tobias had led off with an infield single and stole second before a base-hit into right field by Alonso resulted in runners on the corners. A wild pitch by righty Dalton Rentz (3-4) gave UF a pair of runners in scoring position and Schwarz collected his team-leading 58th RBI with his team-best sixth sac fly of the campaign. It was the fourth RBI of the SEC Tournament for the second-team All-SEC pick.
Florida sent a dozen batters to the plate and erupted for eight runs with two down in the third to break the game wide open. Freshman Dalton Guthrie was hit by a pitch with one down and junior Richie Martin (2-for-5, two runs) had a two-out infield hit before Tobias came through with an RBI single through the right side of the infield. Alonso followed with a two-run single up the middle and Schwarz singled for runners on the corners. Junior Harrison Bader's grounder was misplayed for an error, allowing Alonso to score, and freshman Mike Rivera (1-for-3) launched a two-run double into left center to increase the margin to 7-0 and end the day for Rentz (2.2 IP, 7 H, 8 R, 4 ER). Freshman Jeremy Vasquez and Guthrie rounded out the frame with back-to-back RBI single for a nine-run cushion.
Austin Murphy put the Tigers on the board in the fourth with a two-out RBI single that scored Melvin Gray, who had opened the stanza with a double into left field.
The Gators tacked on two more runs in the sixth on RBI singles by Tobias and Alonso to build a 10-run advantage at 11-1 and the Tigers responded with a run-scoring grounder by Gray to bring across Anfernee Grier (leadoff triple) to finalize the scoring.
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan
Opening Statement:
“I am really proud of the way we responded to the tough loss last night. Obviously, it was a short night for us. I am really pleased with how they came out with some focus. Logan [Shore] was outstanding on the mound and kept our bullpen intact. Then obviously, Josh [Tobias] had four hits and Peter [Alonso] had three. Overall I am pleased with our game today and we'll get out there tomorrow and go again."
On the Gators' pitching:
"I think we are in pretty good shape now. In all we have six guys who have not thrown yet. Everybody else should be close to ready to go tomorrow. It should come down to our starters, specifically A.J. [Puk]. If he gives us the start we need him to then we should have a chance.”
Senior third baseman Josh Tobias
On the eight-run third inning:
“It was a great inning to get eight runs. The main thing we did was string together at bats. Things kind of unfolded from there. It is always awesome to have innings like that.”
Sophomore first baseman Peter Alonso
On the Gators' big inning:
“Being a part of a game like that is super fun. Hitting like that is very contagious. When you get in that situation it is kind of hard to not get a hit because you just want to pass the torch to the next guy.”
Assistant Coach Brad Weitzel
On rebounding from last night's loss to Arkansas:
“They played great today. Bouncing back after a long night, no one cares and there's no excuses – you have to play the same way every time, you have to play hard, you have to come ready to play and the swings were a lot better today. It's hard to believe that it was the same group of kids but that's baseball and that's why we watch it and love it. Scoring first the percentages say you're going to win. Logan (Shore) had to be shocked when we scored eight in the third inning since I don't think we scored that many for him all year. He's pitched really well for us and that's the first time he could actually enjoy it and let his guard down a little bit and let the ball come out of his hand.”
Postgame Notes:
- The Gators also won an elimination game at the SEC Tourney last year after losing their opening game.
- Kevin O'Sullivan is now an even 13-13 in Hoover during his eight-year tenure.
- Logan Shore picked up his first victory since April 17 at Mississippi State with his third straight outing of at least seven innings.
- Josh Tobias was 4-for-5, one shy of his career high of five hits set in a win over Stony Brook on Feb. 28.
- Peter Alonso drove in three runs as part of a 3-for-3 effort.
- The Gators improved to 7-2 all-time in the SEC Tournament against the Tigers.
- Florida has taken three of the four meetings with Auburn this season, all in the past week.
- The eight-run second inning marked the Gators' highest output since plating nine runs in the sixth inning against Rhode Island on Feb. 14.
- All nine Florida starters reached base by the sixth inning and UF's total of 15 hits was its highest since April 26 (16 vs. Kentucky).
- The Gators' run total was its highest output since a 12-2 victory over No. 21 South Carolina on April 12.
Up Next
The Gators will play either LSU or Arkansas in another elimination game tomorrow night at approximately 7:30 p.m. on the SEC Network. The game can be heard on the Gator IMG Sports Network with Jeff Cardozo and Mick Hubert and will be shown on the SEC Network and available through WatchESPN.
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