A #Gators-USF primer for tonight's matchup in Gainesville Regional
Saturday, May 30, 2015 | Baseball, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Gators erupted for 19 runs in Friday night's NCAA Tournament opener against Florida A&M. The victory earned Florida (45-16) a matchup tonight against USF (34-24-1) in the Gainesville Regional.
The winner advances to play for a potential regional championship on Sunday afternoon.
These two teams are no strangers. They played twice during the regular season.
The Gators won 13-3 in Tampa on Feb. 18 and 5-1 earlier this month at McKethan Stadium.
The No. 3-seed Bulls advanced with a 5-3 victory Friday against No. 2-seed Florida Atlantic, as shortstop Kyle Teaf went 4-for-5 and starting pitcher Jimmy Herget pitched seven innings in USF's first NCAA Tournament game in 13 years.
Meanwhile, the Gators cruised behind a solid outing by starter Logan Shore (5 scoreless innings) and 17 hits. Freshman designated hitter JJ Schwarz led the way with four hits and five RBIs, including his team-leading 15th home run.
Florida snapped a six-game losing streak in the NCAA Tournament that dated to the 2012 College World Series.
Let's take a closer look at tonight's UF-USF matchup:
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PLAYER TO WATCH: USF catcher Levi Borders has baseball in his blood, His father, Pat Borders, was a long-time major-league catcher and World Series MVP in 1992 when he played for Toronto.
Borders has started all 59 games for the Bulls behind the plate and hits fourth in the lineup. He was 0-for-4 in Friday's win but is hitting .284 with a team-leading nine homers and 44 RBIs.
A unanimous first-team All-American Athletic Conference selection, Borders also knows how to mow down runners. He has thrown out 25 of 71 potential base stealers.
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PITCHING MATCHUP: Sophomore lefty A.J. Puk (8-3, 4.23 ERA) gets the nod for the Gators. USF is going with junior right-hander Ryan Valdes (5-3, 3.16).
Puk is coming off a dominating performance against Arkansas in the SEC Tournament. He pitched a three-hitter over seven innings in Florida's 10-0 run-rule victory. Puk struck out 11 Razorbacks and now has 85 strikeouts in 61 2/3 innings.
Valdes made 22 appearances this season for USF, including 10 starts. He has struck out 70 and allowed 70 hits in 77 innings. In Florida's 13-3 win at USF in February, Valdes allowed three hits, three runs and three walks in one inning of relief.
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COACH CHATTER
Florida's Kevin O'Sullivan: “The pivotal game in a regional is the second game. If you win that one, somebody's got to beat you twice. Anytime you are familiar with your opponent, that takes the edge off a little bit.”
USF's Mark Kingston: “We didn't look like the moment was too big for us. I thought our guys were really excited to play, but they also stayed loose and stayed focused."
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NOTABLES: Gators second baseman Dalton Guthrie returned to the lineup Friday after missing the SEC Championship game with a wrist injury. He went 1-for-3 with an RBI ... Florida freshman catcher Michael Rivera left Friday's game after getting hit by a pitch on the left knee; his status for tonight's game is uncertain ... O'Sullivan improved to 13-2 in regional play with Florida's 19-0 victory Friday night ... The Gators are 19-5 overall under O'Sullivan at home in the NCAA Tournament ... USF shortstop Teaf leads the nation with 228 consecutive starts ... Kingston is in his first season at USF after five seasons as head coach at Illinois State; Kingston was an assistant at Miami for two seasons early in his career, including 2001 when the Hurricanes won the CWS.
