Florida Gators
Florida A&M
Gators Cruise Past Florida A&M in NCAA Opener; Face USF on Saturday in Winner's Bracket
Saturday, May 30, 2015 | Baseball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Sophomore right-handers Logan Shore, Frank Rubio and Shaun Anderson combined on a three-hit shutout and freshman JJ Schwarz went 4-for-5 and drove in five runs as top-seeded Florida (45-16) defeated fourth-seeded Florida A&M (23-24), 19-0, in the NCAA Gainesville Regional on Friday night at McKethan Stadium. The Gators will face third-seeded USF (34-24-1) in a winner's bracket game on Saturday at 7 p.m., while the Rattlers meet second-seeded Florida Atlantic (40-18) in an elimination game at 1 p.m.
Shore (8-6) yielded just a pair of singles in the fourth inning in a five-inning stint and was supported by a balanced offense that totaled 17 hits and saw every starter reach base. Junior Harrison Bader (1-for-4) drove in three runs, freshman Jeremy Vasquez was 3-for-3 and scored twice and freshman Mike Rivera and sophomore John Sternagel contributed two RBI for the Gators.
Rivera gave the Gators a 1-0 lead in the second inning with a sacrifice fly off of junior left-hander Ricky Page (2-1). Sophomore Peter Alonso (1-for-4, two runs) had led off with a single into left field and Schwarz and Vasquez also had base-hits to load the bases with none out. Rivera lined out to right field for his fifth sacrifice fly of the season to bring across Alonso and Page answered with consecutive strikeouts.
Florida tallied five runs on three hits and two errors in the third inning to boost its lead to 6-0. The Orange and Blue loaded the bases with none out, as sophomore Buddy Reed drew a leadoff walk, junior Richie Martin (three runs) legged out an infield single and a grounder by senior Josh Tobias (1-for-4, two runs) resulted in Martin being safe at second base on a throwing error. A grounder by Alonso forced Reed at the plate and Schwarz followed with a walk to score Martin for a 2-0 lead. An RBI single into right field by Vasquez drove in Tobias and ended the contest for Page (2.1 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 3 ER). A fielder's choice by Rivera scored Alonso and Vasquez was safe at second on a fielding error before Bader lofted a sacrifice fly into right field to bring in Vasquez.
Bader delivered a two-run single and Reed chipped in with an RBI double in the fifth inning to give UF a 9-0 advantage. Vasquez drew a leadoff walk from junior Tyler Reker and Rivera was hit by a pitch and replaced by freshman pinch runner Mark Kolozsvary. A wild pitch by junior Alex Carrasco moved both runners into scoring position and Bader punched a one-out single into left field to bring in his teammates. After Bader swiped second base, Reed doubled to left center for a nine-run cushion.
After Rubio retired the Rattlers in order in the sixth, Schwarz belted his team-leading 15th homer to left field and freshman Christian Hicks had a sacrifice fly to increase the margin to 11-0. Vasquez collected his third hit of the game with a double down the right-field line and was replaced by sophomore pinch runner Ryan Larson. A fly-out by Kolozsvary pushed Larson to third and Hicks picked up an RBI with a sac fly into center field.
The Gators tacked on two runs in the seventh on a pinch-hit RBI single by Sternagel and a run-scoring single by Schwarz. UF erupted for six more runs in the eighth on a pinch-hit RBI single by junior Mike Fahrman, a bases-loaded HBP to Sternagel, a two-run double by Schwarz, an RBI single by Larson and an RBI fielder's choice by Kolozsvary to finalize the scoring.
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan
Opening statement:
“I thought we got off to a good start. I thought that Logan [Shore] pitched really well and kept his pitch count down so that we have the opportunity to use him later in the tournament. I thought the way he pitched was very good. Offensively, I thought we had some really good swings, especially when we built that big lead, we didn't throw many at-bats away. I thought there were a lot of short, compact swings and we weren't trying to do too much. It was an overall great game. We played good defense in spite of the score. Obviously, JJ [Schwarz] had a really great night at the plate, and I thought that Jeremy Vasquez had a really good game. He had some really good swings. We look forward to playing tomorrow.”
On scoring 19 runs against the Rattlers:
“This whole thing is about how you are feeling as a player and as a club. When you get more players feeling good about themselves, the club plays better. We came off a very difficult and intense SEC Tournament and I thought we did what we needed to do. For me, I judge how we play on three phases. The swings, we didn't give away many at bats when the score got away toward the second half of the game. We played great defense, we got a chance to get everybody in the game to get some experience, and we had great pitching. From all three phases, we were good tonight. We stayed the course and we stayed focus for nine innings. For me, that's good and we should feel good going into tomorrow. A.J. [Puk] has been throwing the ball really good and we have the rest of the pen. I think we are playing at a high level right now.”
Junior left fielder Harrison Bader
On winning the SEC Tournament:
“I think it prepared us a lot. To do what we did at the SEC Tournament says a lot about our club, especially after losing the first game. We're just looking forward to playing tomorrow.”
On winning tonight's game:
“We waited around until my junior year to win a post-season game. That's just how the game goes at times. To come out with this team and do what we did tonight is a special feeling. I'm very happy about it, and I know a lot of guys are. Again, we're just looking forward to tomorrow and we'll do what we can to get another win.”
Freshman catcher/designated hitter JJ Schwarz
On going 4-for-5 tonight at the plate:
“I think my timing has been on the past few days and weeks. Like I said last week, hitting is a lot about rhythm. I'm in a good rhythm, and hopefully it stretches on throughout the post-season.”
Sophomore right-hander Logan Shore
On his pitching tonight:
“Anytime you can throw six pitches in an inning, it's a boost for the next one. I felt good to get back out there into post-season play. Our bats came to the field once again. I'm looking forward to tomorrow.”
Postgame Notes:
- Florida collected its first shutout in NCAA action since starting the 2012 Gainesville Regional with a 4-0 win over Bethune-Cookman. It was UF's fourth shutout of the campaign.
- The 19-run margin was the Gators' highest in the NCAA Tournament since a 23-3 victory over Notre Dame in the 2005 NCAA Gainesville Regional.
- Head coach Kevin O'Sullivan improved to 19-5 (.792) at McKethan Stadium in NCAA play, including 13-2 (.867) in Regional action.
- Seven of the Gators' nine starters had at least one hit and all nine reached base tonight.
- UF was hit a season-high seven times by the Rattler pitching, including three to junior Richie Martin.
- JJ Schwarz increased his hitting streak to seven games with an infield single in the second inning and he went 4-for-5 with five RBI and scored three times.
- The Gators have scored at least five runs in the third inning in three of their last five games (5 vs. Auburn on May 21, 8 vs. Arkansas on May 22, 5 vs. Florida A&M tonight).
Up Next
The Gators will face third-seeded USF (34-24-1) in a winner's bracket game tomorrow at 7 p.m., with sophomore lefty A.J. Puk (8-3, 4.23) on the mound against junior Ryan Valdes (5-3, 3.16). The game can be heard on the Gator IMG Sports Network with Jeff Cardozo and Mick Hubert, will be carried on the SEC Network Alternate Channel with Mike Morgan and Dave Perno and available through WatchESPN.
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NCAA Gainesville Regional Ticket Information
All fans can order tickets using the following methods:
- Order online at www.GatorZone.com/tickets, starting Wednesday, May 27, at 8:30 a.m.
- Order by calling one of the Ticket Office Specialists at (352) 375-4683, option 2, or toll free (800) 344-2867, option 2, Wednesday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Order by visiting the Gator Ticket Office, located at Gate 1 of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Wednesday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Single-game tickets for the NCAA Gainesville Regional will be sold beginning on Thursday, May 28, at 8:30 a.m., and the first 250 University of Florida students will be admitted free to each game.
Ticket prices are the following:
| Regional Books |
|
| Tournament Reserved Box | $55 |
| Tournament Reserved Chairback | $50 |
| Tournament Reserved Bleacher | $30 |
| Single-Game Tickets: |
|
| Single-Game Reserved Box | $10 |
| Single-Game Reserved Chairback | $9 |
| Single-Game Reserved Bleacher | $8 |
| Single-Game General Admission | $6 |
