Florida Baseball Weekly Report ? May 3, 2015
Monday, May 4, 2015 | Baseball
Florida Baseball Weekly Report – May 3, 2015
(Games from April 27-May 3)
Overall Record: 35-13 (25-5 at home, 9-7 on road, 1-1 at neutral sites)
SEC Record: 15-9 (8-4 home, 7-5 on road)
Record Last Week: 2-1 (2-1 on road)
Streak: Won 2
Last Week's Results (2-1):
Friday, May 1 – Lost at Georgia, 11-1
Saturday, May 2 – Won at Georgia, 3-2
Sunday, May 3 – Won at Georgia, 7-4
This Week's Schedule (All Times Eastern)
Tuesday, May 5 – USF (29-18-1/10-8 American), McKethan Stadium, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
Thursday, May 7 – at No. 6 Vanderbilt (35-14/17-7 SEC), Hawkins Field, 7:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Friday, May 8 – at No. 6 Vanderbilt (35-14/17-7 SEC), Hawkins Field, 7:30 p.m. (SEC Network+)
Saturday, May 9 – at No. 6 Vanderbilt (35-14/17-7 SEC), Hawkins Field, 1 p.m. (SEC Network)
Team Notes
Florida (35-13/15-9 SEC) rebounded from an 11-1 Friday night loss at Georgia with a pair of wins, 3-2 and 7-4, to take the series over the Bulldogs…UF has now captured eight of the last nine regular-season series between the Eastern Division rivals…The Gators close their non-conference schedule by hosting USF (29-18-1/10-8 American) on Tuesday and then head to Nashville for a Thursday-Saturday series at league leader No. 6 Vanderbilt (35-14/17-7 SEC)…Senior third baseman Josh Tobias, who continues to lead the Gators with a .360 overall batting average and a .355 league clip, was 5-for-12 (.417) against Georgia…Sophomore center fielder Buddy Reed (.307, 34 RBI, 34 runs) went 4-for-10 (.400) versus the Bulldogs, had a two-run single on Sunday and a spectacular leaping grab against the wall at Foley Field on Saturday…The Gators did not commit any errors on the weekend again and are now fielding at .986, No. 1 in the nation…The team is 22-5 (.815) when not committing any errors in a game…Florida has a .298 team batting average and a 3.45 team earned run average…Sophomore Ryan Larson (.308, 23 runs, 21 RBI) came through with a three-run double in the sixth to snap a 4-4 tie and lift UF to a 7-4 triumph in Sunday's rubber game…The Gator bullpen threw seven scoreless innings, with junior RHP Taylor Lewis (3-1, 1.97) earning the victory and junior LHP Danny Young (1-0, 2.78) pocketing his second save by retiring all eight batters he faced…Larson launched a three-run double in the sixth to give the Gators a 7-4 lead…Reed walked, freshman designated hitter JJ Schwarz (.291, 49 RBI) and freshman catcher Mike Rivera's (.280, 33 RBI) bunt was mishandled to load the bases with none out and Larson collected his fifth double to clear the bags...A single and a walk brought Young in for Lewis with none out in the seventh…The southpaw induced a 6-4-3 double play and wound up tossing three consecutive scoreless frames to secure the win…Freshman pinch hitter Jeremy Vasquez (.328, 11 RBI) delivered a game-winning single with two outs in the ninth inning to drive in junior shortstop Richie Martin (.315, 43 runs, 26 RBI) as the Gators evened the series with a 3-2 victory on Saturday…Sophomore left-hander A.J. Puk (6-3, 5.08) was brilliant over six shutout innings, notching a career-high 11 strikeouts and issuing zero walks…After surrendering a pair of singles in the opening stanza, he retired the final 16 hitters he faced…Puk leads the Orange and Blue with 56 strikeouts in 44.1 innings…UGA came back from a pair of one-run deficits before UF's ninth-inning heroics pushed it to 7-3 (.700) in one-run games this season…With one down in the ninth, Martin tripled into the left-field corner…After sophomore first baseman Peter Alonso (.279, 13 RBI) walked for the third time in the contest for runners on the corners and two out, junior left fielder Harrison Bader (.321, 47 RBI) was walked intentionally to load the bases…Vasquez roped a 1-0 pitch into right field to bring home Martin and Alonso was thrown out at the plate to keep UGA's deficit at one run…Senior LHP Bobby Poyner (4-1, 1.94) set down the first two batters in the home part of the frame before yielding consecutive singles…However, the left-hander had a grounder force the runner at second base for the final out…Junior right-hander David Sosebee set a career high by working eight innings and sophomore Mike Bell was 4-for-4 with four RBI as Georgia opened the series with a win.
Top Performers of the Week
Taylor Lewis, Junior, Right-Hander, 6-0, 170, Claxton, GA
*Picked up the victory in Sunday's finale with four strikeouts over 2.2 scoreless innings
*Lowered his ERA to 1.97 and raised his record to 3-1 with the decision
*Lewis has struck out 23 batters in 32 innings and leads the Gators with 21 appearances
Buddy Reed, Sophomore, Center Field, 6-3, 200, Finksburg, MD
*Went 4-for-10 (.400) over Florida's three games, with two RBI and a run scored
*Had a couple of hits as UF evened the series on Saturday and opened the scoring on Sunday with a two-run single with two out in the first inning
*Has a .307 batting average with 34 runs, 34 RBI, nine doubles and 14 stolen bases
A.J. Puk, Sophomore, Left-Hander, 6-7, 225, Cedar Rapids, IA
*Had a career-high 11 strikeouts over six shutout innings in the second matchup with Georgia but did not factor in the decision
*Allowed two singles in the first inning and then retired the final 16 Bulldog hitters that he faced
*Became the first Gator to reach double-digits in strikeouts since Hudson Randall accomplished the feat on March 22, 2012, at South Carolina
*Did not permit any walks during his six-inning stint
*Leads Florida with 56 strikeouts in 44.1 innings and has held opponents to a .221 average
Kirby Snead, Sophomore, Left-Hander, 6-0, 190, Alachua, FL
*Had two scoreless appearances spanning 4.1 innings at Georgia
*Totaled four strikeouts against the Bulldogs
*Has a 1-0 record and a 3.63 ERA in 17 appearances and 17.1 innings
Josh Tobias, Senior, Third Base, 5-10, 205, Greensboro, NC
*Hit a team-best .417 (5-for-12) in the Gators' series win over Georgia
*Had a pair of multiple-hit outings, in the opener and the finale
*Is hitting .360 overall with 37 runs and 30 RBI and has a .355 clip in SEC play
Danny Young, Junior, Left-Hander, 6-2, 200, Boca Raton, FL
*Set down all eight Georgia batters he faced in the finale to earn his second save
*Came in with two Bulldogs aboard in the seventh inning and had a 6-4-3 double play and a strikeout
*Is 1-0 with a 2.78 ERA in 22.2 innings and has registered 20 strikeouts
