No. 9 Florida Wraps Up Non-Conference Schedule Against USF Tuesday Night
Monday, May 4, 2015 | Baseball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – After taking two of three games at Georgia over the weekend, No. 9 Florida (35-13) welcomes USF (29-18-1) to McKethan Stadium for a Tuesday encounter at 7 p.m. The Gators head to Nashville for a weekend series against SEC leader No. 8 Vanderbilt (35-14).
Sophomore right-hander Dane Dunning (4-2, 3.67) will draw the start for the Gators and will oppose Bulls' redshirt sophomore righty Tommy Eveld (1-1, 6.35).
The game can be heard through GatorZone.com and on the Gator IMG Sports Network with Jeff Cardozo and Mick Hubert. It will also be carried on the SEC Network with Mike Morgan and Landon Powell through participating TV providers only through WatchESPN. Live stats for each game will be available on GatorZone.com and fans can also follow updates of each game on @GatorZoneBB, the official Twitter account of the Gator baseball team.
QUICK HITS ABOUT THE GATORS
- Florida boasts a 25-5 (.833) record at McKethan Stadium this year and defeated USF, 13-3, on Feb. 18 in Tampa.
- The Gators have a 20-4 (.833) non-conference mark this season and are 15-9 (.625) against SEC teams.
- Florida's bullpen is 16-2 with a 2.99 ERA and 11 saves, and has registered 176 strikeouts in 207.2 innings.
- Against Sunshine State competition this year, the Gators are 9-4 (.692) and sport a 6-1 (.857) mark on their home field.
- The Orange and Blue has a 5-3 (.625) mark in SEC series - 3-1 (.750) at home and 2-2 (.500) on the road.
- UF is hitting .298 as team, has compiled a team earned run average of 3.45 and leads the nation with a .986 fielding percentage.
- Florida has played error-free baseball in 27 of its 48 games and is 22-5 (.815) in those games. UF has not had multiple errors in an outing since March 28 (two against Alabama) and the single-season school record for fielding percentage is .978, set in 2010.
- The Gators are 31-2 (.939) when out-hitting their opponent, 27-3 (.900) when scoring first, 21-5 (.808) when hitting a homer and 18-1 (.947) when scoring in the first inning. In taking two of three games over the weekend, UF drew first blood in each contest.
- 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.
- Sophomore right fielder 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.
- In game three against the Bulldogs, 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.
- 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.
- According to the most recent SEC statistics, Florida ranks No. 1 in fielding percentage (.985), No. 4 in team batting average (.298) and No. 6 in team ERA (3.45).
- Schwarz is first in the league in RBI (49), tied for second in home runs (13) and seventh in slugging percentage (.599), Bader is tied for third in RBI (47), sixth in slugging (.606), tied for fourth in home runs (11) and 15th in on-base percentage (.436), Martin is tied for sixth in runs scored (43), Guthrie is tied for ninth in runs scored (41), while Tobias is ninth in batting average (.360) and 13th in slugging percentage (.567).
SERIES NUGGETS
Florida had reeled off 12-straight victories over USF before the Bulls ended the slide at McKethan Stadium on April 24, 2012, with a 5-3 win. The Gators have countered with three straight triumphs, 12-1 on April 23, 2013, 8-2 on May 13, 2014 and 13-3 on Feb. 18, 2015.
Head coach Kevin O'Sullivan is 13-1 (.929) against USF, 10-1 (.909) in Gainesville and 3-0 (1.000) in Tampa.
The Gators have taken 36 of the 45 encounters on their home field and hold a 56-24 (.700) advantage in the all-time series.
PROMOTIONS
- Presenting sponsor: SKY
- UF Alumni Association Day
All UFAA members with valid ID receive 2-for-1 reserved bleacher seating. - UF & Santa Fe Faculty & Staff Night
All Faculty and Staff from UF and Santa Fe College receive 2-for-1 reserved bleacher seating.
TICKETS
Single-game tickets, season tickets and the Complete Game Mini-Plans can be purchased online through GatorZone or by calling the Gator Ticket Office at 1-800-34-GATOR from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday. For all of the latest information on Florida baseball, log on to GatorZone or follow the team's Twitter account @GatorZoneBB.
