Florida Gators
USF
No. 9 Florida Handles USF, 5-1; Pitching Staff Totals 12 Strikeouts
Wednesday, May 6, 2015 | Baseball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Sophomore right-hander Dane Dunning (5-2) had a career-high eight strikeouts and junior Richie Martin and sophomore Buddy Reed drove in two runs apiece as No. 9 Florida downed USF, 5-1, on Tuesday night at McKethan Stadium.
The Gators (36-13) wrapped up their mid-week schedule with a 10-3 (.769) record and completed their non-conference slate at 21-4 (.840) in capturing both meetings with the Bulls (29-19-1) this season. Sophomore left-hander Kirby Snead retired the first 10 USF batters he faced and tossed a season-high four scoreless innings, while junior right-hander Eric Hanhold struck out two of three hitters in the ninth to complete the contest. Six of Florida's 10 hits went for extra bases and the hosts limited the Bulls to four singles.
UF used three-consecutive doubles in the second inning against USF redshirt sophomore righty Tommy Eveld (1-2) to take a 2-0 lead. Junior Harrison Bader led off with a double into left center, scored on a two-bagger by Reed (2-for-4) and freshman JJ Schwarz brought home Reed with a double of his own.
An RBI grounder by freshman Kevin Merrell in the fifth inning cut the Bulls' deficit in half at 2-1. After seniors Austin Lueck and Zac Gilcrease started the frame with consecutive singles, Snead replaced Dunning (4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R) and senior Kyle Teaf sacrificed his teammates over. Merrell's grounder scored Lueck and Snead stranded Gilcrease on third to keep the Gators on top.
The Orange and Blue answered in the home part of the inning with a two-run homer by Martin (2-for-4) with freshman Dalton Guthrie aboard and a two-out RBI single by Reed that scored Tobias for a 5-1 advantage.
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan
On tonight's win:
“This was against a really great opponent. I think that USF is in the hunt to be in a Regional. I was pleased with the way we played tonight. It was clean with no errors, and we walked one. I think that Dane's [Dunning] start was perfect. He went about 65-70 pitches and we still have him available for Saturday's game at Vanderbilt. Kirby [Snead] came in and threw 35 pitches over four innings. That is the best he has looked all year. He came in and threw strikes with runners on first and second with nobody out. He kept the damage under control, threw strikes, and only gave up one run in the fifth. Eric [Hanhold] came in and threw the ball very well at the end. From a pitching and defensive standpoint, that was as clean of a game as we have had in a while. Offensively, I think the home run by Richie [Martin] was great. We had 10 hits tonight, six of the 10 hits for extra-bases. It was a good and clean game for us.”
Sophomore right-hander Dane Dunning
On his start tonight:
“I felt good, especially coming off of Kentucky where I had a bad outing. It's a big push for me, and it's really helpful. This was a confidence booster. I had better command of my fastball.”
Junior shortstop Richie Martin
On playing Vanderbilt this weekend on a three-game winning streak:
“It feels really good. You always want to have momentum going into a series like this. Every SEC series is important, from the first weekend to the 10th. We try not to put any extra pressure on ourselves, but we know in the back of our minds that it is important. At the same time, we're going to try and stay calm and play like we're playing at home.”
Sophomore center fielder Buddy Reed
On facing Vanderbilt this weekend:
“Winning two at Georgia was huge. Any time you go on the road against a good SEC opponent, it's always good to win the series. Going into Vanderbilt, we're just going to stick with our game plan. We're going to hopefully play our best and see what the outcome is.”
On tonight's win:
“We did well at the plate today. We're seeing the ball well and hunting fastballs. That's what we do; that's our approach. Hopefully, we take this into the Vanderbilt series and come away with some wins.”
Postgame Notes
- Head coach Kevin O'Sullivan improved to 14-1 (.933) against USF and the Gators are 26-5 (.839) at McKethan Stadium this season.
- Florida played error-free baseball for the 28th time this season and for the fifth straight game.
- Dane Dunning set a career high with eight strikeouts, he had five strikeouts on five different occasions.
- Kirby Snead worked a season-long four scoreless innings, giving up one hit with a pair of strikeouts.
- The Gator pitching staff registered 12 strikeouts and issued one walk.
- JJ Schwarz leads the SEC with 50 RBI, while Harrison Bader is tied for third with 47 RBI.
- Bader's total of 13 doubles is first on the Gators, while Schwarz is right behind with 11 two-baggers.
- Richie Martin's two-run homer in the fifth was his first round-tripper since April 11 against South Carolina.
Up Next
The Gators will begin a three-game series at SEC leader No. 9 Vanderbilt (35-14) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Hawkins Field. The game can be heard on the Gator IMG Sports Network with Jeff Cardozo and Steve Russell and will be carried on ESPNU with Dave Neal and Kyle Peterson, as well as through participating TV providers on WatchESPN.
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