NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Starting pitcher A.J. Puk struck out a career-high 12 batters while leading Florida to a 7-3 win over Vanderbilt in game two of a key Southeastern Conference series in Nashville.
Puk surrendered two early runs but settled in nicely and retired the final nine batters he faced, including six strikeouts over that span.
Home runs by JJ Schwarz and Harrison Bader provided early offense for the Gators and the offense tacked on insurance runs in the fifth and eighth innings.
Vanderbilt got on the board early, scoring a run in the bottom of the first inning. After a pair of walks by Puk, the Commodores Bryan Reynolds singled up the middle to get Vanderbilt on the scoreboard first.
Florida answered in the second inning. Buddy Reed led off with a walk and the Gators took a 2-1 lead on Schwarz's 14th home run of the season. After Puk pitched a scoreless bottom half of the second, Bader launched a solo shot to into left center field for a 3-1 lead.
In the bottom of the third, Zander Wiel hit a one-out single to left center and stole second to get into scoring position. Will Toffey then doubled into right field to score Wiel and cut the #Gators lead to 3-2.
The Gators extended their lead in the fifth with a pair of runs. Josh Tobias led off with a single and scored on a double by Pete Alonso into the left center field gap. After advancing to third on a wild pitch, Alonso then scored on a wild pitch to give Florida a 5-2 advantage.
In the eighth inning, Florida added another pair of runs. The first three batters reached base without a hit, then Dalton Guthrie scored from third on a wild pitch. Alonso grounded into a double play that scored Tobias from third for a 7-2 advantage.
A solo home run by Vanderbilt's Zander Wiel in the eighth inning provided the final margin for the game.
Postgame Quotes
Head coach Kevin O'Sullivan
On tonight's game:
“I thought Vanderbilt did a nice job scoring a run with two outs [in the first inning]. We went walk-walk, mixed in a wild pitch there and they scored a run there in the first. We had an opportunity in the first to get on the board and that was the focus before the game. We got shut out yesterday and we were going to try and do everything we could to get on the board early. We weren't able to do that in the first but we did bounce back with JJ's two-run homer – I think it kind of eased us up a little bit … we just kept tacking on.
“The story of the game was A.J. Puk. He was a little wild to start the game and he hung in there. He gave up a run in the third on a hanging breaking ball. He got his rhythm going and the next four innings he was dominant. I think he struck out 12 over 7 innings and gave us the start that we needed. We're certainly ok in the bullpen for tomorrow. Bobby [Poyner] threw 24 pitches threw two innings. We split the first two [games] so we're excited and look forward to playing tomorrow.”
Postgame Notes
- A.J. Puk had a career high 12 strikeouts, a week after striking out 11 at Georgia. He retired nine-straight batters in the 5-6-7 innings with six strikeouts.
- JJ Schwarz hit his 14th home run of the season, which leads the team. He also has a team-leading 52 RBI and now has 10 games with multiple RBI.
- Schwarz's single in the fourth gave him his 13th multi-hit game of the season.
- Harrison Bader notched his 12th home run and is second on the team with 48 RBI.
- Dalton Guthrie had his 19th multi-hit game of the season with a pair of singles on the night.
- Josh Tobias' single in the fifth inning extended his current hitting streak to eight games.
- With his double in the sixth, Tobias notched his team-leading 20th multi-hit game of the year.
- Buddy Reed walked four times on the night, the most by a Gator this season.
- The Gators played error-free baseball for the 30th time in 51 games.
Up Next
The Gators and Commodores will meet in the series finale at 1:00 p.m. (ET), as freshman right-hander Alex Faedo (4-1, 3.27) will oppose Vanderbilt junior righty Walker Buehler (3-1, 2.86). The game can be heard on the Gator IMG Sports Network with Jeff Cardozo and Steve Russell. The SEC Network will broadcast the game with Dave Neal and Kyle Peterson on the call.
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