OMAHA, Neb. -- The Gators faced an obstacle on Wednesday night unlike any other this season.
They confronted the potential end of their season at the College World Series against in-state rival Miami.
They did so with a freshman starter on the mound and a lineup that produced only two hits in a demoralizing loss to Virginia two nights earlier.
"We're at a stage now where we're fighting for our lives,'' outfielder Harrison Bader said.
If the Gators put up the kind of fight they did in a 10-2 victory over the Hurricanes, opposing pitchers better duck for cover.
In a ballpark known as a pitcher's paradise, Florida (51-17) blasted four home runs to loudly state they wish to stay here longer. The Gators' victory sent Miami (50-17) home.
Bader needed to see only four pitches from Miami starter Enrique Sosa to give Florida an early lead, crushing a 1-2 offering from Sosa into the center-field stands at TD Ameritrade Park, which had yielded only six home runs over the last two CWS.
Four batters later, after JJ Schwarz singled with two outs, Buddy Reed homered into the right-field seats to put Florida in front 3-0.
Before Gators starter Alex Faedo threw a pitch, he had a comfortable lead to help calm his nerves in front of an announced crowd of 24,003, quite a few more spectators than he saw in the stands last season at Alonso High in Tampa.
He struck out the side in the first inning.
"I felt great,'' Faedo said. "Having a good solid inning like that really gave me confidence."
With Faedo limiting Miami to three hits and two runs (one earned) over five-plus innings -- he struck out a career-high seven and walked four -- the lineup returned to life after getting shut out Monday to lift the Gators to their 11th win in 13 postseason games.
The Gators advance to face Virginia on Friday in a rematch of their 1-0 loss on Monday. Meanwhile, the Hurricanes depart Omaha glad they don't have to face Florida's homer-happy lineup again until next season.
"They beat us in every area,'' Miami coach Jim Morris said. "They outpitched us, outhit us, outplayed us as a team."
In the first meetings between the longtime rivals at the CWS, the Gators outscored Miami, 25-5. Florida improved to 8-0 against the Hurricanes in the NCAA Tournament under head coach Kevin O'Sullivan, and for the fourth time over that span, ended Miami's season.
After the explosive first inning, the Gators added four runs in the fifth, highlighted by a two-run double from Jeremy Vasquez, and tacked on another run in the sixth on shortstop Richie Martin's solo homer.
They weren't finished clearing the fence at TDAP.
First baseman Pete Alonso capped the Gators' offensive outburst by hitting the longest home run in TD Ameritrade Park history, a 421-foot, two-run shot to center to boost the Gators' lead back to eight runs in the seventh.
Miami trimmed the lead to 8-2 with a pair of runs in the sixth.
Prior to Wednesday, no team had ever hit more than two home runs in a single game at TDAP, which opened in 2011 when the CWS moved from hitter-friendly Rosenblatt Stadium.
In fact, there had never been a game at TDAP to feature three home runs. Martin changed that with his solo homer, and then Alonso crushed Florida's fourth long ball.
"It all got started offensively for us,'' O'Sullivan said. "I thought that kind of set the tone. The most important thing is I was really pleased with how we responded from a tough loss."
One swing by Bader, who now has four home runs in 13 postseason games, served as a preview of what was to come.
Bader did the same thing in the SEC Tournament championship game when he led off with a solo homer against Vanderbilt.
"That first at-bat is really just about seeing as many pitches as you can,'' Bader said. "To be able to do that in the first at-bat of the game sets the tone. That's my only goal when I'm going to the plate. You don't necessarily need to hit a bomb. Anything you can do to make some noise in your first at-bat of the game."
The noise never stopped for the Gators, who in two victories against Miami here, pounded 28 hits and forced Morris to go to his bullpen 12 times.
Meanwhile, Faedo improved to 2-0 in the NCAA Tournament and the Gators improved to 11-1 in games started by him this season. With their season on the line, O'Sullivan had no hesitation is starting the freshman right-hander.
"He's always thrown strikes," O'Sullivan said. "He is a very calm, even-keeled kid. He has shown time and time again that he's very much in control of his emotions. There was no pep talk. I didn't even go through the lineup with him."
While Bader's 16th homer of the season and Reed's fourth helped Faedo relax early, the rare home runs at TDAP also helped him focus.
"After Bader hit his I saw the wind was blowing out,'' Faedo said. "I was like, 'oh man, I've got a history of giving up home runs. I've got to keep the ball down.' I wasn't too worried about it. I just knew that if executed I would be fine."
Faedo did his job. The lineup definitely came to work.
Now the Gators hope to keep the momentum for the rest of their stay in Omaha.
Florida must defeat Virginia back-to-back on Friday and Saturday to earn a berth in the CWS championship series, which opens June 22.
"It gives us a motivation, a little edge,'' Reed said. "You don't want to go home."
