Gators Seek to Maintain Momentum in Second Shot at Virginia
Friday, June 19, 2015 | Baseball, Scott Carter
OHAMA, Neb. -- The loss was jarring for obvious reasons, none greater for the Gators than the realization their season was over with one more defeat.
But equally jolting was the way Florida lost 1-0 to Virginia on Monday night at the College World Series.
A team with a .338 average in the postseason was limited to two hits by Cavaliers soft-tossing lefty Brandon Waddell, who handcuffed Florida with a variety of off-speed pitches and smooth efficiency.
Virginia's win snapped Florida's 10-game winning streak and a runaway freight train worth of momentum the Gators built while outscoring opponents 98-21 over that stretch.
And then Wednesday night happened.
The Gators, in a rematch against a Miami team they clubbed 15-3 four nights earlier, came out swinging and never stopped. Florida's 10-2 victory sent the Hurricanes packing and set up a rematch with the Cavaliers on Friday afternoon at TD Ameritrade Park.
Leadoff hitter Harrison Bader started the party for the Gators with a home run on Hurricanes starter Enrique Sosa's fourth pitch of the game. Four batters later Buddy Reed's two-run homer gave Florida a 3-0 lead.
Richie Martin and Pete Alonso later added home runs and outfielder Jeremy Vasquez added a two-run double as Florida pounded 14 hits and four home runs in the most powerful offensive display in the five-year history of TDAP.
No team had ever hit more than two home runs in a game at TDAP and since the CWS moved from Rosenblatt Stadium in 2011, there had never been a three-homer game at the ballpark.
"All it's creating is just momentum,'' Bader said of the homer fest. "We're not going to score 10 runs every game. There are going to be games where we might get shutout. So the biggest thing was it was a fresh start."
The Gators' mission now is to maintain the momentum like they did when they rallied from a difficult loss to Arkansas in the SEC Tournament opener to win four consecutive games and claim the championship, defeating LSU and Vanderbilt on back-to-back days for the title.
If the Gators can put together a four-game win streak here the way they did in Hoover, Ala., last month, they will be national champions for the first time in school history.
That challenge starts Friday when Florida starter Logan Shore takes the mound against the Cavaliers, who have had three days off since Monday's win. Virginia is starting junior left-hander Nathan Kirby, an All-ACC selection who has not pitched since mid-April due to a strained back muscle.
The No. 40 overall pick in last week's MLB amateur draft, Kirby is 5-2 with a 2.28 ERA. The Cavaliers started Connor Jones in their first game in Omaha and then Waddell against the Gators. The only other pitcher to make an appearance is closer Josh Sborz, who picked up his 15th save Monday.
"I feel good that we've played two ballgames and we've used three guys,'' Virginia coach Brian O'Connor said. "I don't think it could have lined up any better for us."
Shore earned the victory in his first CWS start against Miami on Saturday. He pitched five-plus innings and allowed seven hits and three runs (two earned). Shore struck out six and did not walk a batter.
Virginia, after finishing 15-15 in the ACC during the regular season and then losing three consecutive games in the ACC Tournament, is now the hottest team in Omaha. The Cavaliers have won seven consecutive games and need one more win to advance to the championship series for the second consecutive season.
The Gators must beat them on back-to-back days to advance.
Florida coach Kevin O'Sullivan wants to see the Gators, who had four freshmen in the lineup and a freshman pitcher on the mound in Alex Faedo, arrive for work Friday the same approach they did Wednesday night.
"I thought we came out with a purpose,'' he said. "I thought all of them played like veterans."
