Florida Gators
Virginia (College World Series)
Gators Lose to Virginia 5-4 in CWS; Season Ends a Game Shy of Championship Series
Sunday, June 21, 2015 | Baseball, Scott Carter
OMAHA, Neb. -- The Gators had their rally caps out, shaking them along the dugout rail as the outs whittled away on their season.
Dalton Guthrie flew out to center for the first out. Pinch-hitter Jeremy Vasquez grounded out to third for out No. 2. Down to their final out, Harrison Bader laced his career-high fourth hit of the game up the middle to keep the Gators' hopes alive.
Did they have one more do-or-die win in them? Not on this night.
Shortstop Richie Martin's ground ball to second ended the game and Florida's bid to make it back to the College World Series championship series for the third time in school history.
Instead, a memorable 2015 season for UF finally ran out of rallies as the Gators lost to Virginia, 5-4, one game shy of facing SEC East rival Vanderbilt for the national title.
The Gators ended the season 52-18, the second-most wins in school history. Meanwhile, Virginia advances to face Vanderbilt in a rematch of last year's CWS, won by the Commodores.
"I'm really proud of our guys,'' Florida head coach Kevin O'Sullivan said. "We had a tremendous year. There's a lot to be proud of. When you get to this part of the season -- the end of the season -- it's just so abrupt. It's over like that."
In a game that featured multiple lead changes, Virginia scored the decisive run in the seventh inning on an RBI sacrifice fly from cleanup hitter Kenny Towns, who finished 1-for-3 with three RBIs. The Gators tied the game 4-all on Michael Rivera's RBI single in the sixth after Towns' two-run double off Florida reliever Kirby Snead in the fifth put the Cavaliers (42-23) in front, 4-3.
The nip-and-tuck affair was everything a game in Omaha is supposed to be.
"It was just one of those games where both teams are backed up against the wall,'' said Bader, who went 4-for-5 with a home run in his final game for the Gators. "It wasn't going to be one of those 10-run games we've been having. It's just unfortunate that it didn't work out for us."
Making their first CWS appearance since 2012, the Gators nearly overcame a loss to Virginia in their second game here and climb out of the loser's bracket and play for a national title. Florida bounced back to defeat Miami (10-2) and Virginia (10-5) after losing to the Cavaliers, 1-0.
They faced Cavaliers left-hander Brandon Waddell for the second time in six days Saturday and had more success than when Waddell held the Gators to two hits over seven scoreless innings on Monday.
Virginia struck first in the bottom of the first on a solo home run by Matt Thaiss off Gators sophomore right-hander Dane Dunning, who made his first start since May 30. Dunning gave Florida a chance in the biggest outing of his career, holding the Cavaliers to four hits and three runs over 4 2/3 innings.
After Thaiss' home run, the Gators quickly answered in the top of the second when JJ Schwarz led off with a walk against Waddell. Pete Alonso followed with a towering 429-foot home run to center -- the longest homer in TD Ameritrade Park history, eclipsing Alonso's 421-foot shot Wednesday against Miami -- to give Florida a 2-1 lead.
The Cavaliers tied the game in the fourth on an RBI sacrifice fly by Joe McCarthy. As they have all season, the Gators didn't stay down long as Bader hit his fifth home run of the postseason, a solo shot to give Florida a 3-2 lead in the fifth.
However, Virginia was able to advance runners in key situations, unlike the Gators, who had runners at first and second with no outs in the third inning but were unable to push across a run.
"We weren't able to get a bunt down,'' O'Sulivan said. "Those things come back to hurt you. We just didn't play the cleanest game to be honest."
In the seventh when Virginia scored the game-winning run, the Cavaliers used their small-ball attack against Gators reliever Taylor Lewis. Light-hitting second baseman Ernie Clement led off with a single and moved to second when Lewis walked Adam Haseley on four pitches.
Shortstop Daniel Pinero moved the runners up with a sacrifice bunt. Lewis then intentionally walked Thaiss to load the bases and set up a potential double play. However, Towns lifted a fly ball to center to score Clement from third.
"We just feel fortunate to have found a way to win,'' Virginia coach Brian O'Connor said. "Our guys just wouldn't quit. Florida is a tremendous opponent. They'd go up and we'd battle back and find a way to drive in a run or two."
The Gators missed a chance at a big inning in the second after Buddy Reed walked following Alonso's homer. Rivera was then hit by a Waddell pitch on the left arm, but homeplate umpire Mike Morris ruled Rivera did not try to get out of the way. Instead of runners at first and second and no outs, Rivera grounded into a double play.
O'Sullivan argued Morris' call but to no avail.
In the end, Virginia did the little things better on Saturday night than the Gators, who finally lost an elimination game after winning their first six of the postseason.
