Florida Baseball Weekly Report – Week Four

Deacon Liput went 6-for-13 (.462) in the sweep of Harvard, driving in four runs.

Florida Baseball Weekly Report – Week Four

Monday, March 14, 2016 | Baseball

The Gators went 5-0 and have claimed their last 11 games.

By: John Hines

Florida Baseball Weekly Report – March 14, 2016
(Games from March 7-13)

Overall Record: 17-1 (12-0 at home, 4-1 away, 1-0 at neutral site)
SEC Record: N/A
Record Last Week: 5-0 (4-0 at home, 1-0 away)
Streak: Won 11

Last Week's Results (5-0):
Tuesday, March 8 – Won at North Florida, 6-2
Wednesday, March 9 – Defeated North Florida, 5-4
Friday, March 11 – Defeated Harvard, 16-5
Saturday, March 12 – Defeated Harvard, 9-2
Sunday, March 13 – Defeated Harvard, 3-1

This Week's Schedule (All Times Eastern)
Tuesday, March 15 – No. 15 Florida State (13-3) (McKethan Stadium), 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
Friday, March 18 – Missouri (13-5) (McKethan Stadium), 7 p.m. (SEC Network+)
Saturday, March 19 – Missouri (13-5) (McKethan Stadium), 7 p.m. (SEC Network+)
Sunday, March 20 – Missouri (13-5) (McKethan Stadium), 1 p.m. (SEC Network+)

Team Notes
No. 1 Florida (17-1) increased its winning streak to 11 games by winning both ends of a home-and-home set with North Florida (6-2, 5-4) and sweeping Harvard at McKethan Stadium (16-5, 9-2, 3-1)…The Orange and Blue is 12-0 at home and has a 19-game winning streak on its turf since dropping the opener of a series with Auburn last May…The Gators raised their batting average 20 points last week up to .311 and have three infielders hitting above .400 – junior first baseman Peter Alonso (.424), sophomore shortstop Dalton Guthrie (.403) and freshman second baseman Deacon Liput (.403)…Florida's pitching staff has a 2.52 earned run average, is holding opponents to a .194 clip and has registered 190 strikeouts in 164.0 innings…Sophomore RHP Alex Faedo (4-0, 1.42) and junior RHP Logan Shore (4-0, 2.00) have each claimed their first four starts of the year…UF's starting pitchers are 11-1 with a 2.34 ERA and 120 strikeouts in 96.1 innings…Florida's lone error of last week came in the ninth inning of the final game and the squad boasts a fielding percentage of .984…The Gators batted .400 (42-for-105) during their three victories over Harvard, with 13 extra-base hits and a slugging percentage of .581…Alonso (.424, 23 RBI, 17 R) led the way by going 8-for-10 (.800), while sophomores JJ Schwarz (.351, 21 R, 18 RBI) and Jeremy Vasquez (.327, 7 RBI) were 5-for-10 (.500)…Faedo yielded two hits and registered a career-high 13 strikeouts over a career-high 8.1 innings to complete the series on Saturday night…The Gators used a two-run double by freshman Nelson Maldonado to break a scoreless tie in the seventh and take both ends of the doubleheader…Faedo retired the first 19 batters of the game before yielding a one-out single in the seventh to junior Josh Ellis…After Ellis stole second, the Gators turned an inning-ending double play on a sprawling grab in center field by sophomore Nick Horvath and a throw to second base to Liput…In the bottom of the inning, Maldonado came through with a two-run double into the gap in right center to open the scoring…Alonso (3-for-4) led off with a base-hit into right field and Vasquez followed with a bloop single into center field…Sophomore Mike Rivera (.250, 19 RBI) moved his teammates over with a sacrifice bunt, and Maldonado roped a 1-1 pitch for his first career two-bagger to break the ice…Sophomore Christian Hicks delivered a double into left field that advanced Maldonado, and Maldonado came home on a sacrifice squeeze bunt by Horvath…After a tight game through five innings, Florida exploded for seven runs in the sixth and seventh in a 9-2 win in game one of Saturday's twinbill….Maldonado (1-for-4) and Alonso (3-for-4) each hit a three-run homer to lead the Gator offense…It was Maldonado's first career homer and Alonso's second of the season…Junior left-hander A.J. Puk (0-1, 2.65) allowed just one hit in 5.1 innings but left with the game tied in the sixth…Freshman right-hander Brady Singer (2-0, 2.76) entered and pitched 2.2 innings for the win, as Florida scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth…After four scoreless innings, Florida manufactured a run in the fifth to take a 1-0 lead…Freshman Jonathan India (.298) led off with a double into left field, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt from Horvath (2-for-3) and scored on Guthrie's sacrifice fly to center….In the bottom half of the inning, Schwarz (2-for-4) led things off with a double and Alonso followed with a single…Vasquez (2-for-3) hit a ground-rule double to right field and scored Schwarz from second to take a 2-1 lead…Maldonado then connected on a 1-2 pitch and sent a line drive to the seats in left field to open up a 5-1 Florida advantage…UF scored 11 runs over the first three innings and totaled a season-high 20 hits to defeat Harvard, 16-5, on Friday night…Liput (4-for-6) matched his career high with four RBI, Rivera (2-for-4, two runs) equaled his career best by driving in three runs and Schwarz (3-for-3, three runs, two RBI) reached base five times…Shore (4-0) scattered nine hits, registered six strikeouts and gave up five runs over six innings to capture his ninth straight start dating back to last season…The Gators will host No. 15 Florida State (13-3) in the first of the teams' three mid-week matchups on Tuesday night and will then welcome Eastern Division rival Missouri (13-5) for the opening weekend of SEC play.

Top Performers of the Week
Peter Alonso, Junior, First Baseman, Tampa, FL
*Powered the No. 1 Gators to a 5-0 week by hitting .588 (10-for-17) with seven RBI, seven runs, three doubles, a homer and a .941 slugging percentage
*Was a scorching 8-for-10 (.800) in the sweep of Harvard, with five RBI, five runs, two doubles, two walks and a homer
*Alonso was 6-for-8 (.750) in Saturday's doubleheader, highlighted by a three-run homer in the game one
*Went 2-for-2 with an RBI double and a sacrifice fly, scored twice and drew two walks in the first meeting with the Crimson
*Was 2-for-4 in the Gators' come-from-behind win at North Florida, with an RBI single in the fourth inning and a run-scoring double as part of the four-run eighth inning that snapped a 2-2 tie
*Paces Florida's offense with a .424 batting average, 23 RBI, eight doubles and four sacrifice flies

Alex Faedo, Sophomore, Right-Hander, Tampa, FL
*Retired the first 19 Harvard hitters of the series finale on Saturday night until yielding a one-out single in the seventh inning
*Totaled career highs in innings pitched (8.1) and strikeouts (13) in improving to 4-0 on the campaign
*Lowered his ERA to 1.42, the best for a Gator starter, and did not issue any walks
*Gave up two hits and an unearned run
*It marked the second time this season that Faedo had carried a no-hitter deep into a game, as he threw 6.1 innings of hitless ball at No. 6 Miami on Feb. 28
*The right-hander has a team-leading 36 strikeouts in 25.1 innings and has held opponents to a .136 batting average

Deacon Liput, Second Baseman, Oviedo, FL
*Batted .368 (7-for-19) with four RBI, three runs and three walks as the Gators captured all five games
*Went 6-for-13 (.462) in the sweep of Harvard, driving in four runs
*Opened the series with the Crimson by going 4-for-6 and matching his career high of four RBI
*Started the scoring with an RBI single in the first inning, had a two-run single in the third and an RBI single in the sixth
*Has reached base in all 18 of his collegiate games
*Tied for second on the club in batting average at .403 with Dalton Guthrie and has 16 RBI, 12 walks, six doubles and three triples