Gators Fall to Texas A&M in SEC Tournament Final
Sunday, May 29, 2016 | Baseball
HOOVER, Ala.—Texas A&M scored nine runs in the seventh and eighth innings to beat Florida 12-5 on Sunday afternoon and claim the Southeastern Conference Tournament title.
Texas A&M got on the board first after picking up a run on a pair of hits in the first inning off Logan Shore. J.B. Moss singled to start the inning and moved to third after Nick Banks singled through the right side. A grounder from Boomer White scored Moss from third.
The Aggies added another run in the second inning after three two-out singles from the bottom of the order. Joel Davis scored on Austin Homan's RBI single to right field for a 2-0 lead.
Florida tied the game in the top of the third thanks to a Texas A&M miscue. After Nelson Maldonado singled to center, Dalton Guthrie reached after a throwing error by the shortstop. Maldonado scored on the play and Guthrie took second base on the errant throw.
Two batters later, Mike Rivera singled and Guthrie came home to tie the game.
Banks gave the Aggies the lead again immediately, launching a ball out to left field for his eighth home run of the season.
Florida tied the game again in the fourth. Maldonado picked up his second hit of the day and scored Jeremy Vasquez to knot the game at three apiece.
The Gators took their first lead of the day in the sixth inning. Jonathan India singled to lead off the inning and stole second base to move into scoring position. Danny Reyes, who has provided a spark during the tournament, singled up the middle to bring home India and give UF a 4-3 lead.
Back-to-back walks to Vasquez and Maldonado loaded the bases with one out. A RBI groundout from Buddy Reed pushed the Gators lead to two runs.
The Aggies regained the lead in the seventh inning, scoring four runs on three hits and taking advantage of a rare Florida error. The blows came via a two run double from Moss and Banks' second home run of the day, a two run shot to right field for a 7-5 lead.
Texas A&M blew the game open in the eighth, with five runs on four hits, including a bases clearing double from Moss. Moss finished 3-for-5 on the day with five RBI.
Opening Statement …
"Congratulate Texas A&M. They played very well, especially in the seventh and eighth inning offensively. They had a similar week to us where they lost the first one and had to grind through it. They certainly earned it today. As far as our team is concerned, I thought we played really hard. We had some young pitchers out there in the seventh and eighth. It was good experience for them, but we kind of let it get away from us pitching wise. For us, we had a great week. There are a lot of things to pull from this week. We're looking forward to getting back to Gainesville and getting to play next week. Looking forward to it."
On the teams' preparation for a Regional…
"I like you can tell by their response that they are a very competitive group, and they wanted to win today. They are disappointed right now. In the grand scheme of things, we have been on the road four of the last five weeks. It will be good to get home and get our legs back underneath us. We're looking forward to next week. That's when the real stuff starts. We have had a good year up to this point. We won 47 games, and I think RPI is up to No. 1. We have had a lot of expectations throughout the year. I think we have answered the bell so to speak. I'm proud of my team and the way them battled. Texas A&M took it to us in the seventh and eighth inning there. They are a very good offensive team, we just kind of ran out of pitching. We'll regroup and get ready to play next Friday."
On offensive production from freshmen Nelson Maldonado and Danny Reyes…
"We played four freshmen in the lineup most of the week. I think (Nelson) had some good at-bats. Danny Reyes was a nice spark for us. We had a really good offensive week with our freshmen. We're talented, but we are very young too. Every time we take the field it is a new learning experience for our players. I think this week, there is a lot to learn. I think our young players grew up quite a bit this week."
On getting to the championship game after playing late in their first game…
"It says everything about the character of our team. Coming in, I don't know what more wins would have done for us with our resume. They came back and battled. That was a tough night. There were a lot of opportunities to score the winning run being the home team versus LSU. It was a little bit frustrating. They were tired with not much sleep. They battled through that game, and I think they had a heck of a week. At the end of the day, I'm proud of the way they played and I'm looking forward to next week."
Catcher Mike Rivera
On preparation for a regional…
"There are a lot of positives to this. We lost the first game, but I like the way we came back. We also got a lot of young players in today. They showed what they can do. We're going to take that along to the next step and see what happens from there."
First Baseman JJ Schwarz
On preparation for a regional…
"Losing sucks. Today wasn't our brightest moment, but the whole week I thought we played really well. I thought it was good for us to swing the bats the way we did this week going into regionals."
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Texas A&M got on the board first after picking up a run on a pair of hits in the first inning off Logan Shore. J.B. Moss singled to start the inning and moved to third after Nick Banks singled through the right side. A grounder from Boomer White scored Moss from third.
The Aggies added another run in the second inning after three two-out singles from the bottom of the order. Joel Davis scored on Austin Homan's RBI single to right field for a 2-0 lead.
Florida tied the game in the top of the third thanks to a Texas A&M miscue. After Nelson Maldonado singled to center, Dalton Guthrie reached after a throwing error by the shortstop. Maldonado scored on the play and Guthrie took second base on the errant throw.
Two batters later, Mike Rivera singled and Guthrie came home to tie the game.
Banks gave the Aggies the lead again immediately, launching a ball out to left field for his eighth home run of the season.
Florida tied the game again in the fourth. Maldonado picked up his second hit of the day and scored Jeremy Vasquez to knot the game at three apiece.
The Gators took their first lead of the day in the sixth inning. Jonathan India singled to lead off the inning and stole second base to move into scoring position. Danny Reyes, who has provided a spark during the tournament, singled up the middle to bring home India and give UF a 4-3 lead.
Back-to-back walks to Vasquez and Maldonado loaded the bases with one out. A RBI groundout from Buddy Reed pushed the Gators lead to two runs.
The Aggies regained the lead in the seventh inning, scoring four runs on three hits and taking advantage of a rare Florida error. The blows came via a two run double from Moss and Banks' second home run of the day, a two run shot to right field for a 7-5 lead.
Texas A&M blew the game open in the eighth, with five runs on four hits, including a bases clearing double from Moss. Moss finished 3-for-5 on the day with five RBI.
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Kevin O'SullivanOpening Statement …
"Congratulate Texas A&M. They played very well, especially in the seventh and eighth inning offensively. They had a similar week to us where they lost the first one and had to grind through it. They certainly earned it today. As far as our team is concerned, I thought we played really hard. We had some young pitchers out there in the seventh and eighth. It was good experience for them, but we kind of let it get away from us pitching wise. For us, we had a great week. There are a lot of things to pull from this week. We're looking forward to getting back to Gainesville and getting to play next week. Looking forward to it."
On the teams' preparation for a Regional…
"I like you can tell by their response that they are a very competitive group, and they wanted to win today. They are disappointed right now. In the grand scheme of things, we have been on the road four of the last five weeks. It will be good to get home and get our legs back underneath us. We're looking forward to next week. That's when the real stuff starts. We have had a good year up to this point. We won 47 games, and I think RPI is up to No. 1. We have had a lot of expectations throughout the year. I think we have answered the bell so to speak. I'm proud of my team and the way them battled. Texas A&M took it to us in the seventh and eighth inning there. They are a very good offensive team, we just kind of ran out of pitching. We'll regroup and get ready to play next Friday."
On offensive production from freshmen Nelson Maldonado and Danny Reyes…
"We played four freshmen in the lineup most of the week. I think (Nelson) had some good at-bats. Danny Reyes was a nice spark for us. We had a really good offensive week with our freshmen. We're talented, but we are very young too. Every time we take the field it is a new learning experience for our players. I think this week, there is a lot to learn. I think our young players grew up quite a bit this week."
On getting to the championship game after playing late in their first game…
"It says everything about the character of our team. Coming in, I don't know what more wins would have done for us with our resume. They came back and battled. That was a tough night. There were a lot of opportunities to score the winning run being the home team versus LSU. It was a little bit frustrating. They were tired with not much sleep. They battled through that game, and I think they had a heck of a week. At the end of the day, I'm proud of the way they played and I'm looking forward to next week."
Catcher Mike Rivera
On preparation for a regional…
"There are a lot of positives to this. We lost the first game, but I like the way we came back. We also got a lot of young players in today. They showed what they can do. We're going to take that along to the next step and see what happens from there."
First Baseman JJ Schwarz
On preparation for a regional…
"Losing sucks. Today wasn't our brightest moment, but the whole week I thought we played really well. I thought it was good for us to swing the bats the way we did this week going into regionals."
Postgame Notes
- Today's matchup marked the 500th game in the 40th year of the SEC Tournament.
- Florida fell to 65-61 overall in the SEC Tournament; against the Aggies, the Gators fell to 5-10 overall.
- Two Gators made the SEC All-Tournament team. LHP Scott Moss threw six scoreless innings and allowed just three hits in a win over LSU in the Semifinal. JJ Schwarz, getting his first action at first base, hit .389 (7-for-18) with two doubles, a triple and six RBI in the tournament.
- Florida made its 14th appearance in the SEC Tournament Championship and is now 7-7
- The Gators lost for the first time this season when scoring at least five runs (36-1).
- Freshman right fielder Nelson Maldonado earned his 13th multi-hit game as he went 2-for-3.
- Freshman outfielder Danny Reyes has totaled six hits and four RBI five outings in the tournament; Reyes has three multi-hit games in the season, all three coming in the SEC Tournament (2 vs. Mississippi State, 2 vs. Alabama).
- Florida's bullpen gave up 14 hits, tying a season high (Mississippi State, April 9) – the most hits given up in a 9-inning game since it allowed 20 at No. 19 Kentucky on April 4, 2014.
- Florida gave up 12 runs, the most in 2016. The Aggies' 12 runs are the most scored since No. 10 Vanderbilt put up 16 on the Gators (May 10, 2016).
Up Next
Florida will head back to Gainesville and keep an eye on the NCAA Selection Show (Monday, 12 p.m. ET) announcement to find out their postseason plans.Follow the Gators
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