WHAT HAPPENED: Florida used a big fifth inning to blow past No. 7 Florida State 12-6 on Tuesday night in the Sunshine Showdown, presented by Fresh from Florida.
Florida State opened up a 4-1 lead after two and a half innings, but the Gators scored nine unanswered runs to open up a big lead.
On the mound, freshman Tommy Mace earned the win with 3.1 shutout innings and Michael Byrne closed it out with 1.1 scoreless innings at the end.
The Seminoles struck first, hitting back-to-back solo home runs in the opening frame to take an early 2-0 lead.
Jonathan India got a run back with a solo shot of his own in the second inning.
Florida State extended its lead with another home run from Rhett Aplin, his second of the game, to make it 4-1 in the third before the Gators started their comeback.
In the bottom of the third, UF got a pair of runs on three hits. Nelson Maldonado's RBI single brought home Nick Horvath and JJ Schwarz's RBI groundout cut the deficit to one.
A big fifth inning gave Florida the lead as they batted around and scored seven runs on five hits. A leadoff double from Austin Langworthy got the rally started before Maldonado loaded the bases with a single.
Schwarz hit a sac fly to the warning track in left to bring in the tying run. Liput followed with a RBI groundout to give UF the lead.
Keenan Bell and Horvath hit back-to-back doubles to add four more runs. Langworthy had his second hit of the inning to score Horvath from second for a 10-4 lead.
FSU added a pair of runs in the top of the eighth inning. India hit his second home run of the game for the final 12-6 margin.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Jonathan India – India hit a pair of home runs on Tuesday, bringing his season total to a team-leading six homers on the year. Over the last 10 games, India is hitting .500 (12-for-24) with four home runs and seven RBI.
STANDOUT STAT: 6 – Florida has won six games in a row against Florida State, the longest win streak in school history for the Gators against the Seminoles.
FROM THE COACH: Head coach Kevin O'Sullivan on the win: "We got off to a little bit of a rocky start pitching wise, we're having a little bit of difficulty finishing innings. I think in the UCF series all the runs were given up with two outs. [Tonight] we were a pitch or two away in the first, a pitch or two away in the third of getting out of that. All in all, we threw three freshmen again tonight. It's a learning experience for those guys; to start the season, then to go on the road for the first time, then to pitch in front of a crowd like this.
"What can I say about the crowd tonight, it was outstanding. I heard it was the fifth-largest crowd in school history; the fans were phenomenal. It was a great atmosphere. It was a great tuneup for this weekend against South Carolina because they obviously draw very well.
"I was really pleased with how our dugout responded after we fell behind, after two and a half I think it was 4-1. There was no panic. We just kind of chipped away. It was a very mature approach tonight. I think every starter except for Wil got a hit tonight, and it was good to see those guys at the bottom half of the order -- Horvath and Langworthy had six hits combined -- when you're getting production from the bottom half of your order it extends your lineup, it's obviously very encouraging. Wil's been carrying us the whole year so I'm sure he'll get back on track on Friday.
"The other thing I think is amazing, I think we're fielding at a .985 clip coming into tonight and we had another night with no errors. It was a good night. For the young pitchers to get out there and pitch in an environment like this and the offense to scrap some runs early to get back into it and get production up and down the lineup. It was a good night."
UP NEXT: The Gators will open play in the Southeastern Conference this weekend with a road trip to South Carolina. Friday's series opener is at 7 p.m. and will stream live on SEC Network+. Jeff Cardozo and Steve Russell will broadcast all three games of the series on the Gators IMG Sports Network.
