WHAT HAPPENED: Wil Dalton had a career night with three home runs and six RBI as the Gators beat Stony Brook 12-5 on Friday night at McKethan Stadium.
 
Wil Dalton led off the bottom of the first with a solo home run to left field to put the Gators on top.
 
Florida added to the lead in the second with a pair of runs. Blake Reese led off with a double and came around to score after the right fielder misplayed the ball on Austin Langworthy's single.
 
Langworthy moved to third after the error and scored on Brady Smith's groundout for a 3-0 lead after two innings.
 
Stony Brook stormed back with five straight runs to take the lead. The Seawolves scored two unearned runs in the third and then hit back-to-back home runs in the fourth to go ahead 5-3.
 
In the bottom of the fifth, Dalton evened things up with his second home run of the night, a two-run shot to left center.
 
Florida rallied in the sixth inning to regain the lead. Reese doubled down the left field line and followed with a Langworthy single. Smith's RBI single made it 6-5 and Nick Horvath laid down a perfect bunt for an infield hit that brought home Langworthy.
 
The Gators broke the game open in the eighth inning, as Dalton's big night continued with his third home run of the game – a three-run shot to left field.
 
On the mound, Brady Singer had a solid night, despite allowing a pair of home runs, finishing seven innings with three earned runs allowed and no walks. Michael Byrne earned his second save of the year with 1.2 scoreless innings to finish it off.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Wil Dalton – The sophomore, a transfer from Columbia State Community College, hit three home runs on the night and totaled six RBI. He led off the bottom of the first with a solo home run, had a two-run shot in the fifth and a three-run homer in the eighth.
 
The last time UF had a player hit three home runs in a game was April 7, 2015 – and two players did it. Freshman JJ Schwarz hit four home runs and classmate Dalton Guthrie hit three homers that night.

FROM THE COACH: Head coach Kevin O'Sullivan on Wil Dalton's performance - "He's a really tough kid and he works awfully hard, sometimes to a fault – he's almost too hard on himself at times –sometimes your greatest strength is also sometimes your greatest weakness. He obviously had a night to remember, three home runs and went 4-for-5. He's responded really well to us moving him to the leadoff spot."
 
On Brady Singer's performance: "It's early in the year, it takes some time to get into a groove. I thought his fastball was up a little bit early on, the first two times through the order. I thought the third time through he was much better, he had much better sink on his fastball and it was down. Credit their hitters. We talked before the game, Stony Brook is a Regional-type team. They're big and physical and I watched them take batting practice and it was confirmed. They're good. They've been in the World Series, they're very well coached. Their coach has been around for a while and has done a really, really nice job with their program. I kind of expected that it wouldn't be easy. Once again, we didn't walk anybody and Brady did what he always does. He might not have his best stuff but he keeps you in the game. He only gave up three earned runs over seven, so it was certainly a good night for him as far as battling and keeping us in the game."

STANDOUT STAT: 10 – Since moving to the leadoff spot, Wil Dalton has collected 10 hits in the past three games. He had three hits in both midweek games against UNF and went 4-for-5 on Friday night.

UP NEXT: Florida and Stony Brook will play Saturday at 4 p.m. at McKethan Stadium. Jackson Kowar (2-0, 2.77 ERA) will start for the Gators and Bret Clarke (1-0, 2.00 ERA) will take the mound for the Seawolves.
 
Sunday's series finale is at 1 p.m. Both games will be available for streaming on WatchESPN. Live radio will be broadcast via the Gators IMG Sports Network.