Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Following a 16-run outburst against Winthrop on Friday night, UF coach Kevin O'Sullivan warned his players that the next two games wouldn't be as easy.

Weather delays in the Eagles' series with George Mason last weekend forced them to start their No. 3 pitcher, Thad Harris, in Friday's series opener. This meant that their top-2 starters would throw against No. 3 Florida in Sunday's doubleheader.

Winthrop ace Zach Peek is considered a potential top-5 round draft pick in the upcoming MLB Draft. In his first two appearances of the year, he went six innings and gave up just two runs on seven hits. Fellow righty Nate Pawelczyk had surrendered just two runs in 12 innings.

UF needed to stay locked in and have good approaches at the plate to have success in the final two games of the series.

"He harped that on us, and I think we believed it," sophomore shortstop Brady McConnell said. "After we saw film on [Peek], we knew he was a good arm, and I think we executed our plan perfectly. We were definitely ready for it."

The Gators (9-4) emphatically answered O'Sullivan's challenge, winning 28-5 and 5-3 on Sunday to finish the sweep of Winthrop (3-6). The 28 runs scored in Game 1 of the doubleheader was the most by UF since it also scored 28 against Hofstra in 2003.

In the first game, 13 Gators combined for 23 hits, and nine Gators contributed an RBI. UF batted around in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings and belted five home runs, including three grand slams. Florida became just the ninth team to hit three grand slams in a game in NCAA history and the first from the SEC.



Peek was responsible for 10 runs and 11 hits in 3 1/3 innings.

Freshman second baseman Jacob Young (3-for-5, 6 RBI) smashed his first two home runs, a solo shot to right field in the first inning and a grand slam to left field in the sixth. The other grand slams came from freshman Kendrick Calilao (2-for-5, 6 RBI) and pinch hitter Santino Miozzi. Junior Wil Dalton (4-for-5, 3 RBI) launched his first home run of the year in the sixth inning.

Shortstop Brady McConnell, designated hitter Nelson Maldonado and center fielder Jud Fabian also recorded multi-hit games. Florida scored eight runs on seven hits in the fourth, six runs on four hits in the fifth and 11 runs on five hits in the sixth to turn the game into a blowout.

"I think it just shows the depth of this team because at that point a lot of the starters came out, and we were still mashing balls," McConnell said. "So, I think it just shows the depth and talent that we have on the bench."

In the final game of the series, a seven-inning affair, the Gators picked up eight more hits. Young was the only Gator with multiple hits.

"I had a meeting after the first game, the bottom line is you can't take any runs from the first game into the second," O'Sullivan said. "In my opinion, we're facing their best starter in the second game, and it wouldn't surprise me if you look up three years down the road or so, and you see that guy pitching in the bullpen for somebody in the big leagues. He's really, really tough on right-handers."

Pawelczyk allowed five runs, only one earned, in a six-inning complete game.
 
UF's offense has done a complete 180 since struggling in a series-opening loss to Miami on Feb. 22. After that game, the Gators were hitting a paltry .195 as a team with just one home run through six games. Only two starters were hitting above .200. They were averaging 3.3 runs per game.

They've recorded double-digit hits in five of the seven games since, bringing their season batting average to .287 and their runs-per-game average to 7.4. Only two starters are hitting below .268, and one of them is catcher Brady Smith, who snapped his 0-for-21 drought with a pair of hits.

"It kind of starts off with one guy, and then once they get hot, it feeds on through," Young said. "Everyone's seeing the ball well right now, so it's a good time for us to get going."

Young has provided a spark to the lineup since being inserted into the leadoff spot on Wednesday night against UCF. He is 9-for-22 (.409) for the year with seven RBI, all of which came this weekend.

"My teammates did a great job just trying to get me into the groove, let me know what to do and really let me be calm and kind of do what we've been doing since I've been here," Young said. "We played so much in the fall and stuff, so it's really just another game."

He's a versatile player, with elite speed to beat out grounders and steal bases and the power to hit two homers in the same game. He provides O'Sullivan with options.

He doesn't try to do too much and uses all parts of the field. A great example of this came in the fifth inning. Young had already hit one homer in the game, the Gators had scored five runs in the inning and the bases were loaded. It would've been easy for him to try to pull the ball and knock it out of the park. Instead, he lofted a sacrifice fly to right on the first pitch.



O'Sullivan likes what Young has provided, but now he has to figure out where to play him. He played both infield and outfield in high school but came to UF as an outfielder. Right now, he's a bit of a defensive liability at times at second base. O'Sullivan said they're going to work him hard defensively in practice this week.

"He runs 4.0 down the line, he stays in the middle of the field," O'Sullivan said. "He's just too valuable offensively to have him over [in the dugout]. He got his opportunity and certainly has made the most of it up to this point."

The Gators are in a good spot right now, with the bats heating up and just one weekend left before conference play begins. The next step is to maintain the offensive production. Obviously, 49 runs in a weekend isn't likely to be duplicated, but the approaches and aggression can be.

They'll be tested in midweek action this week, with Florida Gulf Coast visiting McKethan Stadium for a two-game set. The Eagles are 8-3 and are giving up just 3.1 runs per game. They played a doubleheader on Saturday and had Sunday off. They pulled their ace, Nikolas Bitner, after two innings on Friday, so O'Sullivan expects to see him.

"I don't want to take one weekend and think we've got everything solved and fixed," O'Sullivan said. "That'll be the message this week, that every game's different."

The Gators answered O'Sullivan's message on Sunday. Now they need to do it again and again and again.