WHAT HAPPENED:Â Florida's offense continued to roll with a 15-1 win over Yale on Saturday at McKethan Stadium in Gainesville.
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The Gators took an early lead on a pair of home runs in the third inning.
Nelson Maldonado homered for the second day in a row and
Jud Fabian hit his team-leading third home run of the season to make it 3-0.
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Florida added two more in the third inning, including a RBI single from freshman Roberto Pena, the first of his career.
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Yale finally broke through against Florida starter
Jack Leftwich in the fifth inning on a RBI double from Mason LaPlante but Leftwich limited the damage and escaped the inning.
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The Gators blew the game open with eight runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Eight of nine reached base and scored in the frame.
Jacob Young had a two-run single,
Jordan Butler had a pinch-hit RBI single and
Austin Langworthy had a RBI double, his third hit of the day.
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Leftwich was relieved following the fifth. He allowed eight hits with just one run and five strikeouts.
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A trio of pitchers combined to toss the final four innings without allowing a hit or a run.
Justin Alintoff went 1.1 with two strikeouts,
Ben Specht pitched 1.2 innings with a strikeout and
Kris Armstrong retired the final three batters on just five pitches.
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IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Nelson Maldonado – The senior captain has been on fire the last two weeks. Over the past nine games, he is 16-for-32 (.500) with seven extra base hits, two home runs and 15 RBI. He has only struck out twice in 35 plate appearances in that span.
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STANDOUT STAT: 30 – The Gators racked up 30 hits in the first two games of the series against Yale. In two games, Florida is 30-for-77 (.390) with 21 runs scored.
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FROM THE COACH: Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan – On the offensive performance: "[Nelson] had three hits, Langworthy had three hits and
Jacob Young had three hits. It was a good night offensively for everybody. And I thought
Brady McConnell had probably his best night defensively, he made some really nice plays."
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On not looking ahead to FSU and SEC play: "We just talked about it right there [at the end of the game]. They've got to take care of business and we've got to continue to get better. Obviously we've got Florida State on Tuesday but that has nothing to do with tomorrow."
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UP NEXT:Â Florida's homestand continues Sunday with the series finale against Yale at 1 p.m. The game will broadcast live on the SEC Network+ and the Gator Sports Network. On Tuesday, the Gators host in-state rival Florida State at 6:30 p.m. (on SEC Network).
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