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No. 1 Florida Completes Sweep Of Vanderbilt, 8-2, Boosts Winning Streak To 17 Games
GAINESVILLE, Fla. –
Sophomore Jonathon Crawford (Okeechobee, Fla.) (2-1) tossed five
shutout frames in his SEC debut and No. 1 Florida (19-1/3-0 SEC)
matched its season high with three home runs in an 8-2 win over
Vanderbilt (7-13/0-3 SEC) that completed a weekend sweep on Sunday
afternoon at McKethan Stadium. The Gators stretched their winning
streak to 17 games and have started league action 3-0 for the fourth
time in five seasons under Kevin O’Sullivan.
Crawford was
supported by a UF offense that produced solo homers from freshman
Taylor Gushue (Boca Raton, Fla.) in the second inning, senior Preston
Tucker (Tampa, Fla.) as part of a three-run third inning and freshman
Casey Turgeon (Palm Harbor, Fla.) (2-for-2) in the fifth frame. The
Gators played flawless defense for the third day in a row.
“I
thought our effort was really good today,” O’Sullivan said. “Sundays,
typically as a coach, you have to motivate them a little bit more
because it’s the third game of a series and you don’t want your team to
be complacent after they’ve won the first two. Today, I thought they
were outstanding. Jonathon [Crawford] was really, really good today.
After every start, I keep saying the same thing, but it seems like he
gets better and better each time he goes out there. I was really proud
of the way he threw the ball today. Obviously, not using Paco [Steven
Rodriguez] or [Austin] Maddox very much in the first two games, we were
able to go to Paco in the sixth inning.”
“I threw strikes and
used my defense,” Crawford said. “I walked a few guys, but I worked out
of it and used my defense well. I’m learning to use my change-up and
when to throw certain pitches in certain situations. My slider was
really working today. That’s what kept me in most of the time.”
Vanderbilt
had runners on the corners with one down in the first inning against
Crawford but the right-hander kept the Commodores scoreless. Sophomore
Tony Kemp had a one-out infield single, stole second and went to third
on a passed ball. Junior Mike Yastrzemski drew a walk for runners at
first and third and Crawford induced an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play
on a grounder by junior Anthony Gomez. It was the first double play
turned by the Gators in the series.
Gushue opened the scoring
with a two-out solo homer over the scoreboard overlooking right field
in the second inning. Vanderbilt freshman Tyler Beede (0-3) had set
down the first five hitters he faced before Gushue connected on a 1-2
pitch for his fifth round-tripper of the campaign.
The Gators
tacked on three more runs in the third on a RBI grounder by junior
Nolan Fontana (Winter Garden, Fla.), a sacrifice fly by senior Daniel
Pigott (Ormond Beach, Fla.) and a solo shot by Tucker to take a 4-0
lead. Turgeon led off with a single into right field and a base-hit by
freshman Josh Tobias (Greensboro, N.C.) into shallow right field
resulted in runners on second and third when Turgeon was safe at third
on the relay throw and Tobias took second. Fontana drove in Turgeon
with a grounder to second base and Pigott plated Tobias with his fourth
sac fly of the year. Tucker followed with a laser off the scoreboard
for his team-leading eighth homer, the 49th dinger of his career and
his second blast of the series.
Yastrzemski drew a leadoff walk
in the fourth and Crawford responded by having Gomez hit into a 6-3
double play and sophomore Conrad Gregor strike out.
Junior
Connor Harrell (2-for-3) was plunked to start the fifth, went to second
on a grounder by freshman Vince Conde and swiped third when Crawford
struck out senior Riley Reynolds. The righty stranded the runner by
having sophomore Spencer Navin ground out to Fontana at shortstop. Over
five shutout innings, Crawford totaled six strikeouts and allowed three
hits, with two walks and a hit batter. Turgeon provided the Gators with
a 5-0 lead in the home part of the inning with a lead-off homer to
right field for his third jack.
“He [Crawford] threw a
bunch of sliders for strikes and he threw a couple of really good
change-ups, too,” O’Sullivan said. “He’s got a really good sink to his
fastball. I think when he led one inning off with a walk, he threw a
really good sinker, got a ground out into a double play to stop some
momentum there. Jonathon’s using his stuff better and I was really
pleased with how he threw the ball today.”
The Commodores got on
the board in the sixth on an RBI double by Gomez off junior Steven
Rodriguez (Miami, Fla.) that brought across Yastrzemski, who had a
one-out single up the middle. A grounder by Gregor advanced Gomez to
third base and Rodriguez fanned redshirt junior pinch hitter Jack Lupo
to keep the Gators ahead by a 5-1 count.
Freshman Jared Miller
replaced Beede (5.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 6 K) prior to UF’s sixth at bat and
set down the Gators in order. Rodriguez recorded the first two outs of
the seventh before freshman Will Cooper had a pinch-hit single into
left field and Navin followed with a base-hit through the left side.
However, Tucker made a great sliding catch on a liner by Kemp to
preserve Florida’s four-run lead.
The Gators had a pair of
runners aboard in the seventh but could not pad their lead. Freshman
Justin Shafer (Lake Wales, Fla.) reached on a one-out infield single
and took second on a wild pitch before a walk to Turgeon prompted a
pitching change. Redshirt junior Will Clinard took over for Miller (1.1
IP, 1 H, 1 BB), picked Shafer off second base and had Tobias fly out to
right field.
Rodriguez (2.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R)
had Yastrzemski ground out to begin the eighth and junior Austin Maddox
(Jacksonville, Fla.) came in and had Gomez ground out and Gregor fly
out.
Florida added three runs in the eighth to build an 8-1
advantage. Fontana earned a free pass and was safe at second base on a
fielder’s choice by Pigott before Tucker walked to load the bags with
none out. Junior Mike Zunino (Cape Coral, Fla.) lofted his fourth
sacrifice fly into straightaway center field to score Fontana and
sophomore Steven Rice came in for Clinard (1.0 IP, 0 H, 3 R). Junior
Brian Johnson (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) greeted the reliever with a
base-knock into center field and Gushue had his first career sacrifice
fly to give the hosts a seven-run lead.
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