No. 3 Florida Downs Tennessee, 11-2, To Clinch Series
Gainesville, Fla.
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Sophomore Nolan Fontana (Winter Garden, Fla.) went 3-for-4 and matched his
career high by driving in six runs as No. 3 Florida (23-5/6-2 SEC) clinched its
weekend series with an 11-2 victory over Tennessee (19-8/2-6 SEC) on Saturday
afternoon in front of 3,726 fans at McKethan Stadium. Fontana opened the
scoring
in the fourth with an RBI single, snapped a 2-2 tie with a two-run single in
the
sixth and had a bases-clearing triple to highlight a seven-run seventh for the
Gators, who took the series from the Vols for the third-straight year.
Junior Anthony DeSclafani (Freehold, N.J.) retired all seven batters he faced
over 2.2 innings to improve to 4-0 after taking over for sophomore starter
Brian
Johnson (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) with two runners on base and a 2-2 score in the
sixth. DeSclafani induced an inning-ending double play and then set down the
Vols in order in both the seventh and eight h innings before freshman Keenan
Kish (Worcester, Pa.) closed the game with a perfect ninth. After totaling 10
hits in Friday’s opener, the Orange and Blue had 13 more hits and limited
Tennessee to its season-low total of four hits for the second day in a row.
“First of all, I think Brian (Johnson) gave us a quality start, and, not to get
lost in this whole thing, I thought Anthony (DeSclafani) was kind of the savior
to this deal today,” head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “He comes in with a 2-2
ballgame with two runners on and was outstanding. He only threw 18 pitches, so
we have him for tomorrow. Offensively, we’ve been working through some things
and it’s great to put up a seven spot up there in the seventh. I was really was
proud of our guys the way they responded in the sixth inning. After we gave up
two runs, we bounced right back and got two ourselves.”
With the game scoreless, Johnson had a throwing error to start the third that
enabled UT senior Tyler Horne to reach second base. Fontana made a diving stop
on a ball hit by sophomore Chris Fitts for the first out, advancing Horne to
third base. Johnson struck out junior Davis Morgan and had senior Khayyan
Norfolk line out to Adams to strand the runner.
UF loaded the bases with two down in the bottom of the inning but came away
empty-handed. Fontana earned a free pass with one down and junior Daniel
Pigott (Ormond Beach, Fla.) (2-for-4, two RBI) stroked a base-hit into right
field for two Gators aboard. Junior Steven Gruver (3-3) struck out
sophomore Kamm Washington (Boynton Beach, Fla.) but then walked sophomore Mike
Zunino (Cape Coral, Fla.) to load the bases. Gruver had junior Preston
Tucker (Tampa, Fla.) ground out to escape the jam.
The Gators seized a 2-0 lead in the fourth on a two-out RBI single into right
field by Fontana and an errant pickoff throw by Gruver that allowed the second
run to score. Sophomore Austin Maddox (Jacksonville, Fla.) started the inning
with a hard single and was sacrificed to second by senior Josh
Adams (Jacksonville, Fla.) (2-for-2, two runs), his team-leading eighth sac of
the campaign. A single into left field by redshirt sophomore Vickash
Ramjit (Miami, Fla.) gave Florida runners on the corners and a fielder’s choice
on a bunt by freshman Zack Powers (Seffner, Fla.) erased Maddox at the plate
when second baseman Norfolk threw to junior catcher Matt Ramsey. Fontana drove
in Ramjit on a 3-2 count to give the hosts a 1-0 lead and Gruver tried to pick
Fontana off first base and wound up throwing the ball away, scoring Powers and
allowing Fontana to reach third. Pigott drew a walk for runners on the corners
and then moved into scoring position with his fourth stolen base. Gruver stuck
out Washington to hold the deficit at two runs.
Zunino raised his hitting streak to 16 games with a single into left to start
the fifth but was caught stealing for the first time this season to end the
frame. He had been perfect on his first five attempts.
Norfolk (1-for-4) tied the game in the sixth with a two-run homer into the
left-field bleachers. Johnson had retired nine-straight Vols before permitting
a
one-out single into right field by Morgan. Norfolk followed with his third
homer
of the season to even the contest and end Tennessee’s scoring drought in the
series. Junior Zach Osborne (20-for-4) singled up the middle with one down and
Johnson walked Duffy before being replaced by DeSclafani. Over 5.1 innings,
Johnson gave up four hits and two runs, with five strikeouts and a walk.
DeSclafani induced an inning-ending 4-3 double play by senior Josh Liles to
keep
the contest deadlocked at two runs apiece.
The Gators regained the advantage in the home part of the sixth on a two-run
single by Fontana. Adams led off with a single into left field and Johnson
roped
a double into left field to put the Gators in business. Gruver had Powers
ground
out to first base and Fontana ripped a single up the middle to drive in both of
his teammates for a 4-2 lead. Tennessee summoned sophomore Drew Steckenrider
from the bullpen for Gruver (5.1 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 3 ER) and struck out Pigott,
who
was called for interference that resulted in Fontana also being called out to
close the stanza.
After DeSclafani retired the side in the seventh, Florida responded with seven
runs on three hits and four walks to build an 11-2 advantage. Washington
started
things off with an infield hit, Zunino reached on a fielder’s choice sac bunt
and Tucker drew a walk to load the bases with none out. Although Maddox
grounded
into a 6-4-3 double play, Washington scored for a 5-2 Florida lead. Adams
walked
for runners on the corners and swiped second for a couple of runners in scoring
position and Johnson earned another free pass to fill the bags. Steckenrider
walked Powers to bring across Zunino for a four-run margin and was replaced by
redshirt sophomore Hunter Daniel. Fontana greeted the reliever with a
bases-clearing triple into the right-field to balloon the lead to seven runs
and
Pigott cranked his second homer of the season into the left-field bleachers to
put Florida ahead, 11-2.
“It was fun this afternoon,” Fontana said. “I was just trying to have some good
at bats and there happened to be runners on base. It was enjoyable to get it
going with runners in scoring position after working on it in practice. He
threw
me an off-speed pitch in and I got my hands through it and wrapped it around
the
corner. I definitely had three on my mind after that.”
The Gators wound up with a 13-4 edge in hits, as eight of nine starters chipped
in with at least one hit. Freshman right-hander Karsten Whitson (Chipley, Fla.)
(3-0, 2.40) will start tomorrow’s series finale at 1 p.m. against a Vol pitcher
to be announced.
For all of the latest information on Florida baseball, log on
to http://www.gatorzone.com/baseball/ or, for up-to-the-minute updates, follow
the team’s Twitter account @GatorZoneBB at www.twitter.com/GatorZoneBB.
Game Notes
· The Gators captured the series for the third-straight year after
sweeping the Vols in 2009 and taking two of three contests in 2010.
· Nolan Fontana’s six RBI equaled his career high set on March 23
against Winthrop.
· Fontana also has four multiple-RBI outings this season.
· Josh Adams is 5-for-6 in the series.
· Florida’s seven-run seventh marked the third time it had scored seven
runs in a frame this year.
· Brian Johnson had his first Saturday start of the season.
· Vickash Ramjit made his starting debut at designated hitter and was
1-for-2 with a run scored.
· The Gator pitching staff began the series with 14.1 scoreless innings
before Khayyan Norfolk’s two-run homer in the sixth.
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