The Florida Gators weren’t in the mood to wait around Sunday night at McKethan Stadium. They wanted a quick start against the Miami Hurricanes and they got it.
A five-run first inning got Florida started on the way to a 16-5 victory over the Hurricanes that clinched the Gainesville Regional.
Next up for coach Kevin O’Sullivan’s team (42-20) is a Super Regional best-of-three matchup next weekend at McKethan Stadium against the Atlanta Regional winner. Georgia Tech and Southern Mississippi will play for that title Monday night.
It was the first time in 11 tries that Florida has beaten the Hurricanes during NCAA postseason regional play. Plus, the two victories over Miami take away a lot of the sting from Miami’s three-game sweep back in February at McKethan Stadium.
Florida’s bats were the different. The Gators had 22 hits in the game, with freshman Preston Tucker going 4-for-5 with 3 RBI and three teammates having three hits each – Jonathan Pigott was 3-for-6, Brandon McArthur was 3-for-5 and Mike Mooney went 3-for-5. Tucker and Josh Adams homered for Florida, which took a 14-1 lead in the top of the fifth inning with a seven-run innings.
“We had a really good approach at the plate,” O’Sullivan said. “We didn’t chase pitches out of the zone.”
The victory went to senior Patrick Keating (4-3), the first of four relievers called on by O’Sullivan after freshman Alex Panteliodis surrendered eight hits and five runs in 4.2 innings. Keating went 1.1 scoreless innings, allowing just three hits. The senior reliever now has a 0.59 ERA in his last 15.1 innings pitched.
The loss went to Miami starter Iden Nazario (6-5), who managed just one out in the first inning while surrendering four hits and two walks that gave Florida a 5-0 lead.
The offensive outburst for the Gators, who were the visitors because of a coin flip, started when Avery Barnes worked a leadoff walk from Nazario. Jonathan Pigott followed by lining a double into right center, moving Barnes to third. Tucker singled up the middle to score Barnes for a 1-0 lead.
After Adams walked to load the bases, Matt den Dekker hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Pigott for a 2-0 lead. McArthur singled home Tucker for a 3-0 lead and Teddy Foster with a double that drove in Adams for a 4-0 lead. Jason Santana relieved Nazario but Buddy Munroe’s groundout produced the fifth run.
“Avery walked and then Jonathan hits a line drive over the second baseman’s head,” O’Sullivan said. “Those two at-bats were key. If Avery swings at a ball out of the zone and leads the game off with a strikeout, we don’t quite get off on the right foot. Two great at-bats to start the game and that snowballed everything.”
The game started with a bang, and the atmosphere in the Florida dugout was hot throughout.
“Hitting is contagious with this team,” Adams said. “If one guy goes up and is seeing the ball well, we all follow.”
The game started out with a flash for the Gators, but it came with a little motivational help from the Tallahassee Regional, where Florida State defeated Ohio State 37-6.
“Right before the game we were in the locker room watching TV and we saw Florida State putting 20 runs up in the first couple innings,” Tucker said. “We figured, ‘Why can’t we do the same thing?’”
Tucker, a freshman first baseman, broke the school record for RBI in a season, his three on the night giving him 83 for the season. Tucker was selected the Most Outstanding Player for the Gainesville Regional after going 9-for-13 (.692) with two home runs and four RBI over the weekend.
“The MVP goes to everyone swinging the bat,” Tucker said. “There are always guys on base when I get up there. There’s a lot more pressure on the pitcher then.”
Florida went up 7-1 with single runs in the second and third innings. Matt den Dekker knocked in a run with a single to center field in the second inning and Mike Mooney singled in a run in the third inning.
But the real knockout punches came in the fifth inning as Florida scored seven times. The Gators had a streak of seven straight hits during the inning. It was the 20th time the Gators have scored five or more runs in an inning.
McArthur singled and moved to second on a Teddy Foster sacrifice bunt. Munroe singled to second base, moving McArthur to third. Mooney reached on a fielder’s choice as Miami threw McArthur out at the plate.
With two outs, Barnes singled up the middle, scoring Munroe and moving Mooney to third, and Barnes took second on the throw. Pigott followed with a single to right field, scoring Mooney and Barnes.
Tucker then homered into the bullpen in right-center field. After Miami brought John Housey in to pitch, Adams welcomed him with a solo home run to right field. Matt den Dekker singled to left field and moved to second when McArthur singled, his second hit of the inning, to right field. Foster singled to center field, scoring den Dekker and giving the Gators a 14-1 lead.
“When one guy is seeing the ball well, he’ll come back to the dugout and say it’s looking like a beach ball to him,” Adams said. “Next thing you know, somebody hits a double. Once this team starts hitting, it’s kind of hard to stop us.”
Panteliodis didn’t have his best stuff, but he had enough to keep Miami off the scoreboard while the Gators’ offense was cooking.
“When you get early leads like that, it makes it easier on the pitching staff,” O’Sullivan said. “AP did a nice job and the relief pitching, once again, was outstanding.”
For that matter, so was Florida’s offense.
NCAA DIVISION I BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP/REGIONALS
AUSTIN
Sunday
Game 5: Army 4, Boston College 3 (Boston College eliminated)
Game 6: Texas 14, Army 10; Texas (44-13-1) advances to Super Regional; Army (36-21) eliminated
FORT WORTH
Sunday
Game 5: Oregon State 13, Texas A&M 5 (Texas A&M eliminated)
Game 6: Texas Christian 5, Oregon State 4; Texas Christian (39-16) advances to Super Regional; Oregon State (37-19) eliminated
ATLANTA
Sunday
Game 5: Georgia Tech 8, Elon 4 (Elon eliminated)
Game 6: Georgia Tech 10, Southern Mississippi 3
Monday
Game 7: Georgia Tech (38-18-1) vs. Southern Mississippi (37-24), 7 p.m.
GAINESVILLE
Sunday
Game 5: Miami, Fla. 4, Jacksonville 0 (Jacksonville eliminated)
Game 6: Florida 16, Miami, Fla. 5; Florida (42-20) advances to Super Regional, Miami, Fla. (38-22) eliminated
TEMPE
Sunday
Game 5: Oral Roberts 15, Kent State 10 (Kent State eliminated)
Game 6: Arizona State 8, Oral Roberts 3; Arizona State (47-12) advances to Super Regional, Oral Roberts (33-15) eliminated
CLEMSON
Sunday
Game 5: Clemson 10, Tennessee Tech 0 (Tennessee Tech eliminated)
Game 6: Clemson 15, Oklahoma State 1
Monday
Game 7: Clemson (43-20) vs. Oklahoma State (34-23), 7 p.m.
GREENVILLE
Sunday
Game 5: East Carolina 16, Binghamton 9 (Binghamton eliminated)
Game 6: East Carolina 8, South Carolina 6
Monday
Game 7: East Carolina (45-19) vs. South Carolina (40-22), 6 p.m.
CHAPEL HILL
Sunday
Game 5: Kansas 5, Coastal Carolina 1 (Coastal Carolina eliminated)
Game 6: North Carolina 12, Kansas 1; North Carolina (45-16) advances to Super Regional, Kansas (39-24) eliminated
FULLERTON
Sunday
Game 5: Utah 9, Gonzaga 7 (Gonzaga eliminated)
Game 6: Cal State Fullerton 16, Utah 3; Cal State Fullerton (45-14) advances to Super Regional, Utah (28-31) eliminated
LOUISVILLE
Sunday
Game 5: Vanderbilt 6, Middle Tennessee 0 (Middle Tennessee eliminated)
Game 6: Vanderbilt 8, Louisville 4
Monday
Game 7: Vanderbilt (37-26) vs. Louisville (46-16), 7 p.m.
TALLAHASSEE
Sunday
Game 5: Ohio State 13, Georgia 6 (Georgia eliminated)
Game 6: Florida 37, Ohio State 6; Florida State (45-16) advances to Super Regional, Ohio State (42-19) eliminated
NORMAN
Sunday
Game 5: Oklahoma 7, Washington State 2 (Washington State eliminated)
Game 6: Arkansas 11, Oklahoma 0; Arkansas (37-22) advances to Super Regional, Oklahoma (43-20) eliminated
IRVINE
Sunday
Game 5: UC Irvine 14, San Diego State 3 (San Diego State eliminated)
Game 6: Virginia 4, UC Irvine 1; Virginia (46-12-1) advances to Super Regional, UC Irvine (45-15) eliminated
Monday
Game 7: Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser, if necessary
OXFORD
Sunday
Game 5: Western Kentucky 11, Missouri 6 (Missouri eliminated)
Game 6: Western Kentucky 10, Mississippi 9
Monday
Game 7: Western Kentucky (42-19) vs. Mississippi (42-18), 8 p.m.
HOUSTON
Sunday
Game 5: Rice 12, Xavier, Ohio 5 (Xavier, Ohio eliminated)
Game 6: Rice 8, Kansas State 0
Monday
Game 7: Rice (42-16) vs. Kansas State (43-17-1), 7 p.m.
BATON ROUGE
Sunday
Game 5: Minnesota 15, Baylor 12
Game 6: Louisiana State 10, Minnesota 3; Louisiana State (49-16) advances to Super Regional, Minnesota (40-19) eliminated
SUPER REGIONALS
June 5-8, Best-of-three series
Texas Christian (39-16) at (1) Texas (44-13-1)
Georgia Tech/Southern Mississippi winner at (8) Florida (42-20)
Clemson/Oklahoma State winner at (5) Arizona State (47-12)
East Carolina/South Carolina winner at (4) North Carolina (45-16)
Vanderbilt/Louisville winner at (2) Cal State Fullerton (45-14)
Arkansas (37-22) at Florida State (45-16)
Western Kentucky/Mississippi winner vs. Virginia (46-12-1)
Rice/Kansas State winner at (3) Louisiana State (49-16)
COLLEGE WORLD SERIES
At Rosenblatt Stadium, Omaha, Neb.
June 13-24
Pairings and times to be determined