KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Florida baseball coach Kevin O’Sullivan has a lot of faith in the freshmen who made up college baseball’s top recruiting class in 2009.
Sunday, right-hander Hudson Randall justified that faith, holding Tennessee without a hit until the sixth inning and going a career-high eight innings while the Gators’ offense found itself. No. 8 Florida’s bats eventually awoke during a seven-run sixth inning that keyed the Gators’ 9-1 victory over the Volunteers at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The victory gave Florida (23-8, 8-4 SEC East) its first series victory in Knoxville since the 2002 campaign. Randall (3-3) limited Tennessee (16-17, 3-9 SEC East) to four singles and one earned run while striking out a career-high six batters. Meanwhile, Florida pounded out 13 hits, seven of them doubles, with sophomore Jerico Weitzel accounting for three of them. Junior Josh Adams broke a 0-0 tie with a three-run home run in the sixth inning.
Randall retired his first eight hitters before hitting Cody Grisham with a pitch in the third inning. But he then induced junior Khavyan Norfolk to ground into a force out.
The Gators scored seven runs on seven hits and a Tennessee error to break the game open. Adams’ three-run shot to center started the run after sophomore Daniel Pigott doubled and brother Jonathan Pigott singled to left to put runners at first and third.
Adams, who was 0-for-9 previously on the weekend, hit a 2-0 pitch from senior Steven Gruver out of the park for his first home run since March 16 against Florida Gulf Coast. Weitzel followed with his second double of the game and took third on a Tennessee error. Will Locante replaced Gruver and walked Nolan Fontana. Senior Matt den Dekker singled home Weitzel and sent Fontana to third base. Preston Tucker doubled to left to score Fontana and freshman Austin Maddox singled to score den Dekker. Tucker scored on a wild pitch for the seventh run.
In the bottom of the inning, Blake Forsythe ended Randall’s no-hit bid with a single up the middle and got to third on a pair of wild pitches. Zach Osborne then singled him home to ruin Randall’s shutout bid.
A wild pitch with the bases loaded got Florida’s eighth run in the seventh inning that included Weitzel’s third double of the game, last accomplished by Jeff Corsaletti against Nebraska in the College World Series in 2005. Fontana drove in Weitzel with Florida’s seventh double of the game in the ninth to close out the scoring.
Junior Kevin Chapman registered the final three outs in relief of Randall, and Florida’s defense went errorless for the second time this weekend.
Florida closes out its four-game season series with Florida State Tuesday at Dick Howser Stadium in Tallahassee at 6 p.m. The Seminoles have won two of the first three games, beating the Gators 10-2 in Tampa and 7-2 in Jacksonville but losing 8-5 in Gainesville.