TALLAHASSEE – The No. 20 Florida Gators brought their hot bats to Tallahassee Tuesday night, and 13 hits and three home runs later, they wemt home with a 10-2 victory over No. 15 Florida State at Dick Howser Stadium.
The Gators (24-12) took 6,345 Florida State fans out of the game with a 5-run first inning that helped Florida win the season series between the two baseball powers, 2 games to 1.
The Gators started the game by pounding Florida State’s senior starter Bo O’Dell, who hit leadoff batter Matt den Dekker with a pitch. Daniel Pigott followed with an infield single. After showing bunt and taking two balls, Avery Barnes sent a 2-0 pitch over the right-field fence for a 3-0 Florida lead. It was the first of the Gators’ three home runs and the first of four hits by Barnes. Teddy Foster and Josh Adams later had two-run homers for the Gators.
Freshman first baseman Preston Tucker, who has been the hottest of the Gators at the plate, singled into right field, followed by Adams lining a single into left field.
After Tucker was thrown out at third on a Brandon McArthur bunt, Buddy Munroe walked to load the bases. Foster then hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Adams and moving McArthur to third. McArthur would score on a curve ball in the dirt that got away from Seminoles catcher Rafael Lopez, making it 5-0.
O’Dell (3-2) was removed from the game after the first inning, which was his shortest start since he pitched 1.1 innings in Gainesville against the Gators in 2007. The Gators would score five more runs to take a 10-0 lead before the Seminoles (21-12) scored their only two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning.
“We play every game like we’re trying to win the series,” said Adams, who along with den Dekker and Teddy Foster had two hits each. “Just because it was our rival we got a little something special.”
The first inning gave freshman starter Greg Larson some breathing room. He worked 4.1 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and four walks with one strikeout. It was Larson’s longest appearance of the season. He moved to 3-1 on the season and lowered his ERA to a team-best 0.89.
“This is the kind of stuff you dream about as a kid, growing up in Florida and pitching at Florida State,” Larson said. “Once we got up 5-0, coach (Kevin O’Sullivan) just told me to go after them with my fastball and not get too cute with things.”
Tucker drove in den Dekker with a groundout for a run in the fifth inning. The Gators continued to roll in the sixth inning as Foster belted a 2-run home run. Adams closed out the scoring with a 2-run homer in the seventh.
Foster, who had 3 RBI, wore No. 47 Tuesday instead of his normal No. 50, and the designated hitter wasn’t ashamed to admit the reason.
“I actually left my jersey in the locker room (in Gainesville),” Foster said. “About 15 or 20 minutes into the bus ride, I realized I didn’t have it. I joked with everyone that if it works this well, I might have to stick with it (No. 47) for a while.”
While the Gator offense was busy padding the lead, the Florida bullpen was shutting the door. Juniors Tony Davis and Billy Bullock combined to throw the final 4.2 innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits. Bullock struck out four batters in two innings of work.
“I told them they both pitched one inning this weekend so they should have been fresh,” O’Sullivan said. “That was the plan going in. I hate to say it worked out exactly the way we wanted it to, but that’s the way it is. Those guys needed some work.”
Florida has now won 15 of its last 20 games and seem to be playing consistently. The Gators are getting key pitching performances from freshmen, as well as timely hitting from a lineup that is beginning to hit its stride.
“I feel really good about our lineup,” O’Sullivan added. “It’s not just the top anymore, but we’re getting contributions from top to bottom. I really like the second half of the order and they’ve been contributing. (Mike) Mooney has a lot to do with that. He’s come back and solidified the infield. He’s a pesky little hitter in the nine-hole.
“The other key is Daniel Pigott solidifying that two-spot,” O’Sullivan continued. “It pushes everybody down one (in the lineup), so it gives us some flexibility and strength in the bottom of the order. He’s been the key to the offense to solidify that two-hole.”
Florida hopes to continue the momentum into its home SEC series against Ole Miss this weekend.
“This is major for us,” Adams said. “It seems like in the past we didn’t think we could come here and beat them at their place. To come in here and do well is awesome for us.”
The Gators return home Wednesday night to host Stetson at 6:30. Either Patrick Keating (2-3, 6.75 ERA) or Justin Poovey (2-0, 6.23 ERA) will start for the Gators.