Fort Myers — With the stretch run of the season ahead, a road game against Florida Gulf Coast was just what the No. 22-ranked University of Florida baseball team needed to get the offense going.
Florida rolled over the Eagles 12-3 on Tuesday night in front of 5,147 fans at Hammond Stadium, batting .400 (18-for-45) in the win. FGCU (22-15) had never played in front of as many fans as the home team in any sport.
The Gators (27-14) lost two games and batted .237 against Mississippi during the weekend, something the players were eager to put behind them.
“We struggled hitting a little bit against Ole Miss this weekend,” Florida freshman first baseman Preston Tucker said. “Just to see everyone bounce back is great.”
Tucker’s career-high 10-game hitting streak ended on Sunday with an 0-for-3 performance. During the streak, he batted .477 (21-for-44) with 31 RBI, 15 runs, seven homers and six walks.
“The coaches said before ‘you never know when your chance is going to be,’” Tucker said. “Whether it’s in the first, the middle or the end of the game, when there are runners in scoring position, you have to drive them in.”
Tucker put the Gators ahead 9-3 in fifth inning by hitting a three-run home run off of FGCU reliever Jason Forjet.
“Unfortunately, that was my only hit tonight, but I’m still seeing it alright,” Tucker said. “It was another breaking ball. I was kind of sitting back on that because that is his best pitch. He hung it a little bit and I got it.”
Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan inserted junior Billy Bullock in relief of starting pitcher Jeff Barfield to begin the fourth inning.
“We didn’t use (Bullock) this weekend,” O’Sullivan said. “That’s the problem with having a closer. I remember last year when we went to Ole Miss and they really get an opportunity to use (Scott) Bittle. That’s kind of what we felt like this weekend. We knew we needed to get him out there and stretch him out and get some innings. He’s got too good of an arm for us not to use him.”
Bullock (1-2) pitched three innings and struck out four batters, allowing one hit and one walk to earn his first win since May 2 of last season. The lone hit was a leadoff triple by FGCU freshman Joe Guarnaccia in the fifth inning, but Bullock stranded the runner.
“He threw good tonight,” O’Sullivan said. “He had a man at third base with nobody out and got out of it, which was huge. Even though the game kind of got out of hand, that should be a huge confidence boost to him. That’s a tough situation to be in. Hopefully he can build on that.”
UF catcher Buddy Munroe was impressed with the pitching performance.
“Barfield started off well,” Munroe said. “He got a little shaky at the end, leaving some pitches up.”
“Billy came in just pumping fastballs down the middle, he started locating them in his second inning,” Munroe said. “It’s good to see Billy stretch out a little more and get a little more use out of him. We really haven’t seen much out of him in the last week or two. Disco (freshman Anthony DeSclafani) did a really good job, and it was good to see (freshman Will) Jolin help out at the end.”
DeSclafani struck out two batters in one inning and Jolin struck out three batters in the final two innings.
Munroe broke a 3-3 tie in the fifth inning with a solo home run that chased FGCU starting pitcher Craig Crumbly (3-3). Munroe caught the first seven innings of the game and tied for the team lead with three hits and three RBIs.
“Everyone’s starting to understand how to play the game and what to expect,” Munroe said. “The freshmen have had some games and some time to develop so they aren’t freshmen anymore. When you’re winning, it’s always good. The clubhouse is a fun environment when things are going good as a team and things are starting to click.”
One freshman that has settled into playing on a regular basis is Daniel Pigott.
“It’s a great opportunity to go out and play every day, especially as a freshman,” Pigott said. “We’ve had a lot more confidence in our abilities, we’re not stressing or pressing or anything like that.”
Pigott started in right field, batted 2-for-5 with a double, a pair of RBIs and a stolen base.
FGCU ‘s scoring was limited to the third inning. Senior center fielder Josh Upchurch belted a three-run home run to right field off of Barfield to put the Eagles ahead 3-2.
Florida tied the game in the fourth inning on a throwing error on what would have been a double play. Daniel Pigott was out at second base, but caused the shortstop’s throw to sail wide of first base and allow Matt den Dekker to score.
“The continuous scoring got it going for us,” Pigott said. “They came back with that three-run home run, but we’re confident in our pitching staff and our hitters have been doing really well lately, so we weren’t worried them coming back and it being a game.”
Each of the 14 position players to make the trip saw action in the game. Senior outfielder Avery Barnes stayed behind in Gainesville with an illness.
“We’ve had some games where a lot of guys have contributed,” O’Sullivan said. “We’ve gotten (walk-on infielder) Jandy (Rosabal) out there a couple of times. I think that from top to bottom, the whole lineup is contributing. We’ve used a lot of pitchers and a lot of guys have had success, so I think everybody feels like they’ve had a hand in it.”
The game marked the second time this season that Florida has played in a minor league ballpark. The Gators met Florida State at The Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville on March 31, home of the Jacksonville Suns, the Double A affiliate of the Florida Marlins. Hammond Stadium is home of the Class A Advanced Fort Myers Miracle, an affiliate of the Minnesota Twins.
“The atmosphere was outstanding,” O’Sullivan said. “Everybody was excited. When you’ve got more than 5,000 fans in the stands and it’s loud with atmosphere like this, it’s hard not to get excited and play a little bit above where you might play normally on a Tuesday.”
Pigott was impressed with the turnout of Gators fan in FGCU territory.
“We had a lot more support on the road than I expected, which it great, it was really fun,” Pigott said.
UF and FGCU will meet again at McKethan Stadium on May 6.
“We really respect those coaches over there, they’re good friends of ours,” O’Sullivan said.
With a bus ride of more than four hours home after the game, O’Sullivan wasn’t worried about his team’s preparation for tonight’s game against South Florida.
“I know it’s a late night for our guys, but these guys do it all the time,” O’Sullivan said. “This is normal for mid-majors. They will sleep on the way home. They’re young, they can bounce back. They’ll bounce back, they’ll be fine. Tomorrow will be tough though, (USF) is good.”
The Gators host USF (24-14/12-3 Big East) tonight night at 6:30 p.m. at McKethan Stadium before welcoming South Carolina (26-14/9-9 SEC) to town this weekend for a three-game series.
O’Sullivan had not decided which pitcher will start for Florida.
“It will be by committee,” O’Sullivan said. “I think they have six or seven lefties in their lineup. We have three or four lefties we can use, but it will by committee. Get them in, get them out and get ready for this weekend.”