Sundays in college baseball are usually when runs are scored. The two best starting pitchers have already thrown and the bullpen is usually depleted from the previous two games.
But things were different this Sunday when the Florida Gators ran into Vanderbilt’s Jack Armstrong at McKethan Stadium. The Vanderbilt sophomore went six innings, allowing four hits and no runs while striking out four and leading the Commodores to a 7-0 victory. He threw his fastball on both sides of the plate and mixed in a change-up and curve that kept the Florida hitters off-balance all afternoon.
“Their pitcher did a nice job,” Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “He throws hard and he has a heavy sinker. He puts a lot of balls on the ground. He was really aggressive on the mound.”
The Gators (20-7, 6-3 SEC East) managed to get only three runners to second base, and they all came in the final two innings Armstrong pitched for the Commodores (24-6, 5-4 SEC East). All five of the hits for Florida were singles. It was the first time Florida has been shut out at home since O’Sullivan became the head coach. The last time the Gators were blanked was when Kent State beat Florida 1-0 on Feb. 25, 2007.
“When you look back and only have five hits, it’s going to be hard to win any game, let alone a Sunday game,” O’Sullivan said.
As much as Armstrong kept the Gators in check offensively, they did have a few opportunities. Down 1-0 in the fifth inning, Josh Adams led off with a single and Brian Johnson walked. Daniel Pigott tried to move the runners up with a bunt, but instead he popped out to the third baseman. Kamm Washington flew out and Mike Zunino grounded out to end the inning and the best shot Florida had to score.
“We popped up the bunt and that was a huge momentum change,” O’Sullivan said. “We don’t get the bunt down and we don’t score.”
The momentum changed quickly, as Jason Esposito knocked a home run on the first pitch of the sixth inning for a 2-0 Vanderbilt lead. Back-to-back hits by Gomez and Mike Yastrzemski (baseball great Carl Yastrzemski’s grandson) gave Vandy runners on first and second with two outs. Brian Harris followed with a ground ball to shortstop that Nolan Fontana flipped to second base, but the ball wasn’t caught cleanly by Adams at second base, allowing Gomez to score from second.
Esposito’s second home run of the game in the seventh inning pushed Vanderbilt to a 4-0 lead, and the Commodores would tack on three runs in the ninth off Justin Poovey.
Florida starting pitcher Hudson Randall went 5.2 innings, allowing seven hits and three runs (two earned). He struck out a career-high six batters, but doing so forced his pitch count up early in the game.
“With the heat and the pitch count, I wasn’t getting many quick outs,” Randall said. “It was definitely wearing on me.”
Vanderbilt had 15 hits, with Gomez going 4-for-5 and Esposito, Yastrzemski, Bryan Johns and Connor Harrell getting two hits each
The Gators still managed to win two-out-of-three games this weekend over the Commodores.
“Any time you can get a series win against a quality opponent, you’re going to feel good about it,” O’Sullivan said. “We certainly wanted to finish it off today, but sometimes you’ve got to tip your cap.”
The Gators return to action Tuesday night at home against Jacksonville. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.
SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE
Conference Overall
EASTERN DIVISION W-L Pct. W-L Pct.
South Carolina 7-2 .778 22-6 .786
Florida 6-3 .667 20-7 .741
Vanderbilt 5-4 .556 24-6 .800
Kentucky 2-7 .222 18-11 .621
Tennessee 2-7 .222 15-14 .517
Georgia 2-7 .222 10-17 .370
WESTERN DIVISION W-L Pct. W-L Pct.
Louisiana State 7-2 .778 23-4 .852
Arkansas 6-3 .667 22-6 .786
Mississippi 5-4 .556 21-8 .724
Auburn 5-4 .556 18-10 .643
Alabama 4-5 .444 19-8 .704
Mississippi State 3-6 .333 15-13.536
RESULTS
SUNDAY / April 4
Vanderbilt 7, Florida 0
Louisiana State 15, Georgia 5
South Carolina 14, Mississippi State 2
Auburn 7, Alabama 1
Arkansas 17, Kentucky 16
Tennessee 10, Mississippi 6
FRIDAY / April 2
Florida 3, Vanderbilt 2
South Carolina 10, Mississippi State 2
Mississippi 7, Tennessee 3
Louisiana State 4, Georgia 3
Alabama 10, Auburn 5
Kentucky 12, Arkansas 8
b>SATURDAY / April 3
Florida 7, Vanderbilt 3
Georgia 12, Louisiana State 6
Arkansas 10, Kentucky 1
Tennessee 5, Mississippi 2
Mississippi State 8, South Carolina 7
Alabama 6, Auburn 5
SCHEDULE
TUESDAY / April 6
Jacksonville at Florida, 6:30 p.m.
Clemson at Georgia, 6:30 p.m.
Louisville at Kentucky, 6:30 p.m.
Belmont at Vanderbilt, 7 p.m.
UAB at Alabama, 7:30 p.m.
Georgia State at Auburn, 7:30 p.m.
Alcorn State at Louisiana State, 7:30 p.m.
Jackson State at Mississippi State, 7:30 p.m.
WEDNESDAY / April 7
Georgia at Clemson, 6:30 p.m.
Alabama at Jacksonville State, 6:30 p.m.
College of Charleston at South Carolina, 7 p.m.
Western Carolina at Tennessee, 7 p.m.
Saint Louis at Arkansas, 7:30 p.m.
South Alabama at Auburn, 7:30 p.m.
Arkansas-Little Rock at Mississippi, 7:30 p.m.
Southern Mississippi vs. Louisiana State at Zephyr Field, New Orleans, 8 p.m.
FRIDAY / April 9
Alabama at Kentucky, 6:30 p.m.
Florida at Tennessee, 7 p.m.
South Carolina at Vanderbilt, 7 p.m.
Arkansas at Mississippi State, 7:30 p.m.
Louisiana State at Auburn, 7:30 p.m.
Mississippi at Georgia, 8 p.m.
SATURDAY / April 10
Arkansas at Mississippi State, 3 p.m.
Mississippi at Georgia, 3 p.m.
South Carolina at Vanderbilt, 3 p.m.
Florida at Tennessee, 4 p.m.
Louisiana State at Auburn, 4 p.m.
Alabama at Kentucky, 6:30 p.m.
SUNDAY / April 11
Florida at Tennessee, 12:30 p.m.
Alabama at Kentucky, 1 p.m.
Louisiana State at Auburn, 2 p.m.
Mississippi at Georgia, 2 p.m.
South Carolina at Vanderbilt, 2 p.m.
Arkansas at Mississippi State, 2:30 p.m.
POLLS
As of March 29
BASEBALL AMERICA
1. Virginia (20-4); 2. Arizona State (23-0); Georgia Tech (21-2); 4. Florida State (19-4); 5. Louisiana State (20-3); 6. UCLA (20-0); 7. Texas (18-6); 8. Florida (18-5); 9. Louisville (20-3); 10. Arkansas (18-5); 11. Mississippi (19-6); 12. South Carolina (19-5); 13. Texas Christian (17-5); 14. Coastal Carolina (19-5); 15. Miami, Fla. (16-7); 16. Clemson (18-6); 17. Oklahoma (20-3); 18. Western Kentucky (20-5); 19. Stanford (12-6); 20. Vanderbilt (21-4); 21. Oregon State (16-5); 22. Arizona (20-5); 23. Texas A&M (17-6); 24. UC Irvine (14-8); 25. Alabama (16-6).
COLLEGIATE BASEBALL
1. Arizona State (23-0); 2. UCLA (20-0); 3. Virginia (20-4); 4. Louisiana State (20-3); 5. Georgia Tech (21-2); 6. Florida State (19-4); 7. Texas (18-6); 8. Louisville (20-3); 9. Oklahoma (20-3); 10. Oregon State (16-5); 11. Mississippi (19-6); 12. Florida (18-5); 13. Clemson (18-6); 14. South Carolina (19-5); 15. Coastal Carolina (19-5); 16. Texas Christian (17-5); 17. Miami, Fla. (16-7); 18. Arizona (20-5); 19. Arkansas (18-5); 20. Kansas State (19-3); 21. Western Kentucky (20-5); 22. Southeast Louisiana (22-3); 23. Vanderbilt (21-4); 24. Pittsburgh (18-4); 25. The Citadel (18-6); 26. UC Irvine (14-8); 27. Texas A&M (17-6); 28. Stanford (12-6); 29. Virginia Military Institute (20-4); 30. Wichita State (14-7).
USA TODAY/ESPN COACHES
1. Arizona State (23-0); 2 Georgia Tech (21-2); 3. Virginia (20-4); 4. Louisiana State (20-3); 5. UCLA (20-0); 6. Florida State (19-4); 7. Texas (18-6); 8. Louisville (20-3); 9. Oklahoma (20-3); 10. Clemson (18-6); 11. Florida (18-5); 12. Texas Christian (17-5); 13. Arkansas (18-5); 14. Mississippi (19-6); 15. Coastal Carolina (19-5); 16. Miami, Fla. (16-7); 17. Vanderbilt (21-4); 18. Oregon State (16-5); 19. South Carolina (19-5); 20. Arizona (20-5); 21. Kansas State (19-3); 22. Texas A&M (17-6); 23. (tie) Southeast Louisiana (22-3) and Alabama (16-6); 25. Western Kentucky (20-5).
NATIONAL COLLEGE BASEBALL WRITERS ASSOCIATION
1. Arizona State (23-0); 2. Virginia (20-4); 3. Georgia Tech (21-2); 4. Louisiana State (20-3); 5. Florida State (19-4); 6. UCLA (20-0); 7. Texas (18-6); 8. Louisville (20-3); 9. Florida (18-5); 10. Arkansas (18-5); 11. Texas Christian (17-5); 12. Clemson (18-6); 13. Oklahoma (20-3); 14. Mississippi (19-6); 15. Miami, Fla. (16-7); 16. Oregon State (16-5); 17. Coastal Carolina (19-5); 18. Vanderbilt (21-4); 19. South Carolina (19-5); 20. Arizona (20-5); 21. Southeastern Louisiana (22-3); 22. North Carolina (16-9); 23. East Carolina (16-8); 24. UC Irvine (14-8); 25. Western Kentucky (20-5); 26. Stanford (12-6); 27. Texas A&M (17-6); 28. Kansas State (19-3); 29. Alabama (16-6); 30. Kentucky (16-8).