Big 5th Inning Lifts Gator Baseball Over UNF

The top ranked Florida baseball team found itself down a run in the fourth inning at home against the University of North Florida on Wednesday night.

But a big fifth inning would change that.

Florida scored five runs in the inning, helping them to an 8-3 win over the Ospreys.   Florida is now 9-1 while the Ospreys fall to 3-5.

Another Solid Performance At Home

Florida protected its spotless record at home as they moved to 6-0 on the year when playing at McKethan Stadium.

The Ospreys took an early lead in the first inning when Tanner Murphy homered off Gator starting pitcher Tommy Mace but Jonathan India’s solo homer in the second would tie the game.  UNF took the lead once again in the fourth when Max Law scored on an error but the Gators tied the game in the bottom half of the inning on a Shane Shifflet RBI single.

But in the fifth inning, the Gators went long ball and put the game away.   Wil Dalton singled, Nelson Maldonado doubled and JJ Schwarz homered to give the Gators the lead.  Jonathan India followed with a long home run to left field, his second of the night.  After Blake Reese singled, Brady Smith joined the party with a homer of his own and at the end of the home run barrage, Florida led 7-2 and never looked back.

https://twitter.com/GatorsBB/status/969035955847008257

Both teams scored one more run before the evening ended to give the Gators the 8-3 win.

What They Said

Gator coach Kevin O’Sullivan has not been afraid of using his freshman pitchers and it has paid off so far.  Tommy Mace made his debut as a starter and was solid. He pitched for 3.2 innings and only gave up one earned run. O’Sullivan thought the freshman threw well in his debut.

Mace said he felt comfortable on the mound with his team behind him. He said that all the freshmen on the roster have a little competition on who will have a better game.  O’Sullivan said that the reason for the amount of production lately is a result of the team staying healthy.

What’s next

The Gators will take their 9-1 record to the weekend where they will face Stony Brook. Brady Singer will be the presumable starter on Friday with the first pitch from the Mac coming at 6:30 pm and can be heard on ESPN 98.1 FM & 850 AM WRUF.

FINAL | #Gators 8, UNF 3#Gators improve to 9-1 on the season. We'll host Stony Brook this weekend at the Mac. pic.twitter.com/6v8GYdNzEB

— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) March 1, 2018