ESPN 98.1 FM – 850 AM WRUF ESPN 98.1 FM – 850 AM WRUF
The Gator baseball team outshines the top ranked Florida State Seminoles in their first meeting of the season after a 3-1 win at home Tuesday night.
Sophomore lefty Danny Young took the mound for Florida on Tuesday night, opposing Florida State’s senior righty Peter Miller. Young threw three scoreless innings, giving up six hits while striking out two. Young also got himself out of a sticky situation after loading the bases with no outs in the third which turned out to be a key situation in the game.
Junior third baseman Josh Tobias then put the Gators on the board with a solo shot to the left-field bleachers in the bottom of the third, his first homer of the season. After a few quiet innings and a pitching change for both teams, the bats awakened once more.
Florida State’s junior third baseman Jose Brizuela responded with a solo homer in the sixth inning, knotting the game up at 1-1.
But in the bottom of the sixth, Richie Martin led off with a double, was sacrificed to third by Casey Turgeon and then driven home on an RBI triple from sophomore center fielder Harrison Bader, making his second appearance of the season a notable one. Junior catcher Taylor Gushue then padded the lead with an RBI sac fly to right field.
Florida’s bullpen backed up the offense with a stellar pitching performance. Sophomore righty Aaron Rhodes relieved Danny Young, giving up three hits and the only run the Seminoles scored. Junior lefty Bobby Poyner then stepped in to close out the game with a perfect outing, retiring all nine batters he faced. Rhodes got the win, moving to 2-0 on the year.
Gator head coach Kevin O’Sullivan was pleased with the way the team played the game.
“Josh ran into a ball there in the third and gave us the lead. Then, obviously, Richie (Martin) led off the sixth with a double down the right field line, Casey (Turgeon) moved him over with a nice bunt, and then two really good at-bats by Harrison and Taylor. Overall, great team victory, good pitching, good defense, and really timely hitting; it was a really good team win,” said O’Sullivan.
Next, the Gators will head to College Station for a three-game set at Texas A&M starting Friday night. First pitch is set for 7:35, but you can hear live coverage on Country 103.7 The Gator starting at 7:25.
For audio on Tuesday’s game, click the links below:
Junior Lefty Bobby Poyner
Sophomore CF Harrison Bader
Head Coach Kevin O’Sullivan
