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The second-ranked Florida Gator baseball team (7-1) defeated the Florida Atlantic Owls (6-2) on the road in Jupiter, Florida 10-8 Tuesday night.
The Gators trailed early, finding themselves down 3-0 following the second inning, but went back and forth with the Owls before placing themselves in the lead for good in the top of the eighth.
Right-handed sophomore Brett Morales got the start on the mound for the Gators, going just 2 and 2/3 innings, allowing four hits and three earned runs.
The Gators would go on to use six pitchers over the course of the game, with right-hander Mike Vinson picking up the win and right-hander Taylor Lewis picking up his second save of the season.
The Gators also struggled a bit in the field, matching FAU with three errors, and Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan talked about his team’s performance.
“It was one of those nights where both teams were a little sloppy. We uncharacteristically didn’t play great defense…made some mistakes on the defensive end,” O’Sullivan said. “Obviously we had the pitchers go to the mound tonight that were a little bit inconsistent, which was a little surprising because some of those guys are coming off of good outings in the last week or so.”
Although the pitching and defense were a bit shaky, the offense looked in top form.
The Gators banged out 13 hits to lead them to 10 runs. Freshman catcher JJ Schwarz drove in three runs for Florida, while junior shortstop Richie Martin scored three runs in the game. Sophomore outfielder Buddy Reed also had a strong night, recording three hits and scoring a pair of runs.
The Gators now look ahead to a weekend matchup with the Stony Brook Seawolves. O’Sullivan previewed the upcoming opponent.
“We got a good Stony Brook team coming in this weekend, a World Series team a few years ago,” O’Sullivan said. “They’ve got a really good number one starter. I think they’ll go left, left on the weekend, Friday and Saturday, with their starters. So another good weekend of playing someone that’s a good quality opponent.”
The Gators will host the Stony Brook Seawolves on Friday to open up the 3-game set at 7 p.m.
For more sound from Kevin O’Sullivan, click below.
