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Florida Gators baseball (30-13) took the series with a 5-3 win over No. 2 Vanderbilt on Sunday evening.
A 11-8 win on Saturday evened the series, setting up an all-or-nothing game 3.
Freshman Hunter Barco had an impressive start on the mound. The left hander finished the day with seven strikeouts, five hits and two runs allowed through just over five innings.
The First Four
Florida big hitters showed up in the bottom of the first to give Florida an early lead. Kris Armstrong continued his big weekend with an RBI double to put Florida on the board.
Kirby McMullen kept things rolling with an RBI single to left center giving Florida a 2-0 lead.
Vanderbilt’s Isaiah Thomas gave the Commodores their first run of the game with a home run over the left field fence.
Sunday juice. 🧃#VandyBoys | #AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/22MXPOuS4Y
— Vanderbilt Baseball (@VandyBoys) May 2, 2021
In the bottom of the third with the Gators up 2-1, Vanderbilt pitcher Chris McElvain got into a pinch. With the bases loaded, Sterlin Thompson knocked one deep into center field to give Florida a 4-2 lead.
Sterlin Thompson makes it a three-run Gator lead with a two-run single to center! ✊
VU 1, UF 4 | E3#GoGators | Watch: https://t.co/hv1zFgZiUf pic.twitter.com/YbXWHYlnxT
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 2, 2021
In his first career start, McElvain finished the day allowing five hits and five runs through three innings.
Outfielder Jacob Young put the Gators ahead 5-1 in the bottom of the fourth. Young brought Jordan Butler on a fielder’s choice to shortstop.
Vandy Closes Gap
In the top of the fifth, the Commodores came out swinging. Enrique Bradfield Jr. grounded out to first advancing Parker Noland in for the run, 5-2.
Midway through the top of the sixth, Florida’s Christian Scott came for relief on the mound. Scott got into a jam loading the bases. Vanderbilt put one run across the plate with an RBI sac fly to left field. The Commodores closed in on the Gators’ lead 5-3.
Florida’s Jack Leftwich took the mound to close out the game in the top of the seventh. Leftwich held the Commodores to one hit and 0 runs will striking out three.
After two scoreless innings, Vandy’s final chance to take the lead came in the top of the ninth. However, Leftwich would keep the Commodores scoreless.
Up Next for Florida
Florida will host Stetson for a midweek matchup on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. before heading to Lexington for an SEC series with the Kentucky Wildcats.
The series with Kentucky will kick off on Thursday night at 7 p.m.
