No. 1 Gators Baseball Wins 18th Straight, Tops Samford

The Gators baseball team wins its 18th straight game after a 5-3 win over Samford at home Tuesday night, improving its overall record to 20-1. The win completed a perfect 10-0 homestand.

Freshman Johnny Magliozzi started the game for Florida and got the win, striking out a career high six batters while allowing only three hits and one run in four innings.   Closer Austin Maddox retired all three bulldogs in the ninth for his seventh save of the year.

At the plate, junior Mike Zunino was 2-for-4 with two RBIs with senior Preston Tucker and freshman Josh Tobias also helping out with multiple hit efforts. Gator head Coach Kevin O’Sullivan says he encouraged his team to stay focused on what was in front of them rather than look ahead to future SEC games.

With senior outfielder Tyler Thompson out with a torn ACL, the outfield depth takes a hit and Florida might have to play freshmen like Justin Shafer more and O’Sullivan says despite making a mistake or two he has a lot of confidence in Shafer.

Florida’s next action starts Thursday with a series against two-time defending national champions South Carolina on the road.