Gator Baseball Sweeps Miami

The Florida Gator baseball team swept the top-ranked Miami Hurricanes in a three-game series after a 5-3 win on Sunday.  Florida has now beaten the Hurricanes in 15 of the last 18 games they have played and it is the fourth time Florida has swept Miami under Gator head coach Kevin O’Sullivan.  It is also the first time in O’Sullivan’s career that he has started a season with an 8-0 record.

-#BeatMiami #GoGators pic.twitter.com/Zg4ZAcBNiX

— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) February 23, 2020

The Gators started out hot at the top of the first, scoring two runs.  Jacob Young, who had a great series for Florida, singled in a run and another scored on a fielder’s choice from catcher Nathan Hickey.

Freshman shortstop Josh Rivera launched a home-run to left field to give Florida a 3-1 lead.  On the weekend the freshman put together five hits in 11 at-bats (.455 average), scored two runs, and drove in three.  O’Sullivan talked about his shortstop and said while the offense was good, the defense was good as well.

“Josh had a really good game offensively, but I can’t say enough about his defense as well,” he said. “This is not the easiest infield to play on at times because it’s so quick, but he came in and got some balls, made some really nice plays.”

Another freshman star in pitcher Hunter Barco claimed the spotlight today in his second career start on the mound for Florida. The left-hander from the Bolles School in Jacksonville allowed just one run, two hits and two walks in 5.1 innings pitched. He earned his first win of the year and just may have secured himself in the weekend rotation after his seven strikeouts on the day.

Fellow freshman lefty Ryan Cabarcas, a Miami area native, got his first career save in the game.  Cabarcas managed to throw two shutout innings in relief to help his team to the win. Jud Fabian also had a big day at the plate with a solo home run in the fifth inning to put the Gators up 4-1. The Canes answered back in the bottom of the eighth with a two-run home run to give the hometown fans some excitement as the Hurricanes were within one run of the lead.

The Gators responded in the top of the ninth however with a big insurance run as Young hit a double to right field and Rivera followed with a two-out single, scoring Young.

Next up, the Gators will face FAMU on Tuesday at home and will travel to Stetson on Wednesday to face off against the Hatters.