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After a disappointing sweep at the hands of top-ranked Tennessee last weekend, the No. 13 Florida Gators baseball team got back on track Tuesday by dismantling Jacksonville 16-4 via a seven-inning, run-rule victory.
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Florida (17-5) exploded for 14 hits, including three home runs, to dominate from the third inning onward. The offensive onslaught was led by Brendan Lawson, Justin Nadeau and Landon Stripling, who combined for 12 RBIs at Condron Family Ballpark.
Gators Break It Open
Florida struck first in the second inning after Ty Evans singled home Cade Kurland to give the Gators a 1-0 lead. One inning later, Florida put up a crooked number. After singles from Colby Shelton and Luke Heyman, Lawson crushed a three-run home run to left field to push the lead to 4-0.
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Jacksonville (11-9) answered with a two-run homer in the top of the fourth off Christian Rodriguez (1-0), but Florida’s bats kept the momentum rolling. In the bottom half of the frame, Nadeau doubled, then scored on a Shelton RBI single. Lawson stayed hot, delivering a two-run double to make it 7-2.
Nadeau’s Blast Sparks Run-Rule Finish
The fifth inning was all about Nadeau. After Evans and Hayden Yost were hit by pitch, the junior outfielder crushed a three-run home run to right field to extend Florida’s lead to 10-2.
“I try to stay true to myself, especially the way I play the game,” Nadeau said. “I just try to do my job, put up competitive at bats and put the ball in play.”
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Jacksonville tried to claw back with two runs in the sixth, but the Gators slammed the door in the bottom half. Stripling launched a three-run home run and errors by the Dolphins helped Florida tack on three more to reach the 16-run mark.
Strong Bounce-Back on the Mound
After struggling over the weekend, Florida’s pitching settled in against Jacksonville. Jackson Barberi started strong, tossing three innings of one-run ball, allowing just two hits and striking out three. Rodriguez and Niko Janssens followed in relief, combining for four innings while striking out four.
“We had to have a good night offensively after the weekend,” coach Kevin O’ Sullivan said. “Normally we don’t play five games during conference play and to play seven innings tonight was obviously helpful.”
Up Next
Florida hosts FAMU (11-9) on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. (SEC Network+, ESPN 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF) before entertaining No. 4 Georgia (21-2, 2-1 SEC) for its first SEC home series starting at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
