UF Baseball takes 2 of 3 from #5 UGA

[IHateUGAlyDawgs]

Friday - Loss 7-4
Saturday - Win 7-2
Sunday - Win 7-2

[IHateUGAlyDawgs]

Game 1 Recap:

It must be G-Day. Word came through McKethan Stadium that the Georgia GymDogs won yet another national championship in gymnastics at home in Athens. Meanwhile, the Georgia baseball team was busy beating the Florida 7-4 behind a 15-hit offensive performance, solid defense and terrific pitching with an exclamation point from the bullpen.

Just as they have done all season, Georgia scored in the top of the first. The Bulldogs came into Gainesville with 55 first inning runs.

Georgia’s Matt Olson singled up the middle to get things started. Red hot Gordon Beckham, who came into the game hitting .422, followed with a single through the left side gap. Florida starter Billy Bullock then walked clean-up hitter Rich Poythress on four consecutive pitches to load the bases. Designated hitter Bryce Massaroni laced a run scoring single to right field. Lyle Allen hit a fly ball to right that Florida’s Justin Pigott caught and fired it just up the third base line a few feet from the plate but catcher Buddy Munroe was unable to hang on to the ball.

The Bulldogs picked-up four more runs in the third inning. Olson led off with a home run that went just inside the right field foul pole. The ball didn’t look like it went inside the foul pole, but the first base umpire signaled home run.

Florida starter Billy Bullock did not pitch very well through the first three innings. He worked behind in the count and the Georgia hitters were able to hit some balls hard in the third inning off of the right hander.

A Beckham double and a Polythress single into short right field put runners on first and third. Massanari turned on a 2-1 pitch and blasted it out of McKethan Stadium for a three-run home run that gave Georgia a 6-0 lead.

Unlike Bullock, Georgia starting pitcher Trevor Holder did a good job of keeping the Florida batters off balance early in the game. He located his pitches and mixed effective breaking balls with his fastball. The Gators only picked up one hit in the first three innings of play.

“Their starting pitcher was outstanding,” Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “He threw first pitch strikes and threw seventy-five pitches through seven. Billy threw one-hundred and twelve through six. He threw a ton of first pitch strikes and I think Billy was ten out of thirty two first pitch strikes. He worked behind in counts and got behind into some hitter’s counts and they certainly made him pay for it.

“He [Bullock] got the up a lot and wasn’t in command of his secondary stuff too. His slider and change-up went for fifty-percent strikes. It’s hard to do that against a good hitting team. You’ve got to be able to move the ball in and out and change speeds and he wasn’t able to do that.”

Florida finally got things going in the fourth when Avery Barnes led off with a double down the left field line. Barnes moved to third on center fielder Matt den Dekker’s grounder to first base and he came home to score Cole Figueroa singled to left field.

Leadoff hitter Ryan Peisel led off the Georgia sixth with a double to left field. He scored two batters later when Beckham doubled to left field.

The Gators closed the gap in the bottom half of the sixth with a two-out rally. Brandon McArthur doubled to center field. He cruised into second hobbling on his injured right leg and was replaced by pinch-runner Clayton Pisani. Jon Townsend then ripped a single to center field, scoring Pisani. Designated hitter Bryson Barber deposited Trevor Holder’s first pitch over the right field fence for a two-run home run that cut the Bulldogs lead to 7-4.

Florida threatened in the bottom of the eighth. With one out, Barnes reached on a catcher’s interference play Den Dekker walked on a 3-2 pitch. Figueroa then laced a single into center field. Georgia coach David Perno went to his bullpen for closer extraordinaire Joshua Fields, who hadn’t given up a run in 20 appearances in relief this season. The hard throwing right hander didn’t disappoint his teammates either. Fields struck out Josh Adams and Brandon McArthur. In fact, Fields came back in the ninth and fanned Jon Townsend, Bryson barber, and Hampton Tignor in the ninth. The second round draft selection of the Atlanta Braves hit 98 miles per hour with his fastball and his breaking ball came in around 84, which kept the Florida batters out of rhythm.

“You’re hoping that he has an off-night,” O’Sullivan said. “If he ends up walking a couple of guys, you end up in a position to get the tying run to the plate. There’s not much that you can do, I mean, guys are hitting under one-hundred against him. You’re not going to go up there and whack away at the first pitch. Hopefully, it’s one of those nights where he walks a guy or two and you run into one. It was one of those nights where he pitched great and you have to tip your hat to him.”

Barnes led the Gators at the plate with a 2-3 performance. Figueroa and Barber went two for four in the contest. The teams will square off again tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. Georgia is expected to throw right-hander Stephen Dodson (5-1, 3.46), while Florida will pitch left-hander Stephen Locke (2-2, 3.45).

[IHateUGAlyDawgs]

Game 2 Recap:

Junior Stephen Locke (3-2, 3.21 ERA) pitched a complete game gem against the top team in the Southeastern Conference, while sophomore Matt den Dekker was just too much offensively as Florida (26-16, 11-9 SEC) whipped Georgia 7-2 before a crowd of 3,343 at McKethan Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Locke was sharp from the first pitch through the ninth, hitting his spots as he worked with catcher Teddy Foster to register his first career complete game. Georgia (29-13, 15-4-1 SEC) came into the game with an 8-4 record against left-handers.

The Gators backed up Locke with tremendous defense. Second baseman Josh Adams had nine assists and four put-outs. The left side of the defense was also very sharp with shortstop Cole Figueroa and third baseman scooping up everything that came their way. Outfielders den Dekker, Avery Barnes and Jonathan Pigott also played error-free baseball.

And, what else can be said about senior first baseman Brandon McArthur that hasn’t already been written? McArthur, who is playing on an injured knee, hobbled through Saturday and did a fine job reaching for balls that were just a half-step off-line. He was replaced in the eighth inning to rest his ailing knee.

“We had a good game today,” Locke said. “We bounced back from last night and got the lead early. They played good defense behind me. I think that I only had two strikeouts, so that tells you they played good defense behind me.”

Locke and the Florida defense thwarted the Bulldogs in the first inning --- an inning Georgia has dominated since conference play began, outscoring their opponents 57-19. Saturday, Locke got Ryan Peisel and Matt Olson to ground out before striking out Dick Howser Watch List candidate Gordon Beckham in the first inning.

“Probably the biggest key to the game was getting off to a good start in the first inning,” Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “I think that he (Locke) went 1-2-3 in the first and set the tone and kept them off-balance. He threw strikes and didn’t walk people. I also thought Teddy Foster did an outstanding job. You know, he catches Stephen when he goes to the mound. They’ve been together for four years and he has a real good feel for what they can do. They stay with his strength and he deserves as much credit as Stephen today.”

Den Dekker put in a terrific effort as the offensive catalyst today hitting in the six hole. He was a perfect three-for-three.

“He had three hits and he put the ball on the ground,” O’Sullivan said. “We’re trying to use his speed as much as possible. They don’t have to hit three-run homers all the time, although they’re good to get. If he can put the ball on the ground, especially on the left side of the infield, he’s got a chance to beat out any ball. He had a couple of stolen bases and was aggressive and that probably had a little to do with forcing the issue defensively with them. Anytime that you apply pressure on the bases it forces guys to make errors and hopefully make errors and for us it worked out today.
Florida (26-16, 11-9) got on the scoreboard first. With one out in the second inning, den Dekker singled through the left side then promptly stole second and third’s, all with Jon Townsend at the plate. Townsend’s grounder to third base scored den Dekker to give the Gators a 1-0 lead.

The Gators exploded in the bottom of the fourth. Josh Adams and Cole Figueroa started things off with back-to-back singles. McArthur laid down a nice sacrifice bunt that moved both base runners into scoring position. Georgia starter Stephen Dodson (5-2, 3.99) then intentionally walked den Dekker to load the bases and create the force.
It might have seemed like good strategy but it backfired.

Townsend ripped a double to the right-center field gap, scoring both Adams and Figueroa. Den Dekker who advanced to third and then he came home on a passed ball that got away from Georgia catcher Bryce Massanari. Designated hitter Bryson Barber followed with a double that scored Townsend for a 5-0 lead.

“He’s good,” Georgia head coach David Perno said of den Dekker. “He can really steal those bases and play that defense. He’s an offensive threat. I really like him … he’s a great player.”

Georgia (29-13, 15-4-1) finally got on the scoreboard in the fifth when Lyle Allen led off with single, but was erased on a 6-4-3 double play by the Florida defense. However, the Bulldogs were able to collect back-to-back singles by eight hole hitter Matt Cerione and nine hole hitter Michael Demperio. Leadoff hitter Ryan Peisel added a single that scored Cerione for the Dogs first run.

The Gators answered in the bottom half of the inning and even added an insurance run. Perno called on left-hander Justin Earls from the bullpen, which only served to please the Rowdy Reptiles, who call out every opposing pitcher with chants of “Earl!”

Earl’s poor outing gave him two reasons to wish that he’d remained in the pen.

He walked Avery Barnes on four consecutive pitches. Barnes quickly moved to second on a wild pitch. He also walked Adams on four pitches. Figueroa moved them over with a nice sacrifice bunt. McArthur then hit a ball to center field that allowed Barnes to score. Den Dekker singled once again, bouncing a ball into right field that caught the second baseman by surprise with a bad hop. The second baseman made an errant throw which scored Adams and increase Florida’s lead to 7-1.

The Bulldogs scored in the eighth on Beckham’s 20th home-run of the season, which leads the nation. It was a solo shot that cut the Gators lead to 7-2.

GAME NOTES: Several Florida players came out early to take additional batting practice and ground balls. Last night’s game must have definitely left a sour taste in their mouths.

The Eastern Division rivals will take to the field tomorrow afternoon for the deciding game in the series. The Gators have a rested bullpen, which is a huge plus for a team with limited numbers on the mound. Georgia will send left-hander Nathan Moreau (1-1, 4.50) to the mound, while Florida will send right-hander Patrick Keating (7-0, 2.68) to the hill. Opponents are hitting .243 against Moreau. They are hitting at a .290 clip against Keating.

[TheTodd]

Huge weekend!

[annarborgator]

Well goddamn, it looks like we found our baseball team! Our guys have been playing their asses off this entire season.