Florida baseball takes weekend series at Miami

Coming off their first loss of the season in the inaugural Florida Four tournament to No. 6/3 Florida State, No. 5/6 Florida Gators baseball (7-2) extracted two wins over a three-game series this weekend against the No. 16/11 Miami Hurricanes (7-3) on the road in Coral Gables, FL, at Alex Rodriguez Park.

Read OGGOA’s full recap of all three Florida-Miami games after the break!

Friday, sophomore starter Alex Panteliodis (3-0) held Miami hitless into the fifth inning and registered a career-high eight strikeouts as Florida cruised to a 7-1 victory. Fellow sophomore Nick Mardone earned his first career save by striking out seven over 3.1 innings without giving up a hit or run. Three Gators – junior second baseman Josh Adams, freshman designated hitter Austin Maddox and freshman catcher Mike Zunino – tallied two RBI a piece in the game.

The Hurricanes got some revenge Saturday, scoring three unearned runs in the fifth inning to turn a one-run deficit into a 9-6 win. Second baseman Scott Lawson and outfielder Nathan Meledres each drove in three runs for Miami as starter Eric Whaley (2-0) got the win and closer David Gutierrez (S3) was credited with the save.

Junior third baseman Bryson Smith was 2-4 with two RBI for Florida. Freshman starter Brian Johnson (1-1) lost his first game of the season, giving up six hits, five runs and two earned runs while striking out five over 4.2 innings.

Down 1-0 going into the fourth inning Sunday, the Gators rallied in the top of the inning after an error by Hurricanes third baseman Harold Martinez allowed sophomore OF Daniel Pigott to reach base rather than account for Florida’s second out. A few batters later, Smith nailed a three-run homer to left center field, putting the Gators ahead 3-1.

Each team added a run in the sixth, but Florida would hold on for a 4-2 victory in the series’ rubber match. Sophomore starter Tommy Toledo (2-0) tossed five innings of two-run ball, giving up five hits and striking out four. Junior Kevin Chapman closed out the effort with four innings of near-perfect relief work.

Florida returns to Gainesville, FL, for 10 consecutive home games, starting with a two-game series against Illinois State beginning March 9.