1 » No. 1 Florida Gators baseball (5-0) kept their hot streak going Thursday with a solid 4-0 victory over the Boston College Eagles (2-2) in the first of a three-game series taking place at McKethan Stadium in Gainesville, FL. Sophomore left-handed pitcher Brian Johnson (2-0, 0.00 ERA) shined, retiring the first 17 hitters he faced in a bid for a perfect game; unfortunately he ended up giving up a hit in the sixth and combined with sophomore LHP Steven Rodriguez (S1) to toss a two-hit shutout. Johnson’s streak of retiring 27-consecutive batters through two games also set a school record. Junior right fielder Preston Tucker (2-4, RBI, R) led the way at the plate, with sophomore first baseman Austin Maddox (1-4), Johnson (1-3, R) and sophomore catcher Mike Zunino (1-4) also registering a RBI each. Sophomore right-handed pitcher Hudson Randall (1-0, 1.50 ERA) takes the mound for game two of the series, Friday at 5 p.m.

2 » Thursday wasn’t all about basketball and baseball as No. 4/5 Florida softball trashed the Indiana Hoosiers (5-6) 7-0 in their first game of the day at the Cathedral City Classic in Palm Springs, FL. Freshman right-handed pitcher Hannah Rodgers tossed a complete game shutout for the win, only giving up two hits and three walks while striking out seven. The Gators scored two in the third, four (with two outs) in the sixth and one more in the seventh to put away the Hoosiers. Junior center fielder Michelle Moultrie (1-3) led Florida offensively by driving in a pair of runs. Freshman SS Cheyenne Coyle, sophomore designated hitter Samantha Holle and freshman third baseman Kasey Fagan each walked twice and were rewarded by their teammates for their efforts, crossing the plate a combined four times.

3 » The early win was nice, but UF softball (11-0) faced a tougher opponent in the evening. Down 4-3 to the No. 11/12 Texas Longhorns (10-2) late Thursday night, the Gators rallied to tie the game first in the seventh and again in the eighth before pulling out a 6-5 victory in nine innings. Senior RHP Stephanie Brombacher (0.36 ERA), the team’s ace, got the start and played nearly the entire game, striking out seven while allowing two earned runs, seven hits and four walks in 8.1 innings. She was replaced in the ninth by Rodgers (5-0, 0.49 ERA), who struck out both batters she faced to preserve a 5-5 tie into the bottom of the inning.

Tied at three runs apiece in the top of the seventh after the Longhorns scored an unearned run, RF Taylor Hoagland homered to center to give Texas a one-run advantage. Now down 4-3, Florida’s Moultrie (2-3, 2 RBI, R) tripled to center field to score junior Ellie Langley from third base (she replaced sophomore Kelsey Horton, who hit a pinch-hit leadoff single). Trailing 5-4 in the eighth, a single by senior left fielder Kelsey Bruder (1-4, 2 RBI, R) scored senior second baseman Aja Paculba (2-3, R) from second. Then, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Moultrie hit a walk-off single to score sophomore Ensley Gammel from second and give the Gators the victory.

4 » While baseball and softball had the fun at night, No. 17 Florida lacrosse (3-1) got the day started off right for the Gators with a 16-6 trouncing of the UMBC Retrievers (1-1) at Donald R. Dizney Stadium. Seven different players scored for Florida with sophomores midfielder Kitty Cullen (five goals) and attacker Ashley Bruns (four goals) once again leading the way.

Tags: Aja Paculba, Ashley Bruns, Austin Maddox, baseball, Boston College Eagles, Brian Johnson, Cathedral City Classic, Cheyenne Coyle, Dizney Stadium, Ellie Langley, Ensley Gammel, Hannah Rodgers, Indiana Hoosiers, Kasey Fagan, Kelsey Bruder, Kelsey Horton, Kitty Cullen, lacrosse, McKethan Stadium, Michelle Moultrie, Mike Zunino, Preston Tucker, Samantha Holle, softball, Stephanie Brombacher, Steven Rodriguez, Taylor Hoagland, Texas Longhorns, UMBC Retrievers

1 » Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer visited the Tampa Bay Rays clubhouse Friday night before their game against the Chicago White Sox. Rays pitcher Wade Davis and clubhouse manager Chris Westmoreland (Florida fans) were happy to see Meyer, but others like P Lance Cormier (an Alabama alum) and outfielder B.J. Upton (a former Florida State commitment) gave him a hard time by hanging up an Alabama shirt and doing the tomahawk chomp, respectively. “It’s good to have probably the best coach ever in college history in the clubhouse,” Davis told MLB.com. “I haven’t met him yet, but that’s pretty cool. I know Westy’s probably having a good time.” Meyer also met up with White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski – a huge Gators fan – before the game.

2 » Florida and Georgia are in the process of renewing their contract with the city of Jacksonville, FL, to play the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party there for the next six years. A few new provisions have been placed in the deal as uncovered by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which received a copy of the work-in-progress contract via the state’s Open Records Act. The contract stipulates that the schools will be given the rights to sell the name of the game to a corporate sponsor (which is not being planned), the Bulldogs will receive up to $300,000 in additional funds covering travel expenses and the Greater Jacksonville Agricultural Fair will never be held the same weekend as the game (which caused a traffic and parking issue in 2008).

3 » A source close to the team has informed OGGOA that redshirt senior linebacker A.J. Jones has been wearing a protective boot recently after having “simple surgery” to remove a screw from his foot. He is healing nicely and will be able to participate in on-field action sooner than expected.

4 » Jerimy Finch, the No. 1 safety recruit in the nation a few years ago, has decided to leave the Indiana Hoosiers football program just two years after transferring from the Gators. A release from the team states that Finch will “pursue other interests outside the program” but does not go into further detail.

Photo Credit: Bob Andres/Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Tags: A.J. Jones, A.J. Pierzynski, B.J. Upton, Chicago White Sox, Chris Westmoreland, Georgia Bulldogs, Indiana Hoosiers, Jerimy Finch, Lance Cormier, MLB, Tampa Bay Rays, Urban Meyer, Wade Davis, World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party

1 » One of the biggest injury mysteries surrounding the Florida Gators last year was redshirt freshman cornerback Jeremy Brown, who was initially expeced to make a full recovery from a back injury two years ago. The Orlando Sentinel is now reporting that Brown has been cleared for full workouts and should be full-speed for spring practice.

2 » Though the Gators’ 2010 recruiting class is stellar from top-to-bottom, the most impressive area of the class is the incoming defensive line talent that head coach Urban Meyer was able to put together. Florida may have acquired three five-star and two four-star recruits on the defensive front, but local product and 2011 defensive line recruit Tim Jernigan (Lake City, FL) still holds the Gators as the early leader for his services. “When I first heard about all of those guys coming in, I was like, ‘Wow,” he told the Gainesville Sun. “But then I thought, ‘You can’t be selfish.’ It started hitting me that if I go there and you mix my name in there with Dominique [Easley], Sharrif [Floyd] and [Ronald] Powell … fireworks.”

Two more BITS on basketball’s rebounding and Steve Addazio…after the jump!
Continue Reading » FOUR BITS: Brown, Jernigan, boards, Addazio

Tags: Gerry DiNardo, Indiana Hoosiers, Jeremy Brown, SEC, Steve Addazio, Tim Jernigan, Urban Meyer