Off The Bat: Gators Make Statement With Sweep

A week ago, Florida, the top-ranked team for the first month of the season, lost its first series of the year, dropping two games at Kentucky. It was a series coach Kevin O’Sullivan called a “dose of reality” and a “valuable lesson” for the Gators, who fell to No. 2 in last week’s Top 25.

After a 3-2 victory Tuesday against rival Florida State in Jacksonville, Florida returned home to welcome Texas A&M, the new No. 1 team, to Gainesville for a weekend series of the preseason division favorites in the Southeastern Conference.

The No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown turned into a definitive statement from the Gators. Florida won the first two games, 7-4 and 7-2, before finishing off the sweep with a 10-7 victory Sunday.

“We thought we should be the No. 1 team regardless of anything, and we proved that,” Florida first baseman Peter Alonso said. “We were looking to make a statement and show what we can actually do.”

O’Sullivan said he was pleased with the way the Gators (27-3) played throughout the weekend and its ability to be resilient against a stout opponent.

“It was a good weekend for us against a good, tough A&M team,” O’Sullivan said. “We won in different ways each game, and it wasn’t easy. A&M is going to be right where they want to be at the end of year.”

Texas A&M coach Rob Childress said the Aggies (22-6) have to move on from the weekend.

“We know what we have to do moving forward, but we can’t dwell on the past,” Childress said. “I know that this team isn’t going to be defined by what happened this weekend. There is still a lot of the season remaining.”

Florida started the weekend with a commanding win Friday. But after not trailing in the series opener, the Gators fell behind 2-0 in the first Saturday, as righthander Alex Faedo labored through the inning. But Florida picked up the sophomore with three runs in the bottom of the inning, and Faedo (6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K) rebounded with five scoreless innings to earn the victory.

In Sunday’s game, Florida watched as lefthander A.J. Puk exited the game in the second inning after just 11 pitches with what O’Sullivan said was tightness in his back (O’Sullivan said they will be very cautious with Puk, but thinks the top draft prospect will be probable next weekend). The Gators then had to twice come back against the Aggies’ tough pitching staff in what turned into a slugfest.

“Credit our guys, they battled and hung with it and weren’t satisfied with two wins,” O’Sullivan said. “It was a heck of a weekend for us. To win the series is big deal, let alone the Sunday game because they’re really good and they’re going to be right there at the end.”

Florida scored 24 runs on the weekend, matching its second-highest total this season. Alonso was at the heart of the Gators offense, as the Preseason All-American went 8-for-12, homered twice, drove in five runs and scored four times in the three games. He is now hitting .375/.473/.635 with six home runs in 30 games.

Alonso said he worked hard in the batting cage this week, tweaking his setup to close his stance and back off the plate a bit, allowing him more room to extend his arms and react to inside pitches. While he’s feeling good at the plate now, Alonso said he just wants to stay consistent.

“I felt like I was seeing beach balls up there,” he said. “The main thing for my success this weekend was working in the cage, staying late after practice and putting in the work.”

Alonso produced the biggest numbers against Texas A&M, but the weekend also showcased Florida’s lineup depth. Eight Gators had at least one multi-hit game in the series, including junior outfielder Buddy Reed, who went 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs on Sunday, and freshman third baseman Jonathan India, who went 4-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs on Friday.

“We’ve just had a lot of guys do a really good job against really good pitching this weekend,” O’Sullivan said. “We continued to put together good at bats. I’m pleased about how we got production from everybody.”

The weekend sweep extended Florida’s home winning streak to a program-record 27 games dating back to last year. The series drew 15,360 fans, the second-highest total in McKethan Stadium history, and O’Sullivan said Florida’s fans deserve part of the credit for the streak. But he can’t explain the winning streak, and hasn’t talked about it with his team.

Alonso said the Gators understand the importance of winning at home.

“You need to win at home to be a championship ball club,” he said. “We need to build a fortress at home, and I think we have to this point.”

As big as the weekend was for the Gators, they have very little time to enjoy it. Almost immediately after Shaun Anderson recorded the final out of Sunday’s game for his sixth save this season, O’Sullivan was thinking about who would start Tuesday’s game against Jacksonville. And Florida has another big series on tap next weekend, as No. 5 Mississippi State will come to Gainesville.

Alonso said the Gators simply need to stay locked in, like they were this weekend.

“Every weekend, we’ve got to look at it as we’re playing for a ring,” Alonso said. “Mississippi State, they’ve won a lot of games in the SEC. I’m sure they’re going to come in fired up. They’ve got some good arms, just like Texas A&M does. We need to focus, win on Tuesday, keep focused and keep swinging the bat.

“We know they’re going to give us their best shot. We always have a target on our back, whether we’re No. 1 or not.”

Saint Louis Rolling Again In The A-10

With a 3-2 victory Sunday against George Mason, Saint Louis finished off its second straight sweep to open Atlantic-10 Conference play. The Billikens have won the past four regular season A-10 championships, but during that streak they never started conference play 6-0.

That kind of start has coach Darin Hendrickson excited, though there’s a lot of baseball yet to be played.

“We’ve won the league four years in a row and never started 6-0, so it’s very big to be honest,” he said. “We’re a long, long way from the finish line and I’d like to have the whole team out there.”

Saint Louis (15-13) has done this without three of its starting pitchers, righthanders Zach Girrens and 6-foot-7 sophomore Connor Lehmann, and senior lefthander Josh Moore, who are all out with injuries. Hendrickson said all three are expected to return at some point this spring, but their absences have tested the depth of Saint Louis’ pitching staff.

Senior righthander and Friday starter Matt Eckelman (5-2, 3.64) has been the constant for the Billikens. Freshman righthander Miller Hogan (3-3, 4.33) has moved from midweeks to the weekend, and two-way junior Devin Mahoney (1-0, 2.57) rounds out the rotation.

That trio has worked so far for the Billikens. In the last two weekends, they have held opponents to five runs (four earned) in 40 2/3 innings.

“It’s been next man up for us,” Hendrickson said. “We’ve had to grind our way out there and figure out how to adjust the rotation and tweak it.”

The Billikens’ strong start to A-10 play comes after the preseason favorites stumbled out of the gate this season. Saint Louis lost its first eight games, getting swept by Brigham Young on opening weekend and then going winless in the Perfect Game Spring Swing in Emerson, Ga.

Since that inauspicious start, Saint Louis is 15-5, including an 11-1 mark at home. Hendrickson said he hasn’t been able to pinpoint what allowed the Billikens to get things back on track, but feels the team has become more comfortable and settled in their roles.

Saint Louis is now moving into one of the tougher stretches in its schedule, with a game Tuesday at Missouri State and trips to Richmond and Illinois the next two weekends. As the schedule stiffens again, Hendrickson is eager to see how his team responds. After winning four straight conference titles but only reaching the NCAA Tournament once, he knows how important it is to build throughout the year so the team peaks at the right time.

“I’m really proud of our kids, when you start 0-8 and claw your way back,” Hendrickson said. “I hope we play our best baseball at the end. We’ve got to play good at the end. We’re a one-bid league, so there’s a lot riding on that last weekend. We want to play good to get us in position to get to the next deal.”

Eight for Omaha

California, Florida, Louisville, Miami, Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Texas Christian, Vanderbilt

The lone change to the field this week is substituting Mississippi State for North Carolina after the Tar Heels were swept in Miami. The Hurricanes are playing extraordinarily well right now, so it’s not really a bad loss for the Tar Heels, but they’ve now struggled at the plate in back-to-back weekends, scoring 21 runs in six games. Mississippi State, meanwhile, has won three-straight SEC series, combining a powerful lineup with a deep pitching staff. So the Bulldogs get the nod here.

Eye-Catchers

Five players or programs who stood out this weekend.

Cincinnati: After losing the series opener Friday against South Florida, Cincinnati rebounded to win the next two games to take their opening American Athletic Conference series. The Bearcats clinched the series win with a 4-3 victory in 14 innings Sunday to improve to 12-1 in Marge Schott Stadium.

Mikey Diekroeger, 3b, Stanford: After losing Friday to Southern California, Stanford bounced back to win the next two games to take the series, with Diekroeger leading the offense. The sophomore went a combined 6-for-8 with four doubles, a home run and scored seven runs in the two victories.

Tyler Dixon, of, Murray State: On Saturday against Eastern Illinois, Dixon hit four home runs, helping Murray State to a 31-11 victory that matched a 66-year old program record for runs. The senior, who hadn’t homered before Saturday, went deep again in a loss Sunday, and is hitting .396/.492/.833 in 20 games this season.

Robert Tyler, rhp, Georgia: On Friday against Alabama, Tyler came within an out of a no-hitter, before Georgie Salem broke up the gem with a pinch-hit home run. Though Tyler (9 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 9 K) fell short of a no-hitter, he still turned in his best start of the year and improved to 3-1, 2.40 with 54 strikeouts in 41 1/3 innings.

Utah: The Utes swept Arizona this weekend, their third straight series win to open Pac-12 Conference play. At 7-2 in the Pac-12, Utah is tied with California for first place and has already matched its most conference wins in a season since joining the Pac-12 for the 2012 season.

Looking Ahead

Three weekend series we’re most excited for:

(5) Mississippi State at (1) Florida: The SEC schedule doesn’t allow for any breathers, so Florida must quickly move on from its sweep of Texas A&M and get ready for another top-five opponent. Mississippi State has won its first three conference series, but has lost the series finale each time. To win a series against Florida in Gainesville, it will likely have to reverse that trend.

(4) Louisville at (11) Florida State: Bad weather has washed out four Florida State games over the past two weekends, a trend that hopefully won’t continue this weekend when the top two teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Atlantic Division meet. Louisville will be looking for its first series win against a ranked opponent on the road in three tries this spring. The Seminoles are hoping for another statement series win after sweeping Georgia Tech at home on the opening weekend of conference play.

(23) Texas Tech at (16) Oklahoma State: The Big 12 Conference has been muddled thus far, but Texas Tech has risen to the top of the standings with an 8-1 record after three weekends. Oklahoma State, the preseason favorite, is coming off a series loss at West Virginia, and will look to bounce back against the Red Raiders at home, where the Cowboys are 10-2.

Two Weekend Series You Shouldn’t Overlook:

San Diego at Brigham Young: San Diego (16-14) was the preseason favorite in the West Coast Conference, but has lost two of its first three conference series. BYU, meanwhile, is off to the best start in school history at 23-3 and 7-2 in the WCC. The Cougars have been tough to beat at home where they are 10-2, but the Toreros can ill afford to fall further behind in the conference standings.

Seton Hall at Creighton: The Big East Conference opens league play this weekend, with Seton Hall and Creighton meeting in Omaha for an early showdown. Creighton and Seton Hall, as well as St. John’s, are expected to be the main Big East contenders this season, and are the only three teams above .500 this season. The winner of this weekend’s series will have a key early advantage in the conference race.

One Midweek Game To Keep An Eye On:

(4) Louisville at (19) Kentucky (Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. ET): With both teams in the top 20 and coming off weekend series wins, there’s a little added juice to the first game of the Bluegrass State rivalry. The Wildcats lead the all-time series, but the Cardinals have won the past three meetings. The teams will meet again in Louisville in two weeks.