Florida Gators
Florida State (Game 2 of Super Regional)
On To Omaha: Gators Advance to College World Series by Sweeping FSU in Super Regional
Sunday, June 7, 2015 | Baseball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Behind three RBI apiece from junior Harrison Bader and freshman JJ Schwarz and a total of four homers, No. 3 Florida (49-16) punched its ticket to the NCAA College World Series with an 11-4 triumph over No. 10 Florida State (44-21) to complete a sweep of the NCAA Gainesville Super Regional on Saturday at McKethan Stadium. UF had defeated the Seminoles in Friday night's opener by a 13-5 score.
The Gators have now posted a season-high nine wins in a row. Senior left-hander Bobby Poyner (5-2) twirled five shutout innings in his final home appearance to collect the victory.
The victory secured the Gators' ninth trip to the CWS (1988, 1991, 1996, 1998, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015) and marks the program's fourth trip to Omaha in the past six years under eighth-year head coach Kevin O'Sullivan. UF will face No. 8 Miami (49-15) at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha next Saturday in the opening round of the double-elimination event. The start time will be announced on Monday night by the NCAA following the completion of Super Regionals.
Florida State jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning against sophomore A.J. Puk on three hits and a pair of Gator errors. Senior Josh Delph (3-for-5) led off with a single and took second on a throwing error by sophomore center fielder Buddy Reed. A sacrifice bunt by junior John Sansone advanced Delph and a fielder's choice by junior DJ Stewart resulted in Delph being safe at home on an error by Schwarz. After Stewart stole second base, he scored on a double into right center by sophomore Quincy Nieporte (2-for-4). An infield hit by senior Chris Marconcini and a hit-by-pitch to freshman Taylor Walls loaded the bases with one out before Puk escaped further damage by striking out sophomore Ben DeLuzio and having a grounder by freshman Darren Miller force Marconcini at third base.
The Gators answered in the top of the second on a two-run homer by Schwarz, his first of two on the day, and a sacrifice fly by freshman Dalton Guthrie, to seize a 3-2 advantage. Senior Josh Tobias led off with a walk from redshirt junior Mike Compton (4-4) to reach base for the 27th consecutive game and Schwarz belted the next pitch over the left-field bleachers for his team-leading 17th homer to match Florida's single-season freshman record held by Austin Maddox in 2010. Sophomore Peter Alonso's grounder was misplayed by Miller at third base for a fielding error and then an errant throw by Miller enabled Alonso to take second on the play. Freshman Jeremy Vasquez (2-for-2) raised his hitting streak to seven games with a base-hit into center for runners on the corners and a grounder by freshman Mike Rivera pushed Vasquez to second base before Guthrie flew out to left to bring home Alonso.
UF tallied three runs on three hits in the third frame for a 6-2 margin. Junior Richie Martin (2-for-6) boosted the Gators' lead to 4-2 with a leadoff homer to left field, his fifth big fly of the season and first since May 5 against USF. Schwarz (3-for-4, three runs) drew a two-out walk and came all the way around to score on a triple off of the fence in right center by Alonso, ending the afternoon for Compton (2.2 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 5 ER). Vasquez greeted junior reliever Dylan Silva with an RBI single through the right side to bring across Alonso.
Bader (2-for-5) belted his 15th homer to left field with Guthrie aboard in the fourth inning for an 8-2 count. Guthrie had started the stanza with an HBP and had taken second on a wild pitch. In the home part of the stanza, the Seminoles put their first two runners on base with walks but Puk had senior Danny De La Calle hit into a 5-4-3 double play and caught Delph looking on strikes.
Bader picked up his third RBI of the game with a bases-loaded walk from senior Bryant Holtmann to give the Gators a 9-2 advantage. Junior DJ Stewart pulled Florida State within 9-4 in the bottom of the inning with a two-run homer off of Puk (4.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 6 K), bringing Poyner into the contest.
Schwarz jacked his second homer of the afternoon with two down in the sixth to surpass Maddox's mark for homers by a Florida freshman. It was the slugger's third multiple-homer effort of the season (four vs. Stetson on April 7, two vs. South Carolina on April 12). The Gators added another run in the eighth when Tobias scored on a wild pitch. The senior had opened the frame with a single and went to third on a base-hit into right field by Schwarz before a wild pitch by Holtmann resulted in an 11-4 margin.
Florida Post-Game Quotes
Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan
Opening Statement:
“I want to congratulate Florida State on a great game and a tremendous series. It is very difficult to get to this point. I just want to say congratulations to them and I want to say thanks to our fans. It was an incredible atmosphere this weekend. They inspired our guys and they motivated our guys. I think today was a great example of the way that we kept answering back offensively. We did a lot of things good today after the first inning. We were a little shaky defensively, but I think that we settled down. We pitched fairly well after that and played really good defense. I thought the outfield, Harrison [Bader] and Buddy Reed, made some really nice plays from Bobby's [Poyner] pitching. Dalton Guthrie made some really nice plays. Offensively, we swung the bats really well today. It was just one of those days where we got balls elevated and JJ [Schwarz] had one of those days that doesn't come around very often. I'm pleased with where we are at. It was just a great overall effort by our guys, especially when we answered back after we fell behind in the first inning. We are looking forward to getting back out to Omaha.”
On JJ Schwarz post-season performance:
“He's an awfully good hitter. He was an accomplished hitter before he got to us and he's just got a knack. The barrel gets to the right spot a lot. He doesn't miss pitches and he is seeing the ball really well. He's pretty much done that the whole year. The only time he really struggled a little bit was after that big week that he had with seven home runs. I think I remember talking to him before one of the games at Georgia. I basically told him that those days and weeks might not happen again. It is hard to put together a week like that for multiple reasons. I thought he handled it great and he has really caught fire here. This is what happens, if you are going to win a championship, then a couple of guys really have to get hot. Obviously, he is getting to that point where he is carrying us a little bit right now. I think he's got a really good demeanor about him to where he understands that the games have a lot of ups and downs. He's a very even-keeled kid, I don't think he gets ahead of himself, and he is very much about the team. He's a really special player, special hitter, special catcher, and he's put together quite the year.”
Junior left fielder Harrison Bader
On what was going through his mind when he caught the last out:
“Well my first thought was to make sure Buddy Reed didn't call me off. I'm just kidding. No, but I mean obviously the initial thought was just how happy I was and how excited I was. Every ounce of me was just sprinting towards my teammates when they were dog piling.”
On the freshmen's impact this season:
“This team has had an incredible amount of freshmen who have done an incredible job all year. It reminds you that it doesn't matter how old you are or how much experience you have, but at the end of the day, it's just playing baseball. It's not about being selfish. It's about winning the game. These freshmen have done an incredible job doing that. In many ways. They have helped me with the way that JJ [Schwarz] has handled himself this year, [Mike] Rivera and [Jeremy] Vasquez, I don't want to leave anyone out, but the freshmen really just remind you of how simple the game can be. They make it simple and they've helped me out tremendously. I couldn't feel better about their success this year and what they are going to do in Omaha. I am excited that this group of guys gets to go out there.”
Senior left-hander Bobby Poyner
On getting back to Omaha as a senior:
“I couldn't be more excited. I know our team's excited. We've been talking about it all year, the ultimate goal of winning a national championship, and this is one of the major steps. Everybody's very excited and ready to go.”
On his last outing at McKethan Stadium:
“I knew there was a really good chance coming in today that this could be my last time playing on this field and I couldn't have asked for a better outing and a better group of guys to do it with. I'm excited. I'm very happy.”
Freshman catcher JJ Schwarz
On his successful night at the plate and what the week has been like for his family:
“It's been indescribable. My sister [Gator softball's Taylor Schwarz] winning the national championship, that's such an accomplishment. I'm so happy for her. Our parents are happy for her. I think it's our turn now and we're really excited to get to Omaha and hopefully take one home.”
On remaining calm and staying patient at the plate:
“I just try to remind myself that every at-bat I've had is behind me already and every at-bat's a new at-bat so I can't take a home run and just hit into this [new] at-bat and RBIs in the other games I can't bring them over so I just try to put one foot forward and keep my head in it.”
Postgame Notes:
- Florida has advanced to the NCAA College World Series nine times in school history: 1988, 1991, 1996, 1998, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015 – four times in last six years under Kevin O'Sullivan.
- The Gators registered their 19th come-from-behind victory of the season by overcoming a 2-0 deficit.
- Florida has swept both NCAA Super Regional meetings with Florida State in 2005 & 2015 in Gainesville.
- UF posted a 33-6 (.846) record on their own turf, the second-most wins in a campaign since the facility opened in 1988 (the 2011 club was 34-7).
- Coach O'Sullivan improved to 9-1 (.900) against Florida State at McKethan Stadium.
- A.J. Puk's scoreless streak in the postseason ended at 14.1 innings in the first and he worked four innings today.
- JJ Schwarz homered for the second day in a row and leads the Orange and Blue in RBI (71) and homers (18).
- In 10 postseason games, Schwarz is hitting .564 (22-for-39), with 17 RBI, 15 R, five doubles and four homers.
- Richie Martin opened the third with his fifth round-tripper of the campaign and Harrison Bader connected on No. 15 in the fourth with Dalton Guthrie aboard.
Up Next
Florida will take on Miami (49-15) in the teams' first-ever meeting in Omaha on Saturday at TD Ameritrade Park. The game can be heard on the Gator IMG Sports Network with Jeff Cardozo and Mick Hubert, will be carried on ESPN at either 3 p.m. or 8 p.m. ET and will be available through WatchESPN.
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The Gators have talked about making it to Omaha all season.
They can go ahead and book their trip.
Florida capped an impressive Super Regional performance against Florida State by knocking off the Seminoles, 11-4, on Saturday at McKethan Stadium. Florida swept the best-of-three series to advance to the College World Series for the first time since 2012.
Florida (49-16) overcame an early 2-0 deficit with three runs in the second inning and three more in the third. Florida won its season-high ninth consecutive game and enters the CWS as the hottest team in the field. The nine-game win streak is the program's longest since a school-record 18-game streak in 2012.
Freshman JJ Schwarz tied the game in the second with a two-run home run and Dalton Guthrie's sacrifice fly later in the inning scored the go-ahead run.
The Gators added three runs in the third, starting with a leadoff home run from shortstop Richie Martin. The Gators connected for four homers Saturday, including a two-run shot from Harrison Bader in the fourth and a solo shot from Schwarz in the sixth.
Schwarz's two home runs give him 18 for the season, a school record for a freshman.
This is the ninth time in school history the Gators have advanced to the CWS, and the fourth time in eight seasons under head coach Kevin O'Sullivan.
Florida starter A.J. Puk allowed four runs in four innings. O'Sullivan turned to senior reliever Bobby Poyner with no outs in the fifth and Poyner closed the victory with five scoreless innings of relief.
Check back with GatorZone.com later for a more from Saturday's victory.
