JJ Schwarz had a night for the record books.
The freshman catcher, who has showcased a powerful swing at the plate on more than one occasion in his debut collegiate season, belted out a school-record four home runs in six at-bats to lift No. 10 Florida to a 22-2 win over Stetson on Tuesday at McKethan Stadium.
Schwarz’s four home runs came off four different Stetson pitchers.
Schwarz finished the game 5-for-6 with the four home runs, a double and 10 RBIs — one shy of UF’s school record of 11 set by Preston Tucker in 2009.
He now has nine home runs on the year, which ties junior Harrison Bader for the team lead.
"I’ve never hit two (home runs in a game) before," Schwarz said. "After my second one, I was really excited and after the third one I was like ‘holy crap. What’s going on?’"
As a whole, the Gators (25-9) hit seven home runs on Tuesday, the first time they did so since Feb. 8, 1998, against Miami and just the fourth time in school history.
Florida now has 34 home runs on the season, an average of one per game.
The offense was as potent as ever, stringing together 22 hits and posting a .449 batting average following a weekend where the team hit a measly .202 in three games against Missouri.
UF scored at least two runs in four consecutive innings and posted at least one run in every inning.
"I think, more than anything, confidence-wise, some guys that may not have been swinging the bat great are probably feeling better about themselves," coach Kevin O’Sullivan said.
Dalton Guthrie opened scoring with his first career home run in UF’s first at-bat of the game, becoming the first to do so since Casey Turgeon accomplished the feat on March 5, 2013, against Jacksonville.
The freshman second baseman added another solo home run in the fifth inning.
Florida held a 6-2 lead over Stetson (18-16) heading into the bottom of the third thanks to a five-run second inning off Schwarz’s first home run and a pair of doubles by Richie Martin and Harrison Bader before an hour-long weather delay halted the action.
But the delay didn’t impact the outcome.
That was already decided.
The Gators simply piled onto their four-run cushion by adding 14 unanswered runs once play resumed, highlighted by a five home run bombardment within six innings worth of action.
O’Sullivan used six different pitchers during the game, with Alex Faedo earning the win after tossing three scoreless innings of relief for starter Danny Young. Faedo gave up just three hits while striking out two of the 12 batters he faced.
Florida returns to action on Friday when it starts a three-game series against South Carolina. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. at McKethan Stadium and a live stream of the game will be on SECNetwork+.
Follow Jordan McPherson on Twitter @J_McPherson1126
JJ Schwarz smiles as he runs toward home plate after hitting a two-run home run during Florida's 8-7 win against Fairfield on Tuesday at McKethan Stadium.
