Just one day after Miami’s All-American catcher Yasmani Grandal delivered a warning to Florida’s pitching staff, Alex Panteliodis responded with one of his own.
The Gators used a three-hit, complete-game performance from the sophomore to take command of the NCAA Super Regional with a 7-2 victory over No. 20 Miami (43-19) on Friday. The No. 4 Gators will have an opportunity to clinch a trip to the College World Series tonight at 7.
Panteliodis, who has been Florida’s Friday night starter for most of the season, was aware of Grandal’s comments as he racked up a career-high 12 strikeouts against the Hurricanes, which came into the super regional averaging over 11 runs per game in their last seven contests.
“Coach (Kevin) O’Sullivan sent me a text telling me that (Grandal) said something like that and it just gave more fuel for the tank,” Panteliodis said.
His only mistake of the night came in the fourth inning on a 0-2 pitch when Grandal blasted a two-run homer to right field.
However, that was the last hit the left-hander would give up as he retired the final 14 Miami hitters to end the game.
“When I was warming (Panteliodis) up in the bullpen, he had a little more life to it,” catcher Mike Zunino said. “First couple of innings, I thought he had more life to it than he had all season and I think as the game went on he was able to harness it.”
The Hurricanes’ middle infield didn’t help UM’s cause.
The Gators took advantage of two errors and a botched play by the double-play tandem to break the game open early.
It started when freshman Austin Maddox hit a routine ground ball with runners on first and second and two outs in the third. UM shortstop Stephen Perez bobbled the ball to give the Gators life.
Just one at-bat later, Perez made sure the Gators would score.
Freshman Brian Johnson lined a ball to the shortstop that Perez thought he caught as he ran back to the dug out, but the umpire ruled that Perez trapped the ball while Jonathan Pigott came in to score the first run for UF.
“If (Perez) throws the ball to first, it’s a non-issue,” O’Sullivan said. “I couldn’t tell if it hit the ground or not.”
The play stung a little more after Zunino smacked a two-run single that extended the lead to 3-0 in the third.
The theme continued into the fourth when shortstop Nolan Fontana hit into what should have been a double play, but second baseman Frankie Ratcliff could not get the ball out of his glove as he watched Fontana reach first to load the bases for the Gators.
UF matched its total from the previous inning and plated three runs in the frame. Two came off of a two-out single from Maddox, who has driven in 36 of his 70 RBIs this season with two outs.
“(Maddox) just bears down and never gives away at-bats,” O’Sullivan said. “His hit there with two outs was huge.”
Tyler Thompson capped of UF’s offensive success Friday with a solo shot to right-center field – his fourth homer in the last two games.
“This thing is a long way from over,” O’Sullivan said.
Freshman Hudson Randall will be on the mound for the Gators tonight.
