OMAHA, Neb., — Not wind, not hail, not even a day without touching
the plate could slow down the Florida Gators.
Without even scoring a run Tuesday, Florida (52-17) beat
Southeastern Conference foe Vanderbilt (53-11) 3-1 in a
weather-suspended contest at TD Ameritrade Park in a winner’s
bracket contest at the College World Series.
UF
collected its school-record 52nd win and moved one victory closer
to clinching a spot in the championship series in a contest that
took more than 17 hours to complete because of severe thunderstorms
and a high-wind advisory late Monday night.
The
Gators, who beat the Commodores for the fourth time in five tries
this season, will play the winner of the North Carolina/Vanderbilt
elimination game Friday at 2 p.m.
“Make no bones about it, in order for Florida to beat Vanderbilt,
they better be pretty damn good,” Vandy coach Tim Corbin said. “And
they are.”
The
Gators avoided a déjà vu scene Tuesday morning — Florida dropped
Vandy earlier this season in a weather-suspended comeback when the
Commodores were ahead by a pair of runs — behind Steven Rodriguez’s
stifling pitching.
The
Gulliver Prep star, who was left on the mound Monday when the
storms rolled in, returned when the game resumed at 11 a.m.
Tuesday.
Sporting filthy stuff in his first appearance since surrendering
the walk-off homer to Mississippi State’s Nick Vickerson in Game 2
of the Super Regional, the left-hander (4-2) was the winning
pitcher and worked like a man possessed, striking out a career-high
seven in 4.1 innings.
“Yesterday, when the sirens went off I was kind of upset because I
was dealing,” Rodriguez said. “I was like God, I don’t need this to
happen right now. …”But then I was like let’s prepare for today and
everything came out in my favor.”
Monday, in a 3-1 game in the bottom of the sixth, blustery weather
rolled into downtown Omaha as the sky ominously darkened and sheets
of rain began to fall.
A
ringing siren went off with one out in the inning, but the game
wasn’t halted for another three pitches and another out.
While the grounds crew rushed to cover the field, high winds
whipped around TD Ameritrade Park, throwing trash and dirt all over
the stadium.
After a two and half hour delay, the NCAA suspended the game.
Before the stormy scene, SEC Pitcher of the Year Greyson Garvin
(13-2, 2.48 ERA) had been carving up the Gators for the first three
innings. But after walking shortstop Nolan Fontana to start the
fourth and then booting a routine swinging bunt, Vanderbilt’s
southpaw got behind in the count to slugger Preston Tucker and a
hung a slider.
Florida’s right fielder smashed a three-run shot over the right
field bullpen for just the second homer during the CWS so far.
“You need your special players to play special, and he’s been able
to do that for us,” UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan said.
Aside from the single mistake, Garvin — the Tampa Bay Rays first
round supplementary pick — toyed with UF’s hitters, throwing 17
first-pitch strikes and punching out nine in six innings.
Freshman flamethrower Karsten Whitson made the start for UF,
displaying unwavering poise for a rookie by matching Garvin
pitch-for-pitch through the first four innings.
Vanderbilt plated its lone run in the fifth — ending a 22.2 innings
scoreless streak against the Gators — when Gomez ambushed a
fastball for an RBI single. Whitson, who’d tired, was relived for
the southpaw Rodriguez, who struck out Westlake to end the
threat.
