The bat fell lazily out of JJ Schwarz’s hands as he looked over to left field.
His home run gave Florida a 10-0 lead, a margin that effectively ended the game despite the three innings that were still left to play.
On Friday night, Florida A&M (23-24) endured a 19-0 defeat at the hands of fourth-seeded Florida (45-16) in the first round of the Gainesville Regional.
Every UF starter reached base as the Gators recorded a .425 batting average. Schwarz led UF with five RBI, four hits and one home run, extending his hitting streak to seven games.
“From all three phases we were good tonight,” coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “We stayed the course, and we stayed focused for nine innings.”
UF’s Logan Shore (8-6) pitched five scoreless innings and allowed just two hits, as the Gators’ pitching staff combined for eight strikeouts.
As a team, FAMU tallied just three hits and a .103 batting average. The Rattlers were held without a run for the first time since March 22.
“We are better than the way we played tonight,” FAMU coach Jamey Shouppe said.
Florida struck out three times to open the first inning, but FAMU couldn’t contain UF’s bats the rest of the way.
The Gators put up one run in the second and five runs in the third to open with a 6-0 lead. From there, Florida cruised to its largest margin of victory in the NCAA Tournament since 2005.
“I think (the Southeastern Conference Tournament) prepared us a lot,” said junior Harrison Bader, who finished second on the team with three RBI. “. …To come back and win four in a row and carry that momentum into this postseason and hopefully the rest of the postseason, it definitely meant a lot.”
Florida will face South Florida in the second round of Regionals on Saturday at 7 p.m.
“This whole thing is about how you’re feeling as a player and as a club. When you get more players feeling good about themselves, the club plays better,” O’Sullivan said. “. ...So we should feel good going into tomorrow.”
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Buddy Reed makes a diving grab in the outfield during Florida's 19-0 win over Florida A&M on May 29, 2015, during the 2015 NCAA Tournament.
